When I first began writing this story in early 2024, the original concept was actually lower than 30,000 words. I had to stretch the narrative just to reach that mark. What started out as an initial 15-chapter idea eventually took on a life of its own.
Looking back at my writing from those first two years, I realize how much I had to grow as an author. My original first chapter was all over the place, and I can clearly see why it was initially rejected by traditional literary agents. But stripping that early draft down and fixing the story was exactly the challenge I needed. It allowed me to elevate my writing style and evolve my craft right alongside the characters.
The cast transformed drastically from their early placeholders. Characters like Elise evolved from a standard jealous teenager into a highly calculated media mastermind, while early background names like Victor and Kian blossomed into deeply layered figures carrying their own heartbreaking, massive story arcs. Even authority figures like Samuel Grant morphed into terrifying, unpredictable threats. Giving every single person in Riverwell and the UTR complex psychological motives and deep political ambitions pushed the story to new heights.
As a Haitian native, the world-building of Riverwell was deeply inspired by my own perspective of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Creating a fictional island nation fractured into two distinctly separate worlds separated by a border served as my exact blueprint. The highly polarized political climate of the series, including the intense fearmongering and anti-UTR campaigns, was influenced by modern politics in both my homeland and the United States.
This shift meant Danny and Hannah's relationship could no longer be a standard romance. It naturally transformed into a desperate fight for survival against a massive political machine. Because of this, my revised manuscript for Book 1 actually exploded to exactly 134,000 words. The story had grown so large and complex that I realized I could not contain it in a single volume. I made the structural decision to split the book right down the middle to form the foundation of a brand new Book 2.
To protect the fast-paced thriller momentum, I went back and split several of the bloated early chapters in two, divided some into three, and even created brand new chapters in between. This rigorous restructuring gave the characters the space they truly needed to breathe, officially shifting the grand finale of Sanctuary: The Governor's Daughter to Chapter 25. The intense second half of that original draft became Book 2, Sanctuary: The Cost of Happiness. This single idea officially grew into a sprawling five-book series.
Even after rewriting the manuscript and fixing my story, I decided not to send it to agents again. I took the risk to release the series independently. I realized I did not want to go through the stress of working with a traditional publisher who might change the heart of my story just for commercial purposes. I wanted to retain one hundred percent creative control over my universe so my readers could experience the pure, original version of the story. Doing so allowed the narrative to evolve naturally into the unapologetic thriller it was meant to be.
My primary goal is to finish releasing the Sanctuary epic by the end of 2026, allowing me to transition back to my other passion and focus solely on my music career in 2027.
Thank you for joining me on this incredible journey. Welcome to Riverwell.