Theme in Mirror Trilogy
I always felt like themes were important to stories.
Some sort of arch that is throughout a series. I didn’t do a lot of planning
when I started writing my Mirror series as far as outlining, although I did
know what was going to happen in the trilogy. But I wanted a theme to arch. My
publisher, Catrina, suggested we keep the name ‘Mirror’ in the title. To this
day, I don’t think she realizes how brilliant that was to me.
The story for Mirror Image was a simple one. Madison
Rhodes leads a quiet life until she finds out she’s a clone. She gets swept
into a world she never knew existed with the Intergalactic Security Commission,
a secret organization similar to the Federation in Star Trek, tasked with
keeping Earth and other worlds safe. Of course, she had no knowledge there were
other worlds. She meets her counterpart, an agent in the ISC who goes by Mack,
which is short for her middle name, Mackenzie. These two women are two sides of
the same coin. Both so different yet at their core, the same person. Maddie seems
more open and gentle in nature, but she didn’t go through five years of
missions and hardship like Mack had. Mirror Image set a good tone for the
series.
But I knew things would change when it came down to
the second book, Mirror Shattered. Without giving away spoilers, some truth is
brought to life that changes both women, but they both react differently. In
Mirror Shattered, the team goes back in time to stop an alien race known as the
Synth from stopping the creation of the ISC and take over Earth. Because of the
time travel, several things were different when the timeline was restored.
The third and final book, out January 16th,
is Mirror Reformed. Some have asked me, “How can you reform a mirror?” I have
given vague answers before but here’s the real scoop: the overall theme arching
the stories is that Mack is the aforementioned Mirror. The story is pretty
centered on Maddie, but Mack is actually the Mirror. Like the story of Star
Wars had Luke as the main character in the original trilogy but Star Wars, to
me, as always been Darth Vader’s story.
Blurb
for Mirror Reformed:
The ISC's most dangerous foe, the
Synth, is threatening Earth. Mack, Maddie, and their team scramble to come
up with a plan to defeat them one and for all. As the planet's safety is in
jeopardy, the team will have to put it all on the line, or give their lives in
the process.
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Excerpt:
“Because
they’ve done it before, and this is the team that stopped them.”
The team stared blankly at their former commander,
trying to comprehend his words. The statement echoed in Maddie’s mind, making
her hands shake.
“That’s insane,” Seth blurted out after several
quiet minutes.
“Remember my warning. What I said is hard to believe, but it’s the absolute truth.” Charlie looked unabashed at the group’s disbelief.
“Charlie, what’s going on?” Maddie asked.
“Most of you know the story of how the ISC was formed,” Elizabeth began.
“Right. A young Charlie created a communications device that reached the Isgurd,” Mack stated. “We formed our first alliance with them.”
“Correct. The rest of the story has been classified.”
“Rest of the story?” Maddie looked over at John who looked just as confused as she did.
“Remember my warning. What I said is hard to believe, but it’s the absolute truth.” Charlie looked unabashed at the group’s disbelief.
“Charlie, what’s going on?” Maddie asked.
“Most of you know the story of how the ISC was formed,” Elizabeth began.
“Right. A young Charlie created a communications device that reached the Isgurd,” Mack stated. “We formed our first alliance with them.”
“Correct. The rest of the story has been classified.”
“Rest of the story?” Maddie looked over at John who looked just as confused as she did.
Charlie pulled up a video on the monitor and pressed
play. The screen came to life as a young boy wearing wire-rimmed glasses and
sandy blond hair falling in his eyes smiled and cleared his throat.
“My name is Charles Westlake. I am thirteen years
old and I’m from Charleston, South Carolina. I created an intergalactic
communications device that made contact with an alien race known as the Isgurd.
I have recently been visited by a group of people from the year 2015. They came
here to prevent an aggressive alien race known as the Synth from killing me,
stopping my meeting with the leader of the Isgurd, Balise, and taking over
Earth. This group was led by Jackson Gray, but my main contacts were Maddie and
John Brooks. The team successfully defeated the Synth here in 1965. This
message is to be preserved in case the Synth return.”
The team stared at the monitor long after the screen
went black.
“How . . . how did all this happen?” Mack finally
broke the silence. “Going back in time and fighting a race no one has heard of?
I mean, Charlie, honestly—”
“That’s not the pressing issue,” Maddie interjected sheepishly.
“Exactly, Maddie.” Charlie nodded. “We need to come up with a plan and fast.”
“That’s not the pressing issue,” Maddie interjected sheepishly.
“Exactly, Maddie.” Charlie nodded. “We need to come up with a plan and fast.”
Maddie turned bright red when Mack turned and glared
at her for the interruption. After a moment, though, Mack relaxed into a
reassuring smile.
“How much time do we have?” Jackson asked.
“Judging by current speed, they will be here in four days,” Elizabeth stated.
“Four days isn’t a lot of time,” John muttered.
“Charlie, you said we defeated them before.” Maddie chewed on the inside of her cheek. Charlie nodded. “How?”
“Judging by current speed, they will be here in four days,” Elizabeth stated.
“Four days isn’t a lot of time,” John muttered.
“Charlie, you said we defeated them before.” Maddie chewed on the inside of her cheek. Charlie nodded. “How?”
The former commander instantly broke eye contact,
looking down at the floor. Even Elizabeth wouldn’t meet her gaze.
“I see,” Maddie solemnly said.
“See what?” One of the guys, Chris, asked.
“None of us made it,” Seth replied.
“Ah.”
“Well, that’s certainly comforting,” Jackson gravely said.
“Do we have a plan?” Mack asked, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.
“See what?” One of the guys, Chris, asked.
“None of us made it,” Seth replied.
“Ah.”
“Well, that’s certainly comforting,” Jackson gravely said.
“Do we have a plan?” Mack asked, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.
Elizabeth and Charlie exchanged glances before
turning back to the group. The look on both of their faces made Maddie’s heart
drop into her stomach.
“Nothing? You’ve got nothing?” David sputtered out
the question. “How did we do it before?” Chris asked.
“We’re . . . not sure,” Elizabeth admitted.
About
the Author:
Growing up in Texas and later South Carolina as the
youngest in a house full of science fiction fans, K.G. Stutts had her natural
curiosity and imagination nurtured since birth by family movie nights where
they would watch Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and even timeless Disney favorites.
A prolific writer of sci-fi, romance, and mystery,
K.G. draws much of her inspiration from those amazing works that gave her an
appreciation for telling rich, compelling, character-driven stories for all
audiences.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Brad,
and works for a customer service call center. She’s a lover of Star Wars, Star
Trek, Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis, Muppets, Garfield, Disney, Indiana Jones, and
is a big wrestling, hockey, and football fan.
Social
Media:
http://KGStutts.com
http://KGStutts.blogspot.com
Thank you for hosting me!
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