April 2026 Author Update

There have been many behind-the-scenes writing projects in April; however, this month was also dominated by non-writing work. Most of you know I work full-time at a small private, nonprofit university and April is a busy time with students finishing up their Spring Semester work and my team preparing for commencement and year-end activities. Hence, I left my April update for early May, with our commencement ceremony last weekend.

Now, to share information about all the writing projects on my radar screen. Some are simply concept-ideas, while others are more fully defined.

Spirals of Aztalun Series: The first book of the series, The Spiral Awakens, is written from the point of view of Alayna Archuleta, a mid-thirties archeologist who is whisked through a spiral portal from the Sonoran Desert in Northern Mexico to the magical, divine-created realm of Aztalun. She meets five others who have also been transported, and the six of them, The Hexad, set out on a quest to free the goddess Calista. If you haven't picked up that book yet, while it is available on Amazon and other Booksellers, the very best prices can be found here in my own online bookstore, Sara Lange Books. The audiobook is also available on Audible, through Amazon, Apple Books, and we're working on getting it to other platforms.

Book Two is well underway, with a complete rough draft from the point of view of Sasha Kahn, one of The Hexad, who is a healer and wellness practitioner from Georgtown Guyana. I won't share any spoilers, as I am still fully developing the action and dialogue, and sometimes during this phase of writing, the plot line can be expanded, cut, updated, and morphed. My expectation is for a Fall 2026 publication date, and I'll share updates throughout the summer as finishing touches are added.

Book Three is fully outlined, and as you may have guessed, will be from the point of view of Blair Grindall, the Hexad's artists from The Isle of Skye. While the plot is not yet fully formed, expect a big reveal about Blair's heritage as well as a final battle with the gods that may not turn out as you might predict.

Related to the Aztalun series, I've begun an outline for a prequel, set perhaps thousands of years in the past, that explores the early relationships between Calista, Ysara, the other gods, and Theren. That will be a stand-alone novel and is still some distance from being more than a concept.

Science Fiction Concept: I've started outlining a science fiction series. This will likely be published under the pen name S. T. Langhe. The first book is likely more than a year away from publication; however, I've done a great deal of preliminary world-building, and character development for this new series in an expanded genre that I think will appeal to both Science Fiction and Fantasy fans. It's too early to share much detail here, but expect something expansive, space opera style, and set in the far future with humanity in several colonized sky cities or orbiting space cities.

Contemporary Romance: A concept at the moment is a stand-alone contemporary paranormal romance novel. I've done a great deal of brainstorming at this point and have a concept that involves a victorian era house in a modern west-coast city, with disparent tennants from various backgrounds and generations. A dual-timeline and some portal options will be used to bring the characters together spanning the present and the past to solve a mystery. In the process there will be themes of found family, friendship, and a dash or two of developing slow-burn romance (of course).

Needless to say, there is a lot brewing in my mind's cauldron, and each of these concepts will be ready when they are ready.