Greetings Everyone,

What’s wrong with me, you might ask? You never write, you never call, you don’t send presents, you pretend we don’t exist. We wait patiently for each new book, buy it to demonstrate our loyalty, and in between those once a year miracles, it’s like you don’t exist. Why do we even bother with you?

To which I can honestly say, “Beats me.”

But once again I am going to attempt to worm my way back into your good graces by writing this update on things you might have an interest in as readers and viewers of Shannara. I might even get around to some other stuff that is bubbling away in the creative cauldron. I know I have to do something to keep you from rising up in fury and coming after me.

So here goes.

First up – and most recent – this piece of news. The second season of The Shannara Chronicles has been renewed (no, that’s not it, you already know this. Patience!) but more to the point our faithful show runners Al and Miles have opened the writers room to their posse and work has begun on the new plot and its episodes! Some of this has been ongoing, but now we are into a serious effort to make progress. Yours truly has conferenced with the TV writers and has a pretty good feel for where things are going.

A few clues to share. Last year’s survivors – Wil, Allanon, Eretria and Ander, for starters – will be back to carry on the story. A few others from last year just might reappear, as well. There will be a number of new characters, some of them familiar to you from reading the books. But those you know from the books will be changed to allow for time and age and such to make it feel authentic. The settings will be different. The story will be original but will harken to plotlines you all know.

Now that’s all I am going to say. You have to trust me when I tell you I am comfortable with what is being done – setting Season Two at the end of Elfstones and before the events of Wishsong. Once again, you might think you know where things are going. But you might be seriously wrong.

So writing this fall, filming this winter down under once more in New Zealand (Judine and I will go down to visit the set and the actors and crew), editing and special effects late spring and (what are the odds? don’t know yet.) airing of the Season next summer. But it takes as long as it takes, and you can never be sure about how things will go. All I can say are these immortal words: “Everything will turn out all right in the end. And if it doesn’t, it isn’t the end.”

On the Magic Kingdom front . . . well, sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn’t. The powers that be over at Warner Brothers have lost interest. Seems they are now fixed on sequels, comics, toys and fads. No wonder they’re in trouble over there. But we will persist.

Books! Now there’s a happy subject. The new (final) Shannara series is going well in the writing stage. Book One is done, Book Two is being written. Still on schedule to publish late spring, early summer 2017-2020 to finish the series. Really, I will probably never finish writing Shannara books, only close off the ending so that there is a clear cycle between beginning in 1977 and ending in 2020. I can always find gaps in which to add new stories, both long and short. Hard to imagine not writing something in that world after 2020. But I don’t have to think about it now, anyway.

So anyway that is a capsule account of my working life at present. Been another great summer in the Pacific NW. I have seen many of you on the road touring in June and going to Denver ComicCon, San Diego ComicCon, Tampa Bay ComicCon and so on. I am “conned” out for now. I will be at Lucca ComicCon in Lucca, Italy, October 28-November 1, for those who happen to be in the neighborhood. Otherwise, check out Facebook and the website.

I do plan to tour with the new book next year, so keep an eye out for dates, times and venues as we move towards spring. Hope your summer has been fun and relaxing. If you think of it, and I hope you will, try to do something nice for someone today.

All good magic, Terry