Where the book is
SIKA is written. It is now being edited, which takes longer than writing it did and shows less.
This page follows the journey from the first idea to publication, life after launch, and the start of Book Two. I update it when something actually changes.
July 2025 Done
The Challenge
My cousin Myriam and Victor challenged me to write the story. This is where it began.
September 2025 – February 2026 Done
Assembling the pieces
I was thinking in movie scenes: disconnected pieces that needed to find their place, like a puzzle.
15 March 2026 Done
It started as a screenplay
A mother, a daughter, a French baker, and a winter road in New England. Written in the early mornings, before work. The family was there from the first page. The rest of the universe wasn't yet.
April–May 2026 Done
The script became a novel
A screenplay shows you what people do. A novel lets you sit inside them while they do it. The bakery at dawn, a contract signed in crayon: scenes a film would cut turned out to be the point.
June 2026 Done
The Golden Thread
One book became a trilogy on paper. The series found its name, and its heart: a family trying to stay together while the universe pulls them apart.
Late June – early July 2026 Done
First full draft, first publishing plan
A complete manuscript, and a first plan for bringing it to readers. Much of that plan would change. The first version existed to be replaced by a better one.
July – September 2026 Done
The long revision
Chapter by chapter, line by line. Less explanation, more room for the reader. Sixty-one chapters, tightened through revision.
September 2026 Done
Locked
The title, SIKA. The author name, Fabien Cordero. A professional editor booked, and a plan to bring the book into the world.
12 September 2026 Done
Website launch
A place to share the opening chapters and the journey to publication with you.
October – November 2026
Developmental edits
A developmental editor reads the whole story: what works, what doesn't, and what needs to go deeper. Then I work through the notes, making the story stronger for you.
December 2026
The cover
Being made by an artist who works in film. Before anything is final it gets shown to science fiction readers, who are asked what they think the book is about. If they guess wrong, the cover is wrong.
January 2027
Final edits
The last changes to the manuscript, bringing the editorial work together before the book goes into production. Nothing structural changes after this.
February 2027
Produced
Proofread by someone who has never seen it before, then typeset and built into the files a printer and a Kindle can actually read.
March 2027
Advance copies
A few hundred readers get the finished book seven weeks early, in exchange for an honest review on publication day. Honest, not kind — a three-star review posted on the day is worth more to me than five stars in June. I ask for these on the mailing list.
March 2027
Paperback pre-order
The print edition opens for pre-order. The ebook does not — it simply appears on publication day.
Tuesday 27 April 2027
Out
Ebook and paperback. SIKA is the first book of The Golden Thread, and there are two more.
After publication
Post-launch care
Listening to readers, sharing reviews, and helping the book find its way to new people. The journey doesn't stop on publication day.
After post-launch care
Book Two begins
Back to the writing desk, and the next part of The Golden Thread. I'll share news here as the story takes shape.
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