Project Pardus was hard for me to write in so many ways. It started as a fun break novella between entries in the Weary Warrior Women series. That was in September 2023. By the end of October, I realized I was no longer writing a lighthearted romantic romp. This book had teeth. It was going to be about a genocide, and as you know, it’s not a novella.

Sci fi and fantasy have been, since their inception, pathways for the author to explore and excise thoughts and feelings about the state and trajectory of the world. Carolina didn’t solve the Galaxy’s problems, not even close. She didn’t even take down the evil corporation HGNT. But she refused to participate in a system that was kidnapping, torturing, and exterminating sentient beings.

When I started writing Project Pardus, I had no plan, no outline, just a vague image of a space station disappearing mysteriously. That’s the other reason it took so long to finally wind its way to you. I went off on tangents, had about five different point of view characters, and ended up cutting a quarter of the book and rewriting it. Abandoning the safety net of the outline, of course, meant that I was free of its constraints as well, and I discovered things about my process that I can use to loosen up the rigid parts of my system. And some of the deleted scenes will make their way into the world as bonus scenes one of these days, especially the one between Harlan and Clark, where they discuss Clark’s “glowering.”

Carolina, like most of my characters, was a mystery to me when I started writing. As I got to know her better, I realized that she was falling for a trap: she thought her worth was determined by the people around her, their attitude toward her, and their approval of her. Not to say that this changes much by the end of the book, but she has learned, at least, to be selective about who she gifts with the power to influence her. Especially as a white woman under patriarchal white supremacy, the voices telling us to fulfill our role and gain status by subsuming our very selves are legion. Those uplifting us and believing in us as full people are few, but drawing close to them so they echo the loudest in our lives is well worth the effort.

As I write this, it’s April 2025, and the real-life kidnap, torture, and extermination of humans has not abated; if anything, it has spiked. We are all going to need to refuse to participate in these systems, build something new outside of them, and stop grasping for status within them if we want them to wither and die.

I hope Project Pardus meant something to you, as it means so much to me. <3

Looking forward to our next adventure,

Elizabeth F. Shearly