A behind-the-scenes conversation between author and editor, unpacking Chapter Three of Lord of Water — Book I.
Editor: There's a line in Chapter Three that's really just a throwaway bit of dialogue on the surface — Shane telling Mila, "the harder I try or the more serious I get, the less it seems to work." But it's actually the same law we found in Chapter Two, the spirit of play, now showing up as literal physics. Effort weakens him. Play strengthens him. Did you build that on purpose, or did it just turn up while you were writing the scene?
Author: I only just spotted this, but it is very true to me. When I was Welterweight Pro Boxing Champ back in 1990, it was only when it got serious and full of effort that it all became difficult. Before that it was light and non-serious, and I was kind of unstoppable. My wife and I encourage each other in this same way all the time — when things are hard, we just say, "Tai Chi it!" Keep it light, yeah!
Editor: That's a genuinely rare thing for a magic system to say — most stories treat power as something you earn through strain, gritted teeth, effort against resistance. Shane's water works the opposite way. The moment he takes it too seriously, it slips. And you're telling me that isn't invented — it's a law you lived inside a boxing ring years before you ever wrote a word of this trilogy. "Tai Chi it" sounds like it could be the whole trilogy's operating instruction in three words.
Let's talk about Mila's side of this scene. She doesn't run. She screams, laughs, drinks a cold drink, and climbs onto him like nothing has changed at all. What were you going for, keeping her reaction that light?
Author: Just the power and importance of male-female union. Together a couple are so powerful, and working as one, they can achieve anything.
Editor: So her calm isn't disbelief and it isn't naivety — it's trust operating at full strength, immediately. She doesn't need time to process what she just saw because the two of them are already one working unit. That reframes the whole bathroom scene for me: it's not really about Shane's power at all. It's the moment the partnership gets tested for the first time, and passes instantly.
And then straight after — one paragraph later — she's got him back on his feet: "Come on! Get busy. We can't do what has to be done just loafing around here, can we?"
Author: Yep! Back to reality. Just like a marriage.
Editor: Which is exactly why it's funny rather than jarring. The wonder gets exactly one night, and then the work resumes — and somehow that's more romantic than if the awe had lingered, because it means she's already treating the mission as theirs, not just his.
Last thing — Gary. He appears on the wharf and simply says, "I'm pleased you've finally arrived. I've been waiting quite a while now." No explanation offered, none demanded. Neither Shane nor Mila stops to interrogate it.
Author: Yep! Spiritual. I think this story is about the union of man and woman, and the power of a woman, as much as it's about our protagonist. And then the spiritual connections that occur in our lifetimes. If we miss them, or ignore them when they're there, we lose the moment to step through that door — that window that's open. Stepping through into a whole adventure.
I think I'm good on this chapter. It sets the main characters and gives us the journey they're already embarked upon.
Effort weakens him. Play strengthens him. Trust doesn't hesitate. And when the door opens — the Gary on your own wharf — you step through, whether or not it's been explained to you yet.
Read Chapter Three free at [lordofwater.com](https://lordofwater.com/book-1/)