Shaping the First Pages: Early Thoughts on The Book of Ledger

Every great series begins with a spark. For my upcoming Dark Academia project, The Book of Ledger, that spark is already crackling on the page. This series will take you deep into the cloistered halls of Greystone University, where ambition, intellect, and a hidden network of power collide.

From my earliest drafts, I’ve identified key elements that will stay central as the story evolves:

1. An Atmosphere You Can Breathe In – The scent of old paper, the cold weight of stone walls, the hum of whispered secrets in libraries at midnight. Greystone isn’t just a setting—it’s a living, breathing presence in the story.
2. A Ledger That’s More Than a Book – At the heart lies the mysterious Ledger, an artifact recording far more than financial transactions. It’s a system of influence, a map of human ambition, and perhaps a trap for those who seek its power.
3. A Cast Bound by Knowledge and Danger – The students and faculty tied to the Ledger are each marked by brilliance, ambition, and flaws that could undo them. Loyalties shift, truths are obscured, and the line between ally and enemy blurs.
4. A Murder That’s Only the Beginning – Early in the narrative, a death fractures the tight-knit academic society. This is not a whodunit with easy answers—the shadow cast by this act stretches far beyond the first book.
5. Themes That Linger – Power and ethics, truth and manipulation, the seduction of forbidden knowledge. The Ledger is as much a mirror for human nature as it is a plot device.

Readers of The Secret History or If We Were Villains will find familiar currents here, but the waters of The Book of Ledger run into deeper, stranger channels. It’s the start of something intricate, moody, and dangerous.

For now, this series lives in notebooks, scattered drafts, and too many late-night coffee-fueled writing sessions—but the bones are strong, and the story is coming alive.

Stay tuned for updates, sneak peeks, and maybe even an excerpt before the year is out.