Bizarrely, I was zoning out in a hammock chair in a rainforest in Costa Rica the first time I saw Sialuk’s character in my mind’s eye. I was supposed to be brainstorming solutions for a plot hole in a completely different series, so I stuffed that vision back down the dream pipe.
As much as I tried to force her from my mind, though, I couldn’t stop myself from coming back to that big ol’ bear and what she was doing in my subconscious.
I let myself dabble in that bear’s company for a few weeks at the end of 2018, and one year later, I had imagined an expansive universe and drafted the first three books in my starter series as an urban fantasy author.
Now, in 2024, that journey is coming to a close.
I envisioned even then what writing the end would look like. I always had a bigger picture in mind, both for my characters and for that starter series. That macro vision always had definitive endings in place as stepping stones for my greater agenda.
I’ve known this day, this scene, these words were coming. I wrote the first draft of the very last chapter of Moon Song years ago, because I’ve always known.
Turns out, knowing didn’t make it less bittersweet.
I felt relief and tension in equal measure when I started compiling the final draft of Moon Song for professional editing. I cried happy tears when I read my editor’s first comments on the last line, but I’d cried desperately when I was working on that last page. Now, each day could trigger a whirlwind of emotions, mostly different forms of hope or apprehension, as the edits wrap up and the “Publish” button draws nearer.
Every word at the end of drafting felt like wrenching a goodbye out of me, because no matter my plans for these characters and this series, every word I approved for my editor’s eyes was one word closer to other endings I never saw coming.
The end of my first finished series. The first book is a huge deal, but it is nothing like finishing a series. This kind of triumph tastes sweet and sour at the same time.
The end of my debut series. No more amateur label to console myself when typos get published and expectations aren’t met.
The end of starting my days with dictation or editing. A new marketing responsibility lies around the corner that I have to make time for because I don’t have to put finishing the series first.
There’s happy feelings, too, of course. I’m delighted to finally deliver the full story to my readers. I’m excited to start leaning into side series, like the Mage Song novellas. And I’m eager to see where this ending can take me.
I’ve always know that for the Harmony universe, the end was always the beginning.
I just lacked the insight to recognize that this end would also be a new beginning for me, too.
While I’m marinading in all my post-series feels, this new beginning means a lot of choices are going to be made soon that impact you readers. Paperbacks? Audiobooks? The next series?
There are so many directions I can channel my energy into, and I care most about making you happy.
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