Is the fat lady singing??

Recently I've come to a conclusion. It's a painful one, one that required several bottles of wine & vodka to admit out loud. Sniff...sniff I think some of my favorite writers, the women I adore are writing past their shelf life. Yes, there I said it. If you're going to throw things please make sure at least every other object is shiny. I'd like to get something out of this abuse too, ya know?

So it's out there now, floating around the viral universe simply waiting for enough people to come lynch me. And still I find no remorse, no sudden desire to take back the words or change my opinion.

First off no, I'm not sharing the names of these talented & amazing writers. This is a blog. It's my opinion (and ya know what they say about opinions). Therefore the names of the innocent and guilty will remain hidden.

How did I come to this conclusion you ask? Simple and shocking all at the same time. Tuesday rolled around, I skimmed through the new releases, saw what used to be my BFF of series writing & thought "huh, didn't know she had anything out." Ummm, wow! Used to be I'd haunt the bookstores in hopes of snagging copy accidentally put on the shelf early. Having been the poster child (young adult) for crutches & ankle surgeries I even once got a clerk to get me a copy of this author's book a almost a week and a half early. I went in on my crutches, looked as pathetic as possible & simply begged. Explained how I'd been in the hospital for the next two weeks and unable to get the book. Either this woman wanted me to shut up or she did the pity thing. I got my book. I read the whole thing in one sitting. Now I don't even pay attention to when a new release of hers comes out?? Yep, I think she & these characters have spent too much time at the ball. Bow out gracefully & with a bang that will have your readers cheering & your characters living on in our minds forever!

The second author who left me drunk & shaken...She deserves bad bad things. I mean really bad things, like drinking wine out of a box, or forced to use Dollar store hair dye or (shuddering) made to lie naked in a tub full of slimy frogs!! Yes, I'm that mad. While I can't give away the story let me just say the author is a plot teaser. Yes, you heard me right. She teased me with a certain angle, kept me dangling then BAM walked away just as I reached the point of no return, the big one!! Now a new book is out & I'm supposed to buy it. Why? Seriously why would I buy the book when I know it's not going to have the ending she's been using like cotton candy vodka on a stick? I now know how Charlie Brown feels as Lucy yanks the football out from under him...every time. Yes, I understand this is my problem & my issue. There are readers out there, I'm sure, who love the direction her books are going and can't wait to get their hands on each book as it comes out. Sorry to say I'm not one of them anymore.

Another author built a great series. I mean a truly great one. So good I must have read the first four or so books several times each. Then the last book hits the stands. Picture me, hours later, mouth hanging open, eyes blinking in shocked stupidity as I finished the last page. DO WHAT??? Granted the author wrote just an amazing story as always, but she shoved at least two complete stories lines with four different characters smooshed in one short book. Talked about rushed and feeling incomplete. Build up, build up, build up...so close, oh oh oh so close...yes! yes! yes...THEN NOTHING. Left hanging on the edge with no climax in sight. Now, I feel cheated, angry & in the mood for chocolate. Just like I do after a bad date...and it's over and I'll never get that oh so good feeling back again.

As a writer of several series this makes me quakes in my fashionable yet shiny shoes. My friends, I hope, would stop before I book teased my readers this way. Many of you know, you've read my work. My series end. Club Botticelli is ending in November with the release of Romancing Recee. My Poseidon series has an ending all planned out as well. Ten books is it, my limit. Unless, of course, Hollywood comes knocking with a twenty million dollar offer. Well then...um see ya!!! Yes, it hurts to say goodbye, but I'd rather go out sparkling in afterglow then left panting and waiting.

The flip side of this there are some really great series out there that only continue to get better and better with each book. So I'm not trashing all series, all authors or even all connected books. I think each author needs to take a good look at the characters themselves. Are they still speaking to them? Do they have new stories to tell? New adventures or love to find? I always say let the characters guide you or else you'll send left panting, sweating and with no release in sight!

So there it is, one admittedly, warped, writer's view point. Let the arrows fly, the oil bubble & just be kind and leave the frog behind!!