***So*** close to "The End" of Never

I just wrote one of the very last scenes of Never. And, oh man, I cried like a baby. Seriously. I just started bawling. I couldn't help it. (Of course, I did that when I wrote the end of For Ever, too.)

I'm really sad that this one is coming to an end. It came out a lot differently than I thought it would. Characters I thought I hated ... now I love them in a really conflicted sort of way. Characters I had started to like ... now I'm not so sure about them.

I just might finish writing this book and feel as confused as my MC Wren does. It has been a roller coaster ride from start to (almost) finish.

Yay! Can't wait to share Never. I'll do some teasers when I get some of the editing underway.

Happily Ever After Part II

In an earlier post, I talked about the idea of happily ever after in reference to For Ever. I think a little piece of me doesn't quite recover when fictional characters that I love don't get their happily ever after. I guess I'm the same way with real-life characters, namely celebrities and people I know. For instance, when I hear about celebrity couples breaking up -- take even Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise -- I'm probably one of the few people who's like, "Really?" Because I'm always kind of hoping that everyone sails off into the sunset with his or her true love. Not reality, I know.

Yeah, it may make me naive, but I think, for me, it's necessary to be a little naive and hopeful in order to tell stories. You have to believe happy endings are at least possible.

That said, I'm closing in on the end of Never. It's been a bumpy ride, but I've enjoyed every second of it. After I get done editing it, it will be out of my hands. (Once the editing process is in full swing, I'll look for some teasers to share.) Then, very soon after that, it will be in your hands.

I'm working on my guest posts/interviews for the blog tour coming up in August. Lots of fun questions and topics, so thanks to the hosts for that. And if there isn't one during the tour, I'll be releasing a playlist here to go with For Ever.

Thanks again to those of you who have reached out and said you've enjoyed the book. You're the best!

Happily Ever After

I've been thinking a lot about the idea of happily ever after -- and the ending of For Ever. I really love the idea of happily ever after: Good triumphs over bad. True love conquers. But I've also realized that a lot of the books and films that I've read or watched multiple times don't always have a happy ending. They feel like they ended too soon, because I didn't want them to end -- or the end left me in tears and I desperately wanted a happy ending.

I remember being riveted by Tuck Everlasting (1975 by Natalie Babbitt) when one of my teachers in elementary school read it to us. It had such an impact on me that I still think of it as an adult. The themes -- of mortality, making choices, growing up, love -- all touched me. As an adult, I had a similar experience when I read The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I've read it three times, which is something I don't often do. And I think it's mostly because I keep expecting the ending to change. I love the book, but my emotional side hates the ending with a passion.


I have a theory about my inclination to revisit these titles in particular. They -- not just their endings but their themes throughout -- have really made me think about my own existence and our transience on this planet, which are things I've thought a lot about ever since I was a little kid.


I think this is partially how For Ever came about and why I wrote the ending the way I did. Some people may not like it, but there's that old saying: You can't please everyone. Which is so true! Everybody is different. But I hope For Ever and other books out there make people feel and think.

Never, the sequel to For Ever, is coming next year -- and all cliffhangers will be answered then. Of course, how Never ends remains to be seen. ...

Now for the good news

For Ever's blog tour is coming up next month! You can find the schedule here.

I'll be doing interviews, guest posts -- and there will be free giveaways. The Plastic Revolution -- the band on my Web site -- has been kind enough to donate half a dozen CDs of their latest release, Postmodern Medicine, which is awesome. A few paperback copies of For Ever will also be up for grabs.

Thanks again to SupaGurl for organizing this little virtual tour!

I'm also going to start trying to put together some teasers of For Ever's sequel -- Never -- soon, so stay tuned!

Bummer!

Thanks so much to everyone who has bought a copy of For Ever. I really hope some people are enjoying it and looking forward to the sequel, Never.

Now the bad news ...

Yesterday I came across a couple of sites that were hosting illegal copies of the book, which is upsetting for a few reasons. First, it's not fair to people who bought it or borrowed it on Amazon! Second, it puts me at risk of Amazon taking the book down ... and they'll freeze my account, meaning no more sequel. Third, it makes it harder for me to concentrate on finishing the sequel, which is 75 percent done, btw! Fourth, when your stuff is getting stolen and you're not making any money off of something you spent a lot of time working on, how do you support the next book, right? I can't, that's for sure. (Just think about someone stealing a chunk of your paycheck and then shrugging and saying, Well, I gave it out to like 500 people, so what are you so upset about?)

Up until yesterday, I never even considered that my work might be pirated by third parties. Then I saw a post by someone who knows people whose Amazon accounts have been frozen due to plagiarism/piracy claims. This surprised me: Someone who wrote a book was getting punished for someone else posting it without his/her knowledge. It also really scared me, because it puts the sequel in jeopardy.

For people looking forward to the sequel, I ask two things:

1. If you really liked For Ever and you're looking forward to the sequel (even if you got it on a file-sharing site!), let people know and write a quick review on Amazon if you have time. This helps out a lot if people who enjoyed it tell other people. I need fans -- like you -- to get the word out there.

2. If you were searching for this blog or more information about the sequel and you found a site that's posting illegally, let me know. If I'm aware of it, it's less likely that I'll get my Amazon account suspended -- and lose access to my means of getting the sequel out there.

Search terms that might land you on a site that is going to get me in trouble include: 4Shared, book piracy, buzzbox, copyright infringement, Digital Millenium Copyright Act, DMCA, file sharing, freebookspot, illegal download, MediaFire, Mobile9, Mobilism, piracy, pirated books, playergames, plrebooksdownload, rapidfile, rapidshare, CJ Valles For Ever epub, superiorz, take down

Help me make sure I can get Never out there and keep things fair for the people who shelled out the $0.99 to read For Ever.

Purchase a legit copy of the book on Amazon at: http://goo.gl/VBF9C

Love and thanks to all!

(Big thanks to Stephanie Lawton, author of Want, for an exceptional post for indie authors about piracy.)