It’s been a long time since I wrapped up a series--2011’s The Dark Tide, to be precise--but I’m
currently writing the final book in the All’s Fair series and I’m daily
reminded of just how tricky it is to pen that final chapter.
Part of the challenge in writing a series is remembering
everything that came before. Not just the obvious stuff like the protagonist’s
age and eye color and job title and best friend’s name (I think most writers
remember to note that stuff down). Not only the more complicated stuff like
every single character dynamic, every single character’s evolving relationship
with the main character. Oh, and all the legal stuff (wait, how long did I sentence him to prison for…?!) No, the real
challenge is keeping track of the main character’s arc through each part of the
series, making sure that the growth of the previous books is not lost or
forgotten in the next episode. Making sure that when the final chapter comes,
the reader feels satisfied and content to arrive at journey’s end.
Of course, some readers don’t care about the character
arc--they don’t want the adventure to ever end, period. And, as much as we love
those readers, we have to ignore them because every story ultimately comes to
an end. It’s better to end on a high note than a death bed (be it ours or the
characters’).
But delivering that emotional payoff depends on the
particular character and their unique journey.
In Fair Game, the
first book of the trilogy, Elliot Mills is a former FBI agent who has been
sidelined by a serious injury.
A crippling knee injury forced Elliot Mills to trade in
his FBI badge for dusty chalkboards and bored college students. Now a history
professor at Puget Sound
University
A young man has gone missing from campus -- and as a
favor to a family friend, Elliot agrees to do a little sniffing around. His
investigations bring him face-to-face with his former lover, Tucker Lance, the
special agent handling the case.
At the end of the
book, Elliot has made peace with his choices and settled down to a life in
academia and a new relationship with Tucker. That should not come as a surprise to anyone, this being genre fiction.
However, it’s a
series so…Elliot has to believably get involved in another investigation
without reversing the progress achieved in the first book. And because these
books are M/M romance, there has to be believable conflict and strain between
Elliot and Tucker--again without manufacturing some artificial drama that will only
irritate readers.
This is where that
extended cast of characters every series needs becomes invaluable.
Setting up house with his new lover was tricky before
arson landed his former radical father in the guest bedroom. Now ex-FBI agent
Elliot Mills has to figure out who is willing to kill to keep Roland's memoirs
from being published.
All’s well that
ends well in Fair Play. Or close enough. Elliot and Tucker are still
alive and still in love.
But now we come to
the third and final installment and all the loose threads of the first two
books have to be woven into this final tapestry. The story needs to come full
circle--without actually going in circles. That means shaking up some expectations. Maybe even my own!
The basic premise
of Fair Chance:
In an effort to bring closure to grieving families and
loved ones, former FBI agent Elliot Mills allows himself to be drawn into a
final game of cat and mouse with the dangerous psychopath known as the Sculptor.
But when the lead agent on the case, Elliot’s partner Tucker, suddenly
disappears without a trace, the only person with the answers is Elliot’s most
dangerous enemy.
This is the book
where every choice Elliot has previously made comes up for reevaluation and
where everything he holds dears is on the line. This book has to be the payoff
book for fans of the series--while still being involving and interesting to
those readers coming in on the final installment (it’s surprising how many
readers jump in any old where in a series).
While I know what I
think readers will be looking for in this final book, I’m always surprised to
hear the little things readers are hoping to find. That’s where the pressure
comes in. This is it. If I fail to deliver, there’s no do-over in the next
book. Elliot’s life will go on (OR WILL IT??!!) but we will not be peeking
through that particular keyhole anymore.
So while I'd love to
hear from my fellow writers on the challenges of winding up a series, I think I’ll
throw this post open to readers of the series as well.
If you’re a reader
of the All’s Fair series, what are you hoping to find in this final book?
