"Breaking Promises" meets "The Empire Strikes Back"

(published from previous blog, posted May. 2015)

I’ve set the final release date for Breaking Promises (which is two weeks earlier than planned) on May 28, 2015.

So, I feel this is a post I simply MUST make. I feel I should offer all my readers a fair warning. The red flags are up.

I have a dart board attached to my chest.

I am ready to run if I need to. (After all, I have to write that third book.)

Here it goes —-

Breaking Promises does NOT have a happy ending.

There, I said it. Whew!

As I’ve stated in reviews before, authors and readers enter into a contract when 1) the author writes and publishes the book, and 2) the reader picks it up and spends their time reading. The understood result is that the reader will have a great ride while reading but, despite whatever troubles the hero or heroine have along the way, a happily-ever-after will be achieved at the end. Anything less is unsatisfactory.

The exception, of course, are trilogies. Especially, gosh darn it, that second book.

And truthfully, nothing was as disheartening as watching that spaceship with Luke, his arm around Leia, all of us, at least, knowing she was his sister, not knowing what Hans Solo’s fate would be . . . I might cry thinking of it again. (I know – I am showing my age – that might make me cry, too.)

And yet, I, along with everyone else, made darn sure I saw that third movie. And the payoff? It was fabulous!

So, back to my warning. Breaking Promises does NOT end well.

Present wisdom is that each book in a trilogy should be a stand-alone, and each should end on its own merit. There are exceptions to this rule, of course. For example, if you are Suzanne Collins, you can choose to end Catching Fire on a cliffhanger. No one cares, and plenty of people read the third book.

I, of course, am not Suzanne Collins. I have, however, crafted a story that just cannot be told in three take it or leave it chunks. I have a story in my head and the best place to end book two is at a not particularly fun place in the story, especially since no one reads books that are now 900 pages long. (What happened to John Jakes and Anya Seton anyway?)

Please keep in mind, also, that Breaking Promises is not a cliffhanger. The characters have made choices. They are just not choices leading to their happily-ever-after. Not yet, anyhow.

Once all three books are finished, readers can move from one book to the next. I realize that does not help you current readers. I will say, I am making great strides toward getting the 3rd book finished, so you should not have a long wait. If you are wondering whether you should read it now or wait – catch one of my beta readers and ask them. They are pretty honest gals. I am sure they will tell you.

My plan is to be in rewrites by August with a publication date of late fall, early winter – definitely BEFORE the end of the year. I can promise all my readers I am working hard to get it finished, and there is a great chance it will be finished long before then. (After all, I finished Breaking Promises ahead of schedule and with a thousand other things going on at the time as well.)

After all, I remember how hard that wait was for The Return of the Jedi. I know no one wishes to wait THAT long for my third book.

Surely, I can be quicker than George Lucas.

And I am working hard to ensure the payoff is nothing less than stellar.

About Donna

Donna Hechler Porter has always had stories in her head. When they were not swirling and gnawing, she had her head in a history book - both fiction and non-fiction. Now, she puts her love of old things, including her genealogy, to good use by writing both genealogy books and novels. She has published five historical novels, several of which have won awards, four genealogy books on her family history, and several smallish books including a book on the 1778 Big Siege of Fort Boonesborough and a book with tips and tricks for bringing history to life for young people. A graduate of Texas A & M University, she currently teaches middle school English and literature at a small private school east of Houston and runs a private tutoring business. She stops for all garage sales and to collect treasures from the side of the road. She dreams of life in a log cabin in the woods, even as she is addicted to antique and thrift shopping.

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