I did not set out to make the Jack and Sara Story into the
Major Saga it has become. As a reader, I like series mind you. Ones with a
defined beginning and an end, although the word “series” implies “never ending.”
Television shows are called “series” because they can stretch on for years,
like M*A*S*H or Dallas (which is back and more explicit than ever) or any
number of the daytime soap operas. There
are writers whose main job is to concoct yet more dilemmas and conflicts to
resolve for these shows, and who are tasked with keeping it fresh—their express
purpose being to Never Let It End.
Book series are slightly different in that most of them do
end, even if readers are loathe to hear that news. There are a few that stretch
on, based on reader response (read: “sales”) of the current books and some that
may never end because apparently the world simply cannot have enough Sookie
Stackhouse (yes I know the next one is supposedly The End), or Stephanie Plum,
or Miss Marple for that matter (the death of the author is a sure way to “end”
a series but we won’t go there today).
What happened to me, as the creator of the Stewart Realty
gang, was that after the first 3 books were so well received (despite their
unfortunate timing dovetail with a Much More Popular Trilogy) I decided that
one of the side characters (Blake Thornton, Sara’s overprotective, adorable,
bi-sexual brother) needed his story told. Essence of Time (the 4th
book) has been one of the most positively reviewed to date, and has won several
reader’s choice awards and, recently an E-Lit bronze medal for erotic fiction.
I have let the characters in these books demand a fair bit
from me, I’ll admit it. The next book (Conditional Offer, book 5) was “Craig
and Suzanne’s story” because, frankly, once you hear HER backstory you will
really want her to find some peace in life. Then I had to pick up the threads
of the rather distressing ending of Essence of Time, which I did with
Escalation Clause (book 6) which also gave me the opportunity to tell Jack’s
sister’s tale. Maureen was such a cool chick throughout the other books. And so
she got her story along with the “aftermath” of book 4.
For the current novel, Mutual Release (book 7), I went in a
slightly different direction. It is written as a stand alone novel, and nearly
every reviewer has agreed that knowledge of the previous books is completely
unnecessary for the enjoyment of this one. While it is Yet Another Secondary
Character tale, it’s more than that. I take Evan Adams (one of Jack’s friends
from law school) and his wife Julie (you already know they are together IF you
have read the first 3 books) back to their teenage years, and show what shaped
them into the adults they are when they meet in their thirties. It is a coming
of age tale without a doubt, for both of them. It serves is a great intro as
well, because you see glimpses of Jack, Sara, Rob and some others and I hope
will want to know more about them by going back and reading books one through six.
But I got to thinking about our man John Patrick (Jack)
Gordon along the way and realized I had told a lot of his backstory…but through
everyone else’s eyes. Jack is hands-down the most beloved/reviled character in
this series. He’s meant to be. He’s the glue holding everyone together. He’s
the guy who befriends Rob and Suzanne in undergrad, Evan in law school and of
course, when he ends up tied in with Blake and later Craig because of Sara, his
circle is pretty complete. I felt remiss
about not giving him his full due. So I wrote the House Rules novella (it’s
about 30,000 words) as homage to Jack and as a gift to my fans. We will offer
this book free of charge on the publisher’s site in June and for just .99 on
all the other sites.
And now, not only do I feel that Jack has been treated
fairly, I also have a much better sense of how to end this thing. Because an
ending is coming. Good Faith, book 8, releases November 13, 2013 (I will be
doing a book signing and reading from several of the books at the Ann Arbor
Barnes & Noble store on Nov. 16). I don’t let my characters live in their
perpetual thirties or even forties. Jack, Sara, Rob, Lila, Evan, Julie, Mo,
Rafe, Craig and Suzanne all age, and they all have kids. These kids have spent
a lot of time together through their lives and end up staying somewhat
intertwined. One of them, Brandis, Jack and Sara’s son, looks to be a sort of
“tie them together” personality like his father. Unfortunately, he has
inherited some of his parents’ less favorable traits as well, and for a while
it seems he will be a much more negative catalyst for many of them. He’s a
type-A, driven, athletic young man—with very addictive tendencies. I explore
them all, including those who try to help but become enablers by the end.
Writing The End of this series will be a challenge for me
personally. I want to make sure that I have completed the trajectory of my
beloved characters’ later years in a way that gives each character closure, as
well as stay true to my conviction that the “happily ever after” is a myth—at
least in my books. That true happiness is in the journey, the struggle, the
failures and the triumphs, and finally, the satisfaction that your “what
happens after” is something you feel is your legacy. This book will be that—the legacy story. The
end will be bittersweet on many levels. I have even done something as a writer
I have never attempted in the creation of 20 or so books because of it: I wrote
the ending, just last night, so I could get it out of my head.I needed to accept
it with the knowledge of its “rightness” for the characters, and then fill it
in from that, backwards.
Not all series are meant to end. I am enjoying Game of
Thrones in print and on television and that is a prime example of a guy who has
no intention of ending a saga. But Jack and Sara’s tale will end. In the
meantime I welcome you to join the journey with me.
Synopsis: It takes a wealth of collected
experiences, emotions, successes and failures to craft the personality of a
true Alpha Male
Jack
Gordon, real estate broker, licensed builder, Juris Doctorate, has had his fair
share of strife. His ability to cope, to fall down and pick himself back up has
lead him to a place where he believes he has it all. Friends, money, cars, more
women than he can count, and a club in Detroit where he can exorcise his inner
demons, fill his days and his nights.
When
he walks up to a penthouse door on a hot Ann Arbor summer afternoon,
frustrated, exasperated and ready to call it quits after hours of condo
shopping with a wealthy couple, the last thing on his mind is meeting his
destiny.
House
Rules: The Jack Gordon Story. A prequel novella of the Stewart Realty Series.
Bio: Microbrewery owner, best-selling author, beer blogger
and journalist, mom of three teenagers, and soccer fan, Liz lives in the great
Midwest, in a major college town. Years of experience in sales and fund
raising, plus an eight-year stint as an ex-pat trailing spouse, plus making her
way in a world of men (i.e. the beer industry), has prepped her for life as a
successful author.
When she isn’t sweating
inventory and sales figures for the brewery, she can be found writing, editing
or implementing promotions for her latest publications. Her groundbreaking literary fiction subgenre,
“reality fiction,” has gained thousands of fans and followers who are
interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”)
Her beer blog a2beerwench.com is nationally recognized for its insider yet outsider
views on the craft beer industry. Her books are set in the not-so-common worlds
of breweries, on the soccer pitch and in high-powered real estate offices.
Don’t ask her for anything “like” a Budweiser or risk painful injury.
