Angry Readers Hang Author in Effigy

I received this e-mail the other day regarding my latest book, Dead on Arrival.

Why did you end that book like that? When are you going to finish it? I liked the book very much until the last paragraph.

Now, mind you, this is not the first person who made this comment, nor do I expect her to be the last. In fact I’d say I heard the same thing at least six times during my two book signings over the weekend. But truth be told, that is exactly the response I was hoping for. Let me explain.

I absolutely hated the 2nd Pirates of the Caribbean movie. In fact I nearly loathed it. Two reasons. The biggest reason by far, is that I thought the script was incredibly weak and choppy considering that the writers had so much to work with. I’ll go see the next one on the strength of the first movie alone. Had this been the first POC, I would never have bothered to come back.

The second reason is that—in my mind at least—there is a big difference between ending with a cliff hanger and stopping the movie/book halfway through. What was actually wrapped up in the movie? Nothing as far as I can see. The director basically took a five hour movie and stopped it halfway through. Chris Heimerdinger did the same thing with one of his Tennis Shoes books, and I, along with many others was ticked.

I enjoy a multi-part story or a series that carries from one book to another. But I think it is a rip-off to stop a story halfway through and then say, “Wait a year and you can pay to finish.”

I don’t think that’s what I did in my book. At least that wasn’t the intent. I have a specific formula that I am trying to adhere to in my Shandra books.

a) Locked room type of beginning where the reader goes, “How can that possibly be. I sure want to see how the author manages to pull this off.
b) Aha moments where the reader figures some key point just before the author reveals it.
c) Lots of twists and turns.
d) Edge of your seat ending with people in peril.
e) Mystery is wrapped up.
f) Cliffhanger that leads into the next book.

So when people say, “I hate series books because I don’t to be left hanging,” I can say, “Not a problem. Each mystery stands on its own and is a complete story.” However, I want people to have a pressing reason to read the next book. The cliffhangers may not always be as big as the one in this book. But the goal is to have the reader respond exactly as the above reader did. “I loved the book. I wanted more when it stopped. When is the next one coming out?”

To me that is a success. In essence, it is what I try to do with every chapter. And in this case, the story had to end there. I raised a major story line in DOA that can not be resolved satisfactorily in one book. I could have left it hanging or I could have tied it in a neat bow. But to me those are rip-offs. What happens in the last chapter happens because it must.

And the good news for all those angry readers is that Covenant is going to do an early release of the next book. Hopefully late Spring early Summer. The bad news is, expect another cliffhanger.