I love this quote:
“Writing fiction is a solitary occupation but not really a lonely one. The writer’s head is mobbed with characters, images and language, making the creative process something like eavesdropping at a party for which you’ve had the fun of drawing up the guest list. Loneliness usually doesn’t set in until the work is finished, and all the partygoers and their imagined universe have disappeared.”
Don’t you feel lonely when you kiss your characters goodbye? I sure do.
The minute I finish a book, by that I mean, complete all my edits and re-reads and finalize my upload… I miss the characters. I miss them terribly. For the duration of the book they’ve been my companions, my friends, a part of me. I know them inside and out.
So yes, loneliness does set in after I finish a book. It’s almost a period of mourning. I can’t focus on another work for, well, for a while. The length of time is different for every set of characters.
Mari and Ekkatt from Captured really did a number on me. So did Eva and Gabe in Beauty and the Feast. Sara and Nathan in Incorporeal. Issa and Kane from Daughters of Persephone, Book Three, Reborn, blew me away. I missed those two something awful. Oh, that book’s coming soon!
Anyway, yeah, it hurts to let them go.
What a great quote. It really nails a writer’s life. It is sad to see them go. I have a hard time starting a new book right away because of this.
Holy Macarena! THAT COVER IS AMAZING! Have you posted it before?
I think we may be seeing one reason for the popularity of ongoing series with recurring characters. That way, and author doesn’t have to say goodbye to their beloved characters (and neither do the readers, but that may be a secondary concern here).
Oh, yeah, know that feeling well, Julia. And that is a GREAT cover.
Beautiful cover!
It’s so hard to let favorite characters go. A few have been a bit haunting or clingy, so maybe that means they have more stories to tell.
XXOO Kat
That’s a good word, Kat, haunting. Some characters do have more to say. And thanks!
Thanks, Jaye! I suspect it’s a common feeling among writers.
Maybe, Aaron, although I think it has more to do with the audience than the author. I love a limited series - if a series goes on and on it tends to die a slow painful death.
Not for a while, Penny, but thanks!
I know, Amber. I feel kind of down after I finish a book and send it off into the wild.
Can’t comment on this one
But I too like the cover, I do like a pretty lady ……..
Ah, but Tom, I bet you miss some of your favorite characters when you finish a great book! And thanks.
Gorgeous cover! I never let my characters go. I re-read my books every year. And fall back in love with them. You don’t have to give them up…
What a lovely cover and the model is gorgeous. BTW - made your eggplant parm - nom nom nom!
Try living with characters for 12 years - because you’re a slow writer (among other things).
They won’t leave me alone! Not sure they ever will. They come into my dreams and talk to me, leave messages in my subconscious, and pester the muse with suggestions.
They have actually reached the status my own children did when they were teens: ‘Okay guys, you’ve dominated my life long enough - get on with your life (college, job) and let me get back to mine.’
The only solution? Finish the darned thing. And be quicker next time.
Thanks, Anny! I think it’s wonderful that you re-read your books. I can’t. Not sure why. Maybe I’m still in mourning? My husband re-reads them though!
Thanks Steph and I’m so excited it turned out! It did turn out, right? What did you use in place of bread crumbs?
Hi Abe. Yes, you have hit on the solution - finish it, quick! My characters keep up the poking until I finish. I think I’m slow, but Jaye tells me I’m fast.