Happy Endings, with Rebecca of Dirty Sexy Books (no commas)
Happily Ever Afters
(Julia) Typically, literary fiction does not require a happily ever after. For that matter, there is no requirement that literary fiction have a definite ending, period. On the other hand, when it comes to genre fiction, romance in particular, a happily ever after or a happy for now is de rigueur. It’s not only readers who demand a happy ending, publishers of romance require it. Is it necessary for the author of a romance novel to wrap up a story in pretty paper and tie it with a neat little bow? Is this always what readers want? Is there an audience for a romantic story with an ambiguous ending?
(Rebecca) This is a bit of a chicken and egg question, because most readers would say that it cannot be called a romance unless it has a happily-ever-after ending, however I think we romance fans are softening on this hard stance. I think a lot of fans are after “slow simmer” romances that evolve over several installments, and I hope this trend continues, but it does mean that authors need some freedom to end books on break-ups, fuck-ups, and all manner of grand miscommunications.
(Julia) Urban fantasy is an example of a sub-genre that often crosses over into the romance, yet it allows for some ambiguity in the same way literary fiction does. Why? In the end, when a series is spent, must every urban fantasy meet it’s happily ever after as well?
(Rebecca) By taking cover under the popularity of urban fantasy, I think some romance writers have found the freedom they need to craft their stories without committing to a hard and fast happily-ever-after ending on every single book.
Two successful examples of “slow simmer” romances come to mind: Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series and Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunters series. In both series the first installment has everything a die-hard romance fan could ask for, but both books end with the couple separated somehow (sorry, I’m trying not to be spoilerish!). To see the couple reunited, we had to wait for book two, and I don’t know about you, but I had to read the second installment in these series ASAP.
To answer your last question above, yes, I think most fans expect urban fantasy series to end on a high note, even if every book in between is filled with doom and gloom. If you want to piss off your fan-base, take them on a roller coaster ride, and then drop the couple off a cliff at the end. No one will be pleased.
(Julia) So, in other words, a series provides an author a little more freedom to create conflict, in a sense, delay gratification for her characters, yet the audience can still anticipate a satisfying resolution for the main parties involved? This usually means a cliffhanger. I’ve heard many readers complain about cliffhangers, especially when they have to wait a year or longer for the next installment. So the obvious question is, how do you feel about cliffhangers?
(Rebecca) I think some authors go overboard with cliffhangers and that’s where the disgruntled fans come in. I recall having a bad reaction to the ending in Glass Houses by Rachel Caine. It’s the first book in her Morganville Vampires series, and it literally ends in the middle of a pivotal moment. I can quote the last sentence without being spoilerish (I think), and you tell me if you’d like to see a book end right here: “They all screamed as the knife came down.”
That’s the last sentence! I have to buy the next book to find out what happens, and I never did because it left such a bad taste in my mouth. I felt like the author was toying with me, and not in a good way.
So no, that’s not my preferred kind of cliffhanger, but that’s not to say they’re all bad. I think the best writers close books in the lull before the storm. There needs to be some sense of closure and peace at the end of each book, but there also needs to be a premonition that trouble is brewing on the horizon. It’s a tricky thing to pull off. Think Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back. Luke just got his butt kicked by his *gasp* father, and he’s on the medical ship being fitted for a fake hand. The final shot of that film is like a breather between what has happened, and what will come. It’s the perfect balance between closure and anticipation.
(Julia) I like that concept…a moment of peace in between story installments, or story arcs, sort of a brief intermission. Two things leave a bad taste in my mouth as well - a story that ends in the middle of the action or the climax, forcing me to wait for the author to pick up the action according to the publisher’s or the author’s timetable, or remaining loyal to a series for the long haul, only to have the characters come to a tragic end, or perhaps worse…run out of steam.
Thanks so much for being my guest, Rebecca!
(Rebecca) It was a pleasure Julia. Thanks for inviting me to stand on your soap box.
You can read more of Rebecca’s opinions, reviews and thoughts on her site, Dirty Sexy Books: http://dirtysexybooks.com/
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November 15th, 2010 at 8:14 am
What a great discussion. I happen to like a book that ends on a sadder note and then leads me into the next book and satisfies my happy for now idea. I don’t always want to see the bended knee scenerio, but I do like to know that the boy gets the girl. Thanks for the article. It re-affirmed some of what I love.
November 15th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Yes, I generally like my endings happy - not necessarily tied up in a neat little package, but hopeful.
Off to the coast…be back later!
November 15th, 2010 at 9:25 am
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November 15th, 2010 at 9:42 am
I’m chatting about the whole series thing at my blog today as well. I guess it’s on all our minds.
I would be less than pleased with a book that ended “and they screamed …” Chapter yes. Book no. That would irk me enough not to buy the next book. I really don’t like it when series go all commercial (JK Rowling) and prattle on … just because they can. I want a story to be resolved even if the love portion isn’t. But don’t drag it on too long or you’ll lose me as well. It’s definitely a tightrope authors walk with their publishers and readers.
November 15th, 2010 at 9:42 am
I need happy endings to make sense. I resent a rushed happy ending graphed onto the the last page of a high conflict romance, it hurts the credibly of the characters. I suppose I need to be assured the couple can find happiness to believe it…
XXOO Kat
November 15th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Hi Julia - I just realized that we didn’t even get to talk about Epilogue endings, where they fast-forward 10 years and show the happy couple with a passel of kids. Those kind of peeve me off. I prefer to know that they’re on the road to a good life together, but I don’t need to have it spelled out for me.
November 15th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Great post! For me, one great example of a series that does not have an HEA at the end of every installment, but works on the slow simmer scale, is Karen Marie Moning’s Darkfever series. This series is probably more urban fantasy than romance, but KMM started as a romance writer. Her Darkfever series is fantastic at the slow simmer. And the end promises to be well worth the wait (5 books worth!)
November 15th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Great discussion. I love cliffhangers if the next book is already out. I tend to avoid buying a book if I hear that it has a clifhanger until the series is finished.
November 15th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Claudia that is interesting about KMM because that Highlander PNRs do end in a pretty package but always after all is lost first.
Julia, My smutty mind thought a discussion about happy endings would take hmm a dirtier path. But it is interesting that YA PNR like Shiver/Linger, The Iron Fey series, and the my Soul to Take, Save, etc. doesn’t always end happily during a series. Hopefully yes, but often tearfully.
And, Cliffhangers are cruel, cheap devices for marketing series. I almost lost it at the end of the New Moon film, I waited patiently for Bella’s reaction and then the credits were running …..
JRB - BTW I want one of those apples. The harvest here was not very good this year.
Those look amahzing!
November 15th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Kat - always! The ending needs to make sense. That’s an absolute.
Claudia - I have issues with KMM’s Darkfever series because of the cliffhangers. I love her Highlanders though, I suppose because each book stands alone. I think of Darkfever as much more Urban Fantasy.
Ciara - I kind of tend to do the same thing…wait until all the books are out then start the series.
Hey Steph - Those apples are perfect! I was willing to wait for all the installments of Lord of the Rings, though - such a great series (and books)!
I saw that, Nina. I guess great minds think alike! The Harry Potter series lost me after the first few books. I was enthralled by the innocence early on, then lost the devil in the extensive details.
November 15th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Hi Rebecca! Your comment got spammed! Found it.
I actually wrote one epilogue for one couple. After the awful things that had happened to them both separately and together, I felt they deserved another look - a year after the end of the story. I think I loved them so much, I didn’t want to let them go. So Ben and Grace got an epilogue in My Everything. I just really really wanted things to work out for them.
November 15th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Interesting and thought provoking discussion!
November 15th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Hello my dear Anny. I hear your weather is lovely! Yes, happy endings have been an interesting topic of discussion over at one of my pubs.
November 16th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Interesting, indeed.