By
James DiBenedetto (Guest Blogger)
Before
I get started, I want to thank Lisabet for opening up her site to me
today. So, thank you! And also, please read to the end – I’ve
got a giveaway if you comment on this post!
I’m
going to talk a little bit about endings. That’s on my mind now
because I’m in the middle of writing the final book of my Dream
Series. I’ve known since the third book where the series would
end, and what event would be happening. The title of the book is
DREAM WEDDING, so it’s not exactly hard to guess.
There’s
no big, overarching plot in my series – it’s simply about my
heroine, and following her through her life and the challenges she
faces. Still, I knew I was working towards two things as the books
went on. First, bringing them up to the present day (the first book
takes place in 1989-90, and each one jumps ahead). And, second,
bringing her character full circle. The first book of the series
ends with Sara getting ready to graduate from college, and her
boyfriend about to propose to her. By the third book, when we’ve
jumped ahead to 1996, and she’s got a daughter, I knew that the
series had to end with the daughter’s wedding. There have just
been a a few bumps and detours along the way – mainly because Sara
(and her daughter) have the gift (or curse) of being able to visit
other people’s dreams, and that’s led to an awful lot of trouble
for them!
Series
endings are one thing, and individual book endings are something
else. In most of the books, the climax comes a chapter or two before
the end. That leaves quite a bit of space to explore what happens
after the ending, and how Sara and her family feel about what
happened. Mainly, I do that because it’s what I like to read (or
watch, in a movie). We watch a lot of classic movies in my house
(the TV is almost always tuned to Turner Classic Movies), and it’s
striking how many older films end very suddenly. There’s the
climax, the main conflict is resolved, and then THE END, roll the
credits (except often there weren’t even credits at the end at all,
until the 1950’s). Today’s movies are different – we often get
a voiceover or a montage or even full scenes after the credits,
letting us know what happened after the story ended. On some TV
series, we get whole episodes that come after the climax to a
season-long story, and sometimes mini-episodes on the web to follow
up on subplots that didn’t get wrapped up.
If
I like a story, If I’ve come to know and love the characters (or
even love to hate them, sometimes), then I want to know more. I
don’t want to leave them. And I guess I’ve carried that through
in my books, too. And if I’ve spent several hours, or several
hundred pages, engrossed in a story, I don’t want it to all be
wrapped up quickly, in the last two minutes or ten pages.
I
don’t know if I’ve managed to get the endings right in my books –
I have to leave that to the reader to decide. I’ll also leave you
with a sneak peek at my upcoming book, #10 in the Dream Series, DREAM
WEDDING
****
Seth
Taylor is a senior at Crewe University, and he lives in the same dorm
she does, two floors above her. He’s also been her on-and-off
boyfriend for most of her three and a half years at college, and to
hear Lizzie tell it it’s been a lot more on than off since their
senior year began in September. If he weren’t smiling – although
the smile is becoming more nervous with each passing second – I’d
wonder if he was here to deliver bad news about my daughter.
“No,
Dr. Alderson. She doesn’t know I’m here. It’s – it’s a
surprise.” Yes, it is. Especially because Lizzie isn’t flying
home until Wednesday, two days from now.
I
let that pass. I also let it pass that it’s a little bit
presumptuous to show up unannounced on our doorstep and expect me to
find a spare bed for him for two nights. Not that I have any problem
with him visiting, or sleeping in Ben’s room for a couple of
nights. He’s done it enough times the last four years he’s known
Lizzie, after all. Still, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to
expect some advance notice.
I
put all that aside. “It’s Sara. Please. How many times do I
have to tell you that?” I gesture for him to sit, and he does, but
he can’t quite meet my eyes.
“I’m
sorry I didn’t call ahead, Doctor.” I’ve never known him to be
this nervous. Granted, I don’t know him that well, but he’s
always struck me as a very confident young man. “I didn’t want –
I mean, it’s not the kind of thing you do over the phone. And I
didn’t want her sister to find out and tell her. I want it to be a
surprise.”
I
have no idea what he’s…
Yes,
I do. What was I just saying to myself? More on than off? I think
he’s about to tell me that it’s about as “on” as you can get.
****
DREAM
WEDDING isn’t out yet, or even up for pre-order, but you can find
the rest of the books in the series on Amazon at:
What’s
the series about?
Sara
Barnes thought her life was perfectly ordinary – until the night
she began stepping into other people’s dreams.
Follow
Sara as she learns to cope with this extraordinary gift (or curse).
The first three books of the series are:
DREAM
STUDENT
It’s
bad enough that, thanks to her supernatural talent, Sara is learning
more than she ever needed to know about her friends and classmates,
watching their most secret fantasies whether she wants to or not.
Much worse are the other dreams, the ones she sees nearly every
night, featuring a strange, terrifying man who commits unspeakable
crimes. Now Sara wonders if she’s the only witness to a serial
killer – and the only one who knows when and where he’s going to
strike next.
DREAM
DOCTOR
Medical
school and life as a newlywed would be enough by themselves for
anybody to handle. But Sara’s got another problem – her dreams
have started up again. Almost everyone at the medical school is
dreaming about the death of the school’s least popular teacher, Dr.
Morris, and once again, Sara finds herself in the role of unwilling
witness to a murder before it happens. But this time, there are too
many suspects to count, and it doesn’t help matters that she hates
Dr. Morris every bit as much as any of his would-be murderers do.
DREAM
CHILD
Sara
thought she had made peace with her dreaming talent, but she’s got
a surprise coming: her four-year-old daughter has inherited it, too.
Unraveling
a mystery with lives on the line is difficult enough under the best
of circumstances. But when Sara has to view all the evidence through
the eyes – and dreams - of a toddler, it may be an impossible task.
As
for me, I live in Arlington, Virginia with my lovely wife and Danny,
a white cat who’s trained us both. I’m originally from Yonkers,
New York. I love the New York Giants, fondue, photography, travel,
the opera and I’m a huge science-fiction and fantasy geek.
You
can follow me at:
My
website – http://www.writingdreams.net
Facebook
– https://www.facebook.com/DreamSeriesBooks
Twitter
– https:twitter.com/JJDiBenedetto
Last
but not least, here’s the giveaway. Comment on this post for a
chance to win: an ebook or audiobook box set of the first three Dream
Series books; a USB drive with all the books loaded onto it; and a
signed paperback copy of the Dream Series book of your choice (that’s
three separate prizes for three winners!) Be sure to include your email address in the comment so I can find you!
10 comments:
Thanks for having me today!
Sounds like some really good books.
slpetera@yahoo.com
interesting sounding series
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
Endings are very important. I do like it when book endings help to lead into the next in the series - not cliffhangers though.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thanks for sharing.
leighannecrisp at Yahoo dot Com
Thanks for sharing.
leighannecrisp at Yahoo dot Com
Hello, James,
Welcome back to Beyond Romance! What do you have planned for the next series, now that you've wrapped this one up?
Good question! I've got one story that I have a start on - something in the tone of "Romancing the Stone", if I can make it work. I've got a couple of other ideas, but that's all they are so far - I'll have to see which ones have some life to them.
This sounds like an amazing series. I have to admit I've never read any of the books in the Dream Series but I will correct that oversight. I've noted them to be next on my must read list.
Thank you for the wonderful contest.
orelukjp0 at gmail dot com
OK, so here are the winners!
The signed paperback copy goes to Sharon Baker
The USB key with the complete set of ebooks goes to orelukjp0@gmail.com
The ebook or audiobook box set goes to Melissa Crisp
and Mary Preston and bn100candg@hotmail.com will get the first two books as ebooks, as a consolation prize.
Thanks all for entering!
Post a Comment
Let me know your thoughts! (And if you're having trouble commenting, try enabling third-party cookies in your browser...)