I've been over the moon about the wonderful reviews coming in for Nightshade. Thank you so much to the thoughtful readers taking time to share their thoughts on my book - I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate it. It's hard to believe that Nightshade is actually being read by real people (other than my mom, hi mom!) and that they like it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I'm flattered that so many reviewers and tweets talk about how much Nightshade leaves readers dying for book 2 - Wolfsbane. If you haven't heard it already, I'm here to tell you it's true; I leave you hanging by a thread at the end of book one. While it means the world to me that the end of Nightshade leaves readers so excited for Wolfsbane, I want to assure I didn't create a cliffhanger for the sake of being cruel.
Endings have been on my mind lately because I'm finishing up book 3 - Bloodrose - the only book of the three which does not end on a cliffhanger because, well, it's the final book of this trilogy. Also because Mockingjay, the ending we're all biting our nails to read, will soon be here!!! The conclusion of Catching Fire was one of my favorite, screech-inducing, cliffhangers ever. I guarantee I'll be up all night reading the night the Hunger Games finale is out.
I'm here to tell you that I don't write cliffhanger endings just to torture readers until they get their hands on the next book. Cliffhangers bring about the end of one plot arc while teasing into the beginning of the next. Nightshade, the trilogy, is a tale that spins out the lives of characters over the course of three novels. Each book has its own plot arc but all three arcs come together to create the entirety of the story - with each novel coming in around 400 pages, should all three installments come at once, you'd have a 1200 page novel. Though such books exist, breaking up the characters' journey into three connected, but distinct, pieces is a lot more manageable.
So I hope you'll forgive me when I string you along - I hope you'll find the wait well worth it, and know that there's a method to my madness.
