#request response
Starting with the end in mind
One of my favorite aspects of the “Enemies of Creed” series is the fact that the climax of the series isn’t focused on “taking down the bad guy,” or “winning the war.” It’s not even about achieving peace.
It’s about the protagonists developing the strength and fortitude to stand together in the war that’s coming. It’s about establishing a foothold strong enough to act as a refuge and relief for the innocent bystanders caught in the middle of the conflict. It’s about having the courage to keep humanity, integrity, and compassion intact, even if that means choosing to be on the defensive instead of charging ahead on the offensive.
I can tell you right now that the series doesn’t end with the main villain dead, imprisoned, or even really weakened. In many ways, the climax of the series sees the antagonist at the peak of his power. But it’s not a “sad” or “dark” ending either. Because despite the antagonist being at the height of his power and resources, the protagonists have grown and developed to the point where they can still stand against him and defend the people they care about without fear.
The whole series centers on building up to a great conflict on the horizon. And the journey of the protagonists (even if they don’t realize it for the majority of the series) isn’t to prevent that conflict or put a definitive end to it, but to prepare and fortify themselves so they will be equal to it.
That is what a “happy ending” looks like in the “Enemies of Creed” series. And since that’s not what many readers expect, I figured I’d help adjust those expectations upfront.
At this point you might be asking, “Why should I still read these stories if you’ve just said how the series ends?”
To which I would reply, “Because the real fun is in seeing how they get there, and what it all looks like when they arrive. Want to come along for the ride?”
Oh, in case I forgot to mention this already:
Do NOT assume the @enemiesofcreed blog is going to be spoiler-free.
Because I can tell you right now that some posts are going to be downright spoilerific!
(Plus I’m terrible at keeping secrets, and I believe that most of the enjoyment in my books come from the fun of the journey. Shocking readers with twist endings and saving major surprises for the conclusion isn’t really my thing.)
On that last point, I’m sure there’s plenty of people (like me) who’d rather go into said journey for the first time with no spoilers and not know the ending when possible, as such spoilers do lessen the experience for us. Some people don’t have that preference - certainly you exemplify that - but some do nonetheless.
Since many @enemiesofcreed posts are gonna be full of spoilers, I imagine readers of the series who share my spoiler preferences would request and appreciate unmissable spoiler warnings at the top of posts spoiling details of unreleased novels, and perhaps “keep reading” links to separate the spoilers from those who’d avoid them, if that’s not too much trouble.
That’s an understandable request, and whenever I create a post on my computer, I will likely use “Keep Reading” links for several reasons (like the fact that I can go back and edit/update the content whenever I want to) but unfortunately that’s not an option when I create the post on the mobile app.
I will be sure to include spoiler warnings at the top in the future, but there’s a specific reason I didn’t for this first post: As the author, I genuinely want the reader to be aware of the ending from the very beginning (though not necessarily the specifics.)
I haven’t figured out exactly how to include it in the opening narrative yet (which is why it’s not there in any of the current chapters) but it is my intention to add a brief prologue that gives readers a glimpse of the climax/conclusion before they even get to chapter 1 of the first book.
This kind of narrative hook that aims to draw the reader in by starting with a peek at the ending is nothing new. A classic example of this is the narrator in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet basically summarizing the entire premise and ending as the very first lines of the play. A more modern example is in Disney’s Tangled and the opening line, “This is the story of how I died…”
I guess what I’m saying is that I hear you, and I’m not going to be reckless with my sharing of story details that really are spoilers and will negativity impact the narrative experience by sharing those elements too soon, out of context, or otherwise delivered in a way that would spoil a satisfying payoff. I don’t want to ruin my own books after all!
But I also want to reassure you that the information I just shared is not going to do that. I genuinely believe that as a reader, access to this information early on will help with framing expectations and focusing the lens of what to look for and pay attention to.
I really want readers to be aware early on that this isn’t MEANT to be a story about dudebros who form a posse and solve every problem by beating down a Dark Lord. It’s meant to be a story that finds its happy ending, not in definitively solving every obstacle the characters face, but by becoming strong enough to face the never-ending challenges that are part of life.
Because seven books is a LOT to write, and if/when a reader gets to the end of that journey, I really want them to feel satisfied that the ending delivered what was promised to them from the very beginning.
