The End of the Series

**** A few spoilers ahead  … You might not want to read if you have not read the previous books in the series****

 

The End.

Those were the hardest words to type, not only at the end of Ryan and Beth’s book (Unbreakable Beauty), but throughout the whole series. And there have been a lot of things I have written throughout the series. The aftermath of Sam’s attack in Unexpected Beauty. The aftermath of Connor getting shot in Chaotic Beauty. Aiden telling Allie what happened to him when he was younger, her doing the same, finding out what happened to Elizabeth after Aiden left her and also what happened to her at the end of Changed Beauty. There have been many things I have written that have made me cry, made me feel gutted and sick for days, but nothing quite like writing “The End” at the end of this story.

Because it is the end.

For years I have had Samantha and Liam, Connor and Riley, Aiden and Allie, and Ryan and Elizabeth in my head. Having conversations, getting into fights, getting themselves into trouble, loving, being happy – all of it. They felt real – and in some way that is hard to explain – they are real for me. And maybe they always will be. But knowing that it’s the end – I still feel a bit sad by the final few words of the story.

It’s taken me TWO WEEKS to sit and write that I am done. Normally I would have been shouting it to the world by now (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, out the windows of my house) – I would have been elated , I would have felt like I owned the world – and maybe eventually I will feel like that. Maybe on the day of publication I’ll feel celebratory … Or maybe it will be even harder at that time because I can’t go back and change anything then. At least now before edits and during edits I still get to play in their world. But soon I won’t be. Soon it won’t just be the end – soon I will have to let them go…

And I don’t know how I feel about that.

I always knew that there would be a Samantha and a Liam, I knew Connor would have his own story, I knew Aiden would too … but Ryan? He wasn’t a character in my head until I wrote him on the page. But as soon as I did – as soon as Liam had a best-friend with that “interesting” reputation that was talked about so eloquently by Connor (ha-ha) I knew Ryan would most likely (definitely) get a book. And now he has one.

And it’s my favorite.

I guess it should be my favorite considering it’s the last one in this series, I’ve been writing scenes for Ryan since book one, then even more scenes for him once I wrote Elizabeth into book two and I knew without a doubt that they’d be together (it’s been a LONG time coming – and for me the anticipation was huge) …

But you all know that for a long time, no matter who came before, or who came after, Connor’s been my favorite male … I’ve not been shy about saying that … but Ryan? With Elizabeth? Hands down favorite couple! And Ryan may have edged out Connor for the top spot of my characters. Did I just write that? Did I? I almost feel like hitting the backspace button … but I am keeping what I just said … because Ryan definitely is something special. And together with his Beth … ahhhhhh!

But it’s not just them …

In this book we get to see all the couples, what they’re doing now, hints at what they’ll be doing in the future – this book is just different all around when the couples are together … This book just has a feel about it … It has *all the feels* … And that’s what probably makes this so much harder on me…

But I am not giving anything away. You’ll have to read and see if you agree – about all of it!

This has been a long journey… not just for me … but for you too!

But it’s not over.

I didn’t know where I would be at the end of this book. I knew the series was ending. I knew that Sam and Liam’s, Connor and Riley’s, Aiden and Allie’s, and Beth and Ryan’s journey to love and happily-ever-after would be done. But what next? That has already been running through my mind … what next … what now?

For years I have been harboring ideas for other stories … great ideas at the time … but nothing felt *right* when I was getting to the end of Ryan and Beth’s story – all their stories. I have been living in my character’s world for such a long time, I have fallen in love with them as they have fallen in love, I’ve gone on their roller-coaster rides of life with them – I needed something that screamed at me, that fought with me, something that made me fall hard and fast, something that made me say without a doubt – write my story … Because writing a story? It doesn’t only take most of the hours of the day for months at a time – it takes over everything! For months at a time my life becomes my writing … which means giving up a lot. These characters have to be worth it. Because I put a lot on hold for it. What I had in my head before, while seeming like amazing ideas … I knew they weren’t. Not anymore. Not after Sam and Liam. Connor and Riley. Allie and Aiden. And definitely not after Ryan and Beth … And the ending!

I needed more.

I needed something – someone – more than one someone even – to give me ALL the feelings inside of me that I needed, to know that *this* story is *the one.*

I didn’t think it would happen. I thought I would just wait it out until something popped in my head. Which was fine by me. I needed a break anyway. I needed to live some life outside of my writing cave.

But then I wrote about a certain someone in Ryan and Beth’s story. A character that came out of nowhere. I had no notes written about him. No name. No characteristics. Nothing. Until I started that chapter and there he was – it just …happened. I didn’t even know that he would actually have that much dialogue … and then there he was being “that” character.

A character I completely wanted to dive into.

He became a character who knows a few of the main ones from The Beauty Series – but he doesn’t hang out with them frequently, he’s not really connected. He’s someone who isn’t family or a really good friend. He doesn’t run in the same circles. He has no known past already out there (like Ryan, Aiden, or Beth who went into their books with a huge past, or Connor and Riley who already started dating and had a foundation). He doesn’t have a past yet. We don’t truly know anything about him. And we know nothing about *her*. We’ve never met the woman whose going to tangle with him and steal his heart yet!

Well, I have … but you haven’t!

These characters are going to be the main characters in my next book. YES – next book! As in I already started writing this book while I was writing Unbreakable Beauty. As soon as I wrote that character in, I started asking myself who is he – what’s his story … and at the end of that specific chapter in Unbreakable Beauty I created a new document and started writing the first chapter of Winter.

I have a few chapters already written for Winter … though I did put it on hold for a bit because like I said … writing “The End” for Unbreakable Beauty kind of drained me a bit.

And now … because of what I just said/revealed … I think I need to mention it again, or clarify things a bit and say that Winter has nothing to do with The Beauty Series other than the fact that we meet the main character in Unbreakable and he knows a few people from years ago … So this book is NOT a part of the series.

But … I can see how things might arise in the future … because as I sit here and type this my head is creating scenarios of how those words might come around and bite me in the ass one day …

So maybe we can call it a spin-off series???? How about that????

Because as I said, The Beauty Series is at an end. They are over. Sam, Liam, Connor, Riley, Allie, Aiden, Beth, and Ryan’s stories are told. No matter how much it hurts, how unbelievable it is, no matter how much I would love to write them forever – they are done.

And some new stuff is beginning.

And while I have mixed feelings about all of it, letting go and moving on – there are good and exciting feelings mixed in there too … so I know wherever this leads … it will be good!

And even though I stopped for a bit writing Winter, I hope to get back to it soon … Just like I hope to get editing soon on Ryan and Beth. (And I actually mean that this time! Normally I HATE editing – even thinking about editing – but this is the first time I can recall that I am actually looking forward to jumping into the story again!)

I’d love Beth and Ryan’s story to be in your hands soon! We’ll see … I don’t actually have a release date hammered out yet – when I know, you’ll know! I know it’s definitely going to be this year ! So there’s that! I am thinking this summer! Most likely late summer depending upon edits.

I’d also love for Winter to be done this year too and for you to have that in your hands by the end of the year … but once again with edits on Unbreakable Beauty and then writing Winter plus life in general … we’ll see! But it’s my goal! * More info will definitely be coming about – the spin-off series? are we going to really be calling it that? – soon!

But back to edits, and Ryan and Beth. I can tell you that Unbreakable Beauty is not as long as Changed Beauty – that was basically two books in one (seriously, the total amount of words and pages was at least two books) – but it is a bit longer than books 1&2 … at least for now. We’ll see after edits. But my point is – edits shouldn’t take forever for this one!

Unlike the last few months I’ll try and do a better job to keep you posted.  And also start getting out a lot of teasers! I know that’s something I did a lot of while writing Changed Beauty … but I have been awful for this book! But I was writing and writing … And now … Yes, once again … It’s the end!

And I still cannot believe it!

Over these next few weeks I plan on editing like I said, doing teasers, setting up some promotions, working on a book cover, updating my website … and of course, continue writing more of the next book.

It should be a busy next few weeks – next few months. But the more I think about it the more excited I am getting … so maybe I can finally get over the fact that it’s “The End” and start realizing I am starting a new beginning. A new chapter. A new everything!

Anyway … I hope to not be so much of a stranger.

Soooo…

Until next time … Happy Reading!

****And keep a look out for my cover reveal, an exclusive excerpt of Unbreakable Beauty that I will be posting soon, and also a description of the final book in this series! And MAYBE I’ll also post a bit more about Winter!