Bilbo Baggins
With Legends of Windemere: Warlord of the Forgotten Age, I’ve been thinking a lot about goodbyes. There are the ones I’m giving to characters that I’ll never write again for various reasons. There are those that are being said or unsaid between the characters inside the book. I kind of imagined ending a series wouldn’t be so different from ending a book, but it really is. You have to pack away so much and say goodbye to something that has been a semi-constant or full-constant in your life. Shouldn’t be surprising that this makes one think of partings and goodbyes.
This is where I would normally talk about the journey, but I’ve written many guest posts for other blogs on this. In such detail that I may have drained myself before getting to my own. It’s become a foggy situation too. Legends of Windemere began in 1998 under a different name, but it was the same story with Luke Callindor stumbling into his first adventure. All those outlines, character bios, edits, games, brainstorming sessions with friends willing to listen, first drafts, and submission letters are already feeling like they were done by a different person. I mean, here we are in 2017 with 15 volumes out in the world. That’s actually nearly half of my current lifespan there at 19 years. Maybe . . . Math isn’t my best subject, especially when I’m getting emotional.
Goodbyes are always tough, but I kind of envy my characters. They do it and move on to the next adventure without much of a second thought since I didn’t write those. Unless they’re in another dimension that I’m mentally tethered to and they are moving on with the same confusion I am. Still, I wake up these days to grab a different notebook and packet of story outlines. I see Clyde and Mab instead of Luke Callindor and Nyx when I write now. Always knew it was hard for readers to get to the end of a beloved series, but imagine what it’s like for the author. Especially an indie who doesn’t bring in enough money to rest on their laurels for a year. I’m already getting questions about getting a ‘real job’ too, so the afterglow disappeared fairly quickly.
Some people might say that I don’t really have to say goodbye because all of the characters will be around. I could read the books again or use them in future series as cameos, which I’ll get into tomorrow. The thing is that there’s a sense of distance now. The champions and their friends aren’t front and center in terms of attention. I need to focus more on those who have been waiting patiently for over a decade. Having so many other characters does help soften the blow, but you always remember your first series. At least for those of us doing series. Going back to envy, I probably do have some for authors who can finish a book or series then move on without much of a second thought. I’m still trying to figure that trick out.
Sorry that this post is a little bit of a downer. It was rather inevitable that I would have to write something like this because of the inner conflict. Sad that Legends of Windemere is done, but happy to see it out there and excited about the next adventure on my list. Bittersweet is certainly the word I would use and I’ve been listening to a symphony about it a few times. That and the Flash Gordon theme by Queen, but only because I just found out we had a CD with it on there.
So, what do you think about saying goodbye to a series?
