The End of the Book

There is nothing more satisfying than finishing up a manuscript and typing the end.

Okay, I don't type the end anymore, but I know the book is finished. The characters are going to live happily-ever-after, in my mind and hopefully the readers as well.

All the events leading up to the end are critical. I have to make sure I've wrapped up all conflicts, even minor ones, if I've added a bit of suspense to the book that also needs to be wrapped up.

It's almost like wrapping a present for someone you know, you make sure the price tag is removed, you find the right box, put the gift in the box, find the perfect wrapping paper, and wrap the present. Add a bow.

That's how I feel at the end of the book. I've done everything possible to give the reader a satisfying romance along with sensual characters.

I want my readers to fall in love with my hero, and to understand where my heroine is coming from. They may or may not want to be my heroine, but they'll understand who she is and why she choose to be with the hero.

The end of the book is sometimes sad for me as well, as I'm saying good-bye to characters who have been with me on this journey.

But the end of the book is also exciting, because now I can polish and submit it to my publisher, but it also means I can me on to the next set of characters who are clamoring away in my head for their story to be told.