THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion

I'm getting close to finishing The Murder House, book five in the Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries series that I write. I have a fun ending planned. The problem is my ending isn't what happened. I don't want the book to end the way it should. Have any of you hit that kind of wall? What did you do?

I rewrote the ending of my first book five times. I let the characters tell me how it should end. It's about them, after all.

I agree. Characters have told me all sorts of things I didn't know and occasionally directed the story. This is a little different. My books have happy endings. I like happy endings. What should happen is not happy. I'm concerned people who have read the other books won't like what should happen.

Life happens. It's real, and sometimes it's not happy. Be real. There is comfort even in pain. Maybe that's what should happen. If all the other books ended happily, then this might make a poignant statement.

If the story must end unhappy, while all the others are happy, you may want to add the caveat: Readers following this series will by shocked/amazed/surprised/awed (whatever fits) by the ending of The Murder House. This will give them warning to expect something different. If I have learned anything here in goodreads, it is that some readers feel betrayed when an author does something out of place when it wasn't expected, without some clue. This might actually hook people, and if it is well done, they may say 'I wasn't expecting THAT!' but still think it is a satisfactory ending.

Kristi,
I like your idea. I'm probably going to do it.