It’s my pleasure to welcome romantic suspense author, Christy Reece, to Over Coffee.Christy says she grew up spending long summers reading and watching for the bookmobile—I can relate to that as we always lived in the rurals and the bookmobile was a big thing to a family of readers. Like Christy, my head was always filled with characters and story lines. I could daydream of my stories for hours in the summer and then tell stories to my siblings later that evening. My brothers did the same. I thought that was perfectly normal, growing up.
Christy’s topic is how you feel when you finish a book. As a reader, a good book has me longing to go back to the world created by the author. As a writer, typing the end, while satisfying does leave me at odds as to what to do with myself. I’ve spent so much time with this *world* and it's very real characters; I don’t want to really leave it. Christy calls it the end of the book blues. Very apt description, in my opinion.
Welcome to Over Coffee, Christy.
Hi Sia and everyone! I’m thrilled to be a guest at Over Coffee and look forward to visiting with my fellow writers and readers. Also, I have three books to give away!
Since I recently turned in the third book for my new trilogy, I thought I’d talk about a phenomenon that always happens to me once I hit that send key. I’ll stare mindlessly into space for a while, relieved that it’s finally done. Then reality slams into me and I find myself asking the question, “What now?”
Yes, I’ve got the end of book blues.
Writing is so often a solitary endeavor. Just you and your imagination sitting in front of a computer screen creating stories, characters, and worlds. You’re having conversations in your head with people who exist only to you and your job is to make them come alive to others. Some people might see this as odd behavior. For most writers, it’s just a normal workday. This profession is scary and exciting, intense and frustrating. So wonderfully kooky. But when it’s time to let those characters and their story go, I always get hit with some sort of sadness.
I was so excited to finish this book. After sleepless nights, tossing and turning with storylines and bits of conversation flowing through my head, consuming tons of chocolate, caffeine, and alcohol, I wanted nothing more than to finish this monster that I so loved. To get it over with and get on to something else.
Even though I adored the storyline, my characters still surprised and excited me and I can’t wait to get it in the hands of eager readers, I couldn’t wait to get it out the door. That’s the way of these things. A labor of love, but I wanted to get the labor over with as quickly and painlessly as possible.
I absolutely loved how my story came out. My characters had all the endearing quirks and strong traits that I wanted them to have. The story is emotional, thrilling and breathtaking in places. And as usual, there were points during the writing that I had no idea what my characters would do—one of my absolute favorite things when I’m writing.
But now it’s gone and I’m sad. As much as I wanted to finish it, a part of me didn’t want to let it go. Perhaps it’s the writer’s version of the empty nest syndrome.
It’s not like I don’t have plenty to do, believe me. Everything I put off while I was on deadline is still here, waiting on me. My house is full of spider webs. Delightfully convenient for Halloween—no decorating necessary! Now it’s back to looking like a dirty house. My fur-kids desperately need a bath and some extra TLC for being so patient with me. And my husband, bless him, would probably like to hear me say something other than the words, “Can’t. I’m on deadline.”
Well, now I can do all the things I put off, but I don’t want to.
The end of book blues is nothing new for me, but I still get caught completely by surprise each time. A rush to the finish line and then when I get there, it’s all so anti-climatic.
I could read…oh man, am I behind in my reading. My TBR stack could rival the Sears Tower in height. I could work on some new things for my website. I could start another book.
Yes, all of those things need to be done and quite honestly, I love doing them, but for some reason I don’t want to. Know what I really want to do? I want to go back to my story I just finished and play with it some more. Am I crazy? Don’t answer that!
It’s not like I won’t get several more opportunities to play with it. Revisions will come, along with copy edits and page proofs. But it’s just so pretty and shiny and I think I can make it shinier and I really really want to play with it.
Some of the anxiety comes from what my editor and agent will think of it. Will they love it as I do? It’s funny (not really) but I thought after I became published, submitting my manuscripts would be easier. The angst is still there; it’s just a different kind of angst.
Update: Both editor and agent read and loved the manuscript. Yay! One more hurdle out of the way. And I spoke with my editor regarding revisions and she just wants a couple of changes. Double yay!
But when those things are done and it’s out the door again, will I still want to play with it? I know by the time I go through copyedits and page proofs, I’ll be thrilled to be completely finished. But another book will come along, with another deadline and then another end of book blues.
Writers as a whole are a group of individuals with different beliefs, attitudes, strengths, weaknesses and goals. We’re a mass of human frailties and strengths, just like our characters. However, we also share specific characteristics and emotions within our group. One of the reasons I love being within a community of writers is that, as crazy and individualistic as I like to be, I love that we share some of the same experiences. In other words, I want my writer friends to say, “I know how you feel. That happened to me too. Here’s what I did.”
So have you experienced the end of book blues? When you finish a book, can you let it go and get back to a normal life or do you have trouble getting back into the swing of things? Do you have a plan of action when you finish a book? If you have suggestions, please feel free to share!
Since I recently turned in the third book for my new trilogy, I thought I’d talk about a phenomenon that always happens to me once I hit that send key. I’ll stare mindlessly into space for a while, relieved that it’s finally done. Then reality slams into me and I find myself asking the question, “What now?”
Yes, I’ve got the end of book blues.
Writing is so often a solitary endeavor. Just you and your imagination sitting in front of a computer screen creating stories, characters, and worlds. You’re having conversations in your head with people who exist only to you and your job is to make them come alive to others. Some people might see this as odd behavior. For most writers, it’s just a normal workday. This profession is scary and exciting, intense and frustrating. So wonderfully kooky. But when it’s time to let those characters and their story go, I always get hit with some sort of sadness.
I was so excited to finish this book. After sleepless nights, tossing and turning with storylines and bits of conversation flowing through my head, consuming tons of chocolate, caffeine, and alcohol, I wanted nothing more than to finish this monster that I so loved. To get it over with and get on to something else.
Even though I adored the storyline, my characters still surprised and excited me and I can’t wait to get it in the hands of eager readers, I couldn’t wait to get it out the door. That’s the way of these things. A labor of love, but I wanted to get the labor over with as quickly and painlessly as possible.
I absolutely loved how my story came out. My characters had all the endearing quirks and strong traits that I wanted them to have. The story is emotional, thrilling and breathtaking in places. And as usual, there were points during the writing that I had no idea what my characters would do—one of my absolute favorite things when I’m writing.
But now it’s gone and I’m sad. As much as I wanted to finish it, a part of me didn’t want to let it go. Perhaps it’s the writer’s version of the empty nest syndrome.
It’s not like I don’t have plenty to do, believe me. Everything I put off while I was on deadline is still here, waiting on me. My house is full of spider webs. Delightfully convenient for Halloween—no decorating necessary! Now it’s back to looking like a dirty house. My fur-kids desperately need a bath and some extra TLC for being so patient with me. And my husband, bless him, would probably like to hear me say something other than the words, “Can’t. I’m on deadline.”
Well, now I can do all the things I put off, but I don’t want to.
The end of book blues is nothing new for me, but I still get caught completely by surprise each time. A rush to the finish line and then when I get there, it’s all so anti-climatic.
I could read…oh man, am I behind in my reading. My TBR stack could rival the Sears Tower in height. I could work on some new things for my website. I could start another book.
Yes, all of those things need to be done and quite honestly, I love doing them, but for some reason I don’t want to. Know what I really want to do? I want to go back to my story I just finished and play with it some more. Am I crazy? Don’t answer that!
It’s not like I won’t get several more opportunities to play with it. Revisions will come, along with copy edits and page proofs. But it’s just so pretty and shiny and I think I can make it shinier and I really really want to play with it.
Some of the anxiety comes from what my editor and agent will think of it. Will they love it as I do? It’s funny (not really) but I thought after I became published, submitting my manuscripts would be easier. The angst is still there; it’s just a different kind of angst.
Update: Both editor and agent read and loved the manuscript. Yay! One more hurdle out of the way. And I spoke with my editor regarding revisions and she just wants a couple of changes. Double yay!
But when those things are done and it’s out the door again, will I still want to play with it? I know by the time I go through copyedits and page proofs, I’ll be thrilled to be completely finished. But another book will come along, with another deadline and then another end of book blues.
Writers as a whole are a group of individuals with different beliefs, attitudes, strengths, weaknesses and goals. We’re a mass of human frailties and strengths, just like our characters. However, we also share specific characteristics and emotions within our group. One of the reasons I love being within a community of writers is that, as crazy and individualistic as I like to be, I love that we share some of the same experiences. In other words, I want my writer friends to say, “I know how you feel. That happened to me too. Here’s what I did.”
So have you experienced the end of book blues? When you finish a book, can you let it go and get back to a normal life or do you have trouble getting back into the swing of things? Do you have a plan of action when you finish a book? If you have suggestions, please feel free to share!
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Growing up in a tiny community in Alabama boasting only one stop sign and a gas station gave Christy ample opportunity to create daring adventures in her head. When she wasn't thinking of her story characters, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys kept her entertained and out of trouble. Later came the chills of Stephen King and the thrills of John Grisham, but the romance genre always held a strong place in her heart.After leaving her career with a major insurance company, the characters in her head came alive again and Christy decided to write her own stories. And now, she and her characters couldn't be happier.
A member of Romance Writers' of America, and International Thriller Writers, Christy lives in Alabama with her husband, two incredibly cute canines and one very shy turtle.
Christy’s first sale was a romantic suspense trilogy to Ballantine in 2007. The books, RESCUE ME, RETURN TO ME and RUN TO ME were back-to-back releases Spring 2009. Another back-to-back trilogy, NO CHANCE, SECOND CHANCE and LAST CHANCE will be released early spring 2010. The backdrop of both trilogies is an organization called Last Chance Rescue. An elite group of mercenaries who do whatever it takes, no matter the cost, to rescue the innocent.
Christy’s first sale was a romantic suspense trilogy to Ballantine in 2007. The books, RESCUE ME, RETURN TO ME and RUN TO ME were back-to-back releases Spring 2009. Another back-to-back trilogy, NO CHANCE, SECOND CHANCE and LAST CHANCE will be released early spring 2010. The backdrop of both trilogies is an organization called Last Chance Rescue. An elite group of mercenaries who do whatever it takes, no matter the cost, to rescue the innocent.
You can find excerpts of her books and and blurbs on the tough men and women she writes about. There is information, blurbs, and excerpts on her next trilogy due out this coming Spring.
