Thoughts on Shalia: Torn Between Two Clans…No, Not Really

I went into Book 9, wondering how I was going to make a convincing case for Clan Aslada when Shalia already knew in her heart (though not in her head) that she belonged with Clan Seot. Shalia’s mother saved me.

It became clear in a hurry that Shalia and Eve’s relationship was going to take centerstage, and therefore, shift the onus away from a clan that never felt right for Shalia. That was something of a relief for me, because though I liked Clan Aslada, I found it hard to spend any real time with them. Probably because, if given the chance, Shalia would have had a hard time of it too. However, gratitude for them stepping up and doing right by Eve was a valid reason for Shalia to want to give them a fighting chance to be the right men for her heart. On the surface, Clan Aslada had

a lot going for them…but beneath that, it was a big, fat no.

I started Book 10 thinking I would have Shalia do the big walk away from Clan Seot, go back to Clan Aslada in Book 11 to give them that promised opportunity to prove themselves, only to have her return to Clan Seot with the knowledge they were the clan for her. I thought we’d end up with thirteen books of Shalia’s Diary in total.

Shalia had already begun making noises at me that she was ready to have this thing done. It was halfway through Book 10 when I got the signal that she was most definitely NOT going back to Clan Aslada. She was with her clan, period. Even with all the approach-and-avoidance she was doing to Clan Seot, she was not waiting another book to end up with them. She was finished. It was time to move on in the love sweepstakes, grab her happily-ever-after, and wrap this thing up.

I heard her. I agreed. She clanned the men she’d fallen for at first sight, and we were both happy.

It put me in a bit of a conundrum, however. I still had a gap of time between the end of Book 10 and the events of Book 12. I couldn’t move things along any earlier in the timeline, because…shall I spill the beans? Yes, you’ve already guessed what’s got to happen in the end. I needed more time for Nang to get to Kalquor so he and Shalia could have that long-awaited confrontation, the confrontation I’d known would happen when I wrote Book 1.

Shalia needed a cause to fight for, something to give her life meaning now that she’d found her clan and was waiting for Nang to put in his appearance. With a daughter she doted on, that cause became clear in a hurry. Hina’s initial appearance in Book 8 was pure serendipity when it came to Shalia championing the cause for helping Kalquorian women carry healthy daughters to term. I’d love to pretend I’m that good a writer, that I knowingly placed Hina there as a nifty bit of foreshadowing. But no, it was a happy accident I took advantage of when I needed something pivotal to come along in Shalia’s life.

So here we are, closing in on the final, definitive chapter of Shalia’s adventures. Though I thought I had a lock on Book 12 when I started to write it, it lobbed a couple of surprises at me along the way. As always, Shalia had her own agenda, one she waited until the very end to share with me. And I do mean, the VERY end…even in the heat of the final entries, I had to toss aside my preconceived ideas and let her lead me along. But that’s always been the beauty and magic of Shalia, and why I think we’ve eagerly gone along with her tale. We never know how things are going to shake out until she tells us.

I’m going to miss that woman.

Shalia's Diary Book 12

The Final Chapter 

Releasing in ebook and print January 19

Blog begins January 29