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
