Bookends

Yesterday, I explained to you how I pushed very hard in my new novel, The Milk Run, to introduce the protagonist, Aason Bierak, and his essential conflict, rescuing his kidnapped sister, in the very first sentence.

However, nobody ever told me how to end a book. That might seem obvious, at least to me. The story is the story and it ends when it ends. The original Rome's Revolution actually ended with a little "dessert" that did not move the plot along but was just a sweet treat for you having made it all the way through the book.

The Ark Lords ended on such a satisfying note that I had to rig an Epilogue just to set up the next novel. Rome's Evolution actually ended with The End so that you knew I would not be continuing with those characters in that world.

However, I was so proud of how I started this new one that I decided that I wanted to mirror the presentation right at the end. I wanted perfect bookends. So while I won't give away the ending, let me just say that I achieved my goal.

I did cheat a little. After the end, I realized I needed a way to "reboot" my characters, Rome and Rei, for a novel down the road so there is an Epilogue that takes place 29 years after the story. But it doesn't count because it is just an epilogue.