Jennifer answers “RIP Ms. Small! The world will miss your...”

Ellen Wojcik werkau asked this question about Serena (The Silk Merchant's Daughters, #4):

RIP Ms. Small! The world will miss your talent! <3 Does anyone know if she finished Serena before she passed away? I would love to find it. I would treasure her last book.

Jennifer February 25, 2015 at 8:00 pm
OFFICIAL SMALL FAMILY STATEMENT:
I would like to extend my thanks for all the wonderful tweets, posts, newspaper articles, …moreFebruary 25, 2015 at 8:00 pm
OFFICIAL SMALL FAMILY STATEMENT:
I would like to extend my thanks for all the wonderful tweets, posts, newspaper articles, blogs, people, and more that are paying tribute to my mother and her work. To me, she was simply “Ma”, but she was many things to her loyal readers. Perhaps she was that first book you didn’t want your parents to find that you hid under your bed. She could have been someone whose tales of romance and history kept you company at night in your home, on a beach, in your favorite chair, etc. Maybe she was able through her writing to not only entertain you, but perhaps give you an escape during difficult times. It doesn’t matter which of these applies, because the bottom line is you enjoyed her work…and it meant something to you.
I can also tell you, you meant something to her… a great deal in fact. She loved you. She was as loyal to her readers as you were to her. She told me many a time how lucky she felt to have the best, most loyal readers in the world. She meant it. She took great care in every page she ever wrote to make sure she gave you her best. She never took her readership for granted, and always enjoyed meeting and speaking with you every chance she could. She never wanted to disappoint you.
Now, a few things about the future…then a final note on the present.
There is something she left us all… one last book. I cannot tell you when it will be published, but it WILL be published. You can look forward to a final tale. When things settle down… my first task is to make sure that book gets out there. It will. She told me the plot… I believe and hope you will like it.
Next, I will be sitting down with “the powers that be” to make sure her legacy and work are not only protected, but available to new and old readers alike. This could include new editions, editions with bonus material (like original outline pages), as well as making her available on new formats. There are a bunch of exciting things that can come down the pike… and I will do my best in her memory that they do.
Finally, I want to clear one thing up. Despite what you have read on the USA today website or other sources for news, NO FAMILY MEMBER confirmed her passing… until now. Who or how the news of her passing was leaked is a mystery to me. She had not been gone 12 hours before I was getting calls, and yet I had not said a thing yet….I was still in shock. This is disappointing to me, as I feel it was our families duty and responsibility to make a statement….which we were preparing to do. My children and her grandchildren needed a touch of time to process it all. I will be looking for a vehicle… be it her twitter feed or her website to communicate with you upcoming releases or projects. This way, if it comes from me… you know it is the truth. I am not happy with whoever leaked her passing early. From now on, it comes directly from the family. Announcing her death before we could prepare something was not authorized, nor appreciated.
Tonight, she is with my father. This gives us comfort. And I speak for her when I say to all of you, “Thank You”. She loved what she did, and she loved you. Thank you for being loyal, caring, and supportive of her work for all those years. As I said above, you made her as happy as she made you.
Thomas Small(less)

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