Ileana asked Jodi Meadows:

Why did you end Orphan Queen like that? (that's not a rhetorical question, I'm just curious).

Jodi Meadows Duologies are tricky things. Each book needs to have a beginning, middle, and end, as well as tell its half of the whole overarching story. But unlike trilogies, there's no middle book to be clearly the middle of the whole story. Instead, it's that space at the end of the first book and the beginning of the second book that has to perform the middle duties. (As well as the usual places in each book.)

In my view of story structure, the middle is where things get really, really awful. I resolved certain OQ plots and questions by the end of that book -- but then I had to lead in to the next book. I didn't want anyone (least of all the characters) to feel like the middle of a duology was SAFE. So, characters react to the climax of OQ. And they make decisions/actions based on what they want/feel they must do. Unfortunately, those decisions and actions conflict with others' goals.

Well, unfortunately for the characters, anyway. Good for the story.

I hope that clears it up! I don't really do things to be just MEAN. Well, sometimes I do (in fiction!!!), but I need it to have a good, strong reason in the story and structure. If it doesn't work for the story I'm trying to tell, it doesn't stay in the book.

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