Samantha asked Juliet Marillier:

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Juliet Marillier Great question, Samantha! No, I don't ever wish I had finished a novel differently. Niamh's and Ciaran's story was very sad, but if it hadn't ended tragically pretty much everything after Son of the Shadows wouldn't have worked! Really all the later books would have had to go a completely different path. I like Ciaran as a tragic figure who becomes stronger as the entire series progresses. The only novel I had some doubts about was Seer of Sevenwaters, which I consider the weakest in the series. Some readers thought it would have been more appropriate for Sibeal to give up any idea of marrying Felix and go off to be a celibate druid instead, so they saw my compromise happy ending as a cop-out. When writing the book I did seriously consider having her choose her vocation ahead of love for her man, but I ended up putting myself in the shoes of a 16 year old who has just fallen in love with a very suitable man, and I did believe that, given Ciaran's approval, she would choose the compromise.

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