Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Out today, THE RUBY CIRCLE: A BLOODLINES NOVEL brings the Bloodlines/Vampire Academy universe to an unbelievable finish, much to the excitement of its dedicated fandom. Author Richelle Mead explains her feelings about ending the series — and finally revealing certain mysteries of this 12-book universe — in this exclusive post for the NOOK Blog.
People often ask if I’m sad to end a series. And the answer is no. Sure, it’s bittersweet. When you spend a lot of time in a world with the same characters, you get pretty comfortable. The Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series are essentially part of the same epic, and I’ve been writing them non-stop for the last nine years. That’s a long time. And although readers often devour my books in a couple of days, it takes me months and months to write one. So in those nine years, it’s safe to say that for the majority of those days, I’ve been spending my time with the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines gang. Letting them go is strange—not to mention difficult from a writing point of view. When you’ve written in that world for so long, there’s an ease to the writing. You don’t need any time to get acclimated to the characters or setting. You just go.
But, despite that familiarity, there comes a time when things need to wrap up. Part of that is simply because there’s only so many cliffhangers and other ups and downs I can send my characters on. They need some sort of resolution—and my readers do too (though some would disagree!). There’s also the fact that when I plan a series, I have a story arc in mind. I envision it from start to finish, and with The Ruby Circle, I’ve reached a natural place to conclude the events started so long ago. There are a lot of big surprises in store in this book, and I think readers are going to be really thrilled by it.
I also think readers are going to be really excited by what’s to come. Soundless, my standalone fantasy inspired by Chinese mythology, comes out November 2015 and was a really amazing writing experience. Was it harder than a Bloodlines book? Absolutely. I had to learn about a totally different world and meet new characters. It took me about twice as long as usual to write it. But it was a great writing experience for me, and readers are going to have a lot of fun with it. I can’t reveal what’ll be coming after that, but again, I think readers are going to be excited.
So, although it’s ultimately hard to end an epic like Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, it really results in a better story. Characters need completion, problems need to resolve. Readers will walk away feeling satisfied. And now, I’m free to work on new things. As I told one avid Bloodlines fan, “Who knows? Maybe I actually haven’t written your favorite series yet.”
Be sure to download The Ruby Circle today!
