Black Moon Draw

The End.

I consider the words. They don't seem quite right. Deleting them, I debate for a moment and then simply leave it blank. The book may stop here, but their story is eternal.

"Best. Book. Ever." The shih-tzu at my feet stirs when I speak, and I reach down to scratch him between the ears. "Another best seller, Wookie!" He looks up at his name, as sleepy as I am.

This book feels incredible. It flowed with unnatural ease, basically writing itself. I haven't slept in three days, compelled to complete the story of Naia and her Shadow Knight. There are stories that seem to be channeled from outside of my imagination entirely, worlds painted so vividly on my mental canvas, that to delay sharing them is a sin.

I pull up the chat window where I've been talking to one of my readers. There are fans - and there are rabid fans. My last three books have been like this, inspired by the stories of rabid fans who messaged me, begging to be in a book. All three books were similar to this one - channeled writing that drove me batty until I sat down to put the worlds on paper.

I type her a message.

Hey, Naia78! The story's done. I'll post the final chapter in a bit, after I edit so you aren't bothered by any more typos!

I wait a minute. She doesn't immediately respond. What's odd: the other two women never wrote back after I finished the final chapters of their respective books either. I'm assuming they liked their stories. If they weren't happy with the ending, I'd hear about it.

"Oh, well. Hope Naia likes it, too." I stand up and go to the kitchen. Exhausted after the writing marathon, I'm also completely energized by the power of Naia's story. It thrills me to finish a book, especially one that flowed the way this one did. Making a cup of tea, I dwell over any loose ends I might need to fix. My muses are usually good at catching them in my final round of editing.

The only thing I can think of: what happened to the Red Knight.

On this topic, my muses are quiet. He walked through the doorway ahead of Naia and disappeared. The otherworldly inspiration behind Black Moon Draw isn't volunteering any sort of resolution to his story. Nor do I feel the desire to change that part. I love to leave a bit of mystery in each book, something to leave the readers wondering and stimulate their imaginations the way I like to dream about what happens instead of watching the end of movies.