A promise to my future readers

I just finished reading book 2 of a series that I'm not too thrilled with but am reading because, well I'm just not made of the stuff to put a book down 1/2 way through. I'm the same way with movies. There has only been ONE movie in 34 years that I have turned off half way through.

OK you say, big deal. Get to the promise.

I Andrea Gardner, promise to NEVER leave my readers in a lurch!

The last sentence of the book I just finished reading is not even the end of the paragraph! There was NO notice that you were near the end. I went to turn the page and there were the credits! AAAHHHH!! I have put in HOURS and HOURS on this stinkin' series and now have to wait goodness only knows how long just to finish the thought! By then I will have to re-read the last chapter of book 2 just to catch up on that hanging thought! Asinine! All for what? So that I will go buy book 3! So frustrating!

I believe my readers deserve more. Yes there is always a hook to make you come back, but honestly, does an author really have to leave you on the edge of a cliff for MONTHS?

As it is, this series has been difficult for me to follow. It is a YA book and it was not originally written in English, so I have given it some leeway when it comes to sentence structure and drawing a complete picture. After all, I do speak the language it was originally written in, so the mistakes are a bit glaring to me. But that was not all. The first book of this series literally kept me guessing as to what era it was set in- up to something like page 68! Yeah! A hint about jeans, and a vehicle with an engine finally put it in the 1900's but then I had to fight for the decade. It wasn't until one of the characters answers a Cell phone -something like page 120!- that we, the reader, are let in on this colossal secret!

As a writer, my readers to feel informed. I want you to be able to easily picture yourself as one of the characters or as a fly on the wall. Shoot, you can play any part you want, but I want you to have the information that you need to put you there. I'm not talking about giving away a plot or the twist, just giving you the every day information we all deserve.

But now I must get back to my point. The ending of a book. Not always the end of a story, but it should let you put the book down and say, "Wow, that was great! I can't wait until the next one." not "WHAT! Honestly, that's how this book will end! And you're telling me I might have to wait an entire YEAR just to find out the end of the paragraph." See the difference. I would like you to have the first experience and leave the other one to someone else!


So today on April 19, 2009 I promise not to leave you in the lurch just to sell a sequel!