You’d think it would be easy for us as writers to say goodbye to our beloved characters after we finish their stories. Hell, even I thought it’d be easy. Turns out, it ain’t… It’s much harder than I ever envisioned or expected.

When I think about my Corrupt Empire and Benson Siblings series, which are both very much interlinked, I see the books and characters that were the catalyst to my success as an author. In a lot of ways, it makes these characters incredibly special and important to me. It’s more than just that. They have enabled me to become a full time author, yes, but they did a whole lot more for me and I’m going to explore this below.

I started out writing these characters over a year ago at the time of this blog post. Essentially they’ve been a HUGE part of my life for an entire year and whilst that might not meant much in the grand scheme of things, it means something to me. I’ve shared ups, downs, laughter, tears and, most of all, love with them. They sucked me into their world. Whilst it was dark and twisted in many aspects, they allowed me a glimpse into the most tumultuous parts of their lives. And yes, I realise they’re fictional characters, but when I’m writing them, they’re very much real to me. So saying goodbye to them? Yeah, that’s tough.

I guess the reason I’m writing this is because I realised today just how sad this has made me feel. I’ve been trying to work out for the past month why I’ve not felt right creatively. Why I’ve been struggling so hard to write my new projects, of which I have several. Why I’ve just not felt right in myself. And it all boils down to one thing. I have to say goodbye to Avery and Aiden and my Benson siblings, who have been instrumental in my career, my writing and my journey. With the release of the final book coming on the 13th December 2019, it’s the end of my biggest writing achievement so far. Whilst it’s not the end of my dark romance universe, it is the end of this part of the world.

Now I’m sure some of my readers would love more stories from these characters. I’m never going to say never, but currently, I have no plans to write further stories for them. They’ve all got their happy endings. I would only ever add to their journeys if I felt they had more stories worth telling and would enrich the world. As far as I’m concerned, their time with me has come to an end.

So whilst I have to take some time to grieve their loss, I will look to the future. This is not the end of my dark romance universe… In many respects, this only the beginning. And I’m looking forward to bring my readers more emotional, angsty, heartbreaking, soul destroying stories with a heavy dose of happiness in the end.

There’s only really one thing left to say… Goodbye to my wonderful characters: Aiden, Avery, Dante, Liora, James, Ellie, Jensen, Fiona, Brent and Jennifer. You will always have a special place in my heart, but, for now at least, our journey together has come to an end.

Farewell.