I like to think that the ending of my books usually sounds like the wrapup of a sweet love song, with that final guitar strum and the warm feeling you get in your heart. I felt that with Braving the Shore and Good in Theory one hundred percent. With The Treasures We Seek, it was a different feeling, but still a sweet bliss. Wrapping up Ashes and Other Inheritances was a challenge, though, because I wanted to not only wrap up the story but also wrap up the entire series. With a series of standalone books, I also had to make the ending make sense if the reader had only read Ashes.
I ended up doing a regular ending, with all the feels, and then an additional epilogue chapter that jumps ahead a few years and wraps the series. I wanted to ensure that each of the four books was represented, so Kenzi from Treasures appears a few times in the book, and I brought Morgan’s sister, Lacey from Good, back for a cameo in that epilogue. I struggled to think of how I could fit in Braving the Shore, though, because there wasn’t an obvious tie in.
If you haven’t read Braving the Shore, it’s a story about twin sisters who are injured in a car wreck, and it follows one as she is recovering from a concussion and memory loss. She remembers little pieces of her life, but many things are strange to her and not even on her radar. Luckily, she does remember her daughter and her bakery café, so she starts from there and tries to rebuild who she was piece by piece. Chelsea is met with a challenge, though: Does she want to remember her life before or consider this a blank slate and follow her heart?
That’s a big theme in my books: change, growth, starting over, taking a new path led by intuition. So I chose to incorporate that into the epilogue of the book. I also chose to let Morgan share about her own winding path and how she changed her mind about something (sorry, no spoilers here!) that led her to honor her fond memories, her journey, and her heart.
Ultimately, I wanted to bring the series full circle, so I also chose to have the setting of the final chapter be Sorrel Island, the same setting as Braving the Shore. And because Braving the Shore wrapped up with a sweet memento of love, a reminder of the essence of someone special, I didn’t have any of the characters show up from that book at the end of Ashes. I also chose not to go the easy route and have them all stop by the bakery café. Instead, I went with essence, a reminder of the sweet things in life.
I did a couple different versions of the epilogue chapter, inspired because my editor challenged me on some of what I wrote and I wanted to be more mindful of my choices there, and I’m glad I did. I feel like the ending is the perfect bow around the gift that was the Soul Sisterhood series.
Ashes and Other Inheritances will be released on March 12th, and I have some events planned or in the works for the coming months to celebrate! I have ARCs ready now, if you’re interested (advance reader copies), so please click here to apply. ARCs are digital, and by accepting one, you are agreeing to consider reviewing the book.
In the Pittsburgh area? Stop by one of the events and pick up a signed copy! I’ll be updating my events page as plans solidify!