Today marks the third day on The Château of Happily Ever Afters Blog Tour. Isn't that book cover just stunning! As part of my stop on the tour I have a guestpost from the lovely Jaimie, telling us all about happy ever afters and some not so happy ever afters. Also at the end of the post there is a very special giveaway you can enter.
guestpost
Jaimie Adams
Ahh, a happy ending. Is there anything better?
The Château of Happily Ever Afters is – unsurprisingly – all about finding a happily ever after, and I’ve been thinking about happy endings a lot lately. A couple of years ago, I wrote a book with an unhappy ending, and it was a very strange experience. At the time, I was certain I’d never write an unhappy ending again, but I’m now staring at a half-finished manuscript that can only end one way. I’ve been at this book for a while now, it’s constantly being put away whenever something with a deadline comes up, but maybe it’s not been a priority because my planned happy ending was never going to fit. I recently had an epiphany with it. It has to end with death and destruction. It’s a dark, bitter YA story. The characters were never meant to skip off into the sunset together. It’s probably why I haven’t been clicking with the book when I work on it.
When I wrote my first unhappy ending, I had always known that it would end unhappily. It’s a retelling of a very old story and there was no other outcome, but it still didn’t prepare me for actually writing it. When it came down to it, I struggled. I put off writing the end. I searched desperately for a way around it, I thought about cutting the story off and allowing the reader to draw their own conclusion, but ultimately decided that an ambiguous ending is even worse than an unhappy one.
While I don’t know if that book will ever make it to publication, I wonder what my readers would think about it if it did. I feel that a happy ending is guaranteed in my books, even if it isn’t necessarily the ending expected at first, generally I try to always leave a smile on people’s faces. Although I believe the unhappy ending in this particular book is hinted at throughout and is really the only possible conclusion by a certain point, I wonder if readers will feel cheated knowing that the romance plot doesn’t end happily ever after? While I strived to keep the ending optimistic and the main character’s life changed for the better, a positive ending is not the same as an “aww, that was so lovely,” ending.
I write like that because, as a reader, I love a happy ending. I don’t want to read something that leaves me sobbing unless they’re happy tears! Reading is escapism. I love books in all genres but my favourites are, of course, chick-lit and young-adult, which is also what I write. I love books that feature romance and have a main couple who can sweep you off your feet, who you can root for, who will eventually get a fairytale ending. I like fairytale endings because they don’t happen in real life. We read gorgeous books to experience what we will probably not experience in reality. Let’s face it, most men are unlikely to sweep you off you feet and whisk you away to a beautiful castle and more likely to hog the TV remote and leave smelly socks on the bathroom floor!
But I admire authors who can write sad, messy endings that reflect the real world. Our own loose ends aren’t always tied up neatly, our ‘ones who got away’ don’t always come back, but for the length of a book, it’s nice to believe they do, and I love that escapism while I’m writing, and I especially love thinking of readers experiencing it too as they read!
About Jaimie
Jaimie is a 32-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, watching horror movies, and drinking tea, although she’s seriously considering marrying her coffee machine. She loves autumn and winter, and singing songs from musicals despite the fact she’s got the voice of a dying hyena. She hates spiders, hot weather, and cheese & onion crisps. She spends far too much time on Twitter and owns too many pairs of boots.
She will never have time to read all the books she wants to read.
She is the author of chick-lit romantic comedies The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters and Kismetology, and she has also written young-adult romantic comedies Afterlife Academy, Not Pretty Enough, and North Pole Reform School.
Where you can connect
The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters
Will also be available from all other ebook retailers.
Giveaway
To win a French-themed stationery goodie bag that includes
1 x Paperchase Paris notebook and pen
1 x The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters notebook
1 x little Eiffel Tower model
1 x Eiffel Tower bookmark
1 x The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters magnet
1 x Signed postcard
Simply enter via rafflecopter below
Thank you so much for hosting this and being part of the tour, Laura!
ReplyDeleteAn absolute pleasure Jaimie! x
DeleteFAB GIVEAWAY AND BLOG THANKYOU XX
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