My second foray into the world of the Nightshade family is done. Yes! The final chapter happened pretty organically since I actually had so many options to choose from, and I just had to let myself go in the end. Well, that plus the fact that we're back to Standard Time, and while I turned back the clocks, I still woke up an hour too soon, which will likely mess up the rest of my day. I know it's made writing the final chapter a bit touch and go.
That said, I understand the state where you're so, so tired or caught somewhere between sleep and wakefulness is the moment when inspiration hits you the most. I get it; I can see why that can happen. In my case, I just opened the file and dove in, completely clueless as to how the closing chapter will unfold. I think it turned out really well despite taking a direction I didn't even consider before, and it was another reminder that Narcisse's journey into self-discovery is vastly different from Viktor's.
It's quieter, more personal. More aligned with a mortal's experience, not a god's. And behold the book's "theme song" (which got me off to a good running start, inspiration-wise):
Anyway, it's done! And I've got the rest of this month to revise, rewrite, edit, and all that good stuff. There might be more significant tweaks I'll be doing compared to Nightshade's Emporium, but we'll see how things look.
And with this announcement comes another important one: I've decided to keep the same calendar for 2025 as a goalpost, which means March 1, July 1, and November 1 release targets. I said "goalpost" because I'd like to be adaptable to unexpected events happening. The Perfect Rochester might very well get bumped up to February 1 with the rest of the books following suit, but I don't want to commit to anything completely yet. I like the idea of getting myself so far ahead as to be working on, say, The Shadow Groom a full year early.
And if that happens, I'd be more than happy to squeeze an extra book for an earlier release here and there, and that would be awesome.
All right, then. Time to relax and be lazy -- maybe even take a couple of naps with my sleep cycle so out of whack now.