The Final Chapter
Book Trailer
An author learns she can’t write her final novel, she has to live it.
At sixty-eight, Nell struggles to write the final novel in her successful fantasy series. Between growing pressure from disgruntled fans and grief and loss at her husband’s recent passing, her world is collapsing around her. But when she finds an amulet from her childhood, she and her young assistant are sucked into the world of her stories.
Nell quickly learns she can’t just write the final novel, she has to live it, and the lifelong dreams she’s had of this world may have been something far more fantastical than her mind conjuring stories. To learn how the story ends, she’ll have to guide a Champion to confront the kingdom’s cruel usurper. But this world might not be as familiar as she thought, and Nell’s lifelong self-doubt plagues her. She’s certain of only one thing: she isn’t meant to be the Guide, and taking on the role may doom her, her friends, and the entire kingdom.
It isn’t until her husband’s ghost appears, promising to stay by her side and help her, that she agrees to go on the quest. She sets off with her assistant and the Champion on a dangerous journey fraught with a literal ghost town, a magical forest with murderous flora hemming them in on every side, sentient statuary, and a prophesied betrayal. But Nell can’t protect her companions–worse, her choices may be the very thing that puts them in danger, and she fears losing her husband all over again. Eventually, she’ll have to decide whether she’ll follow the prophecy or write her own ending, ultimately learning what her true role was all along.
Excerpt
“Nell?” Leo’s voice snapped her out of the memory. She focused on the clothes he wore, and her breath hitched. She’d given him a plain white t-shirt and grey sweatpants, generic enough and not Howard’s usual button-downs, but knowing they were her husband’s clothes gave her a jolt. To have something of him around was both a comfort and torture.
Maybe what she needed was a deliberate piece of Howard around, to stop treating Howard’s belongings like holy relics and more like normal objects. Clothes were meant to be worn, not kept out of sight.
Perhaps it was time to confront other things, as well.
Nell opened her desk drawer and hesitated before reaching in just as Leo asked, “Is everything ok?”
She didn’t say anything to him, just pulled out the small box, about the size of her hand and closed with a red ribbon.
“What’s that?”
Without looking up, Nell said, “The day Howard died, he…” She trailed off as her voice failed her. She took a deep breath and continued, “He was always wrapping things up, making events out of the silliest things.” She smiled softly. “Once, he wrapped a bag of flour I asked him to pick up at the store and gave it to me like it was made of diamonds.” She stared at the box and sobered from the memory. “The paramedics found this in his hand. I haven’t opened it, but I think… I think it’s time.”
The anticipation she’d felt for months, that oppressive sense of something about to happen, bubbled up inside her. It filled the space, threatening to suffocate her, and she had to fight to keep breathing through the sudden pressure. Steeling herself, she untied the ribbon and opened the box.
A small note was nestled atop a folded cloth. Nell picked it up with shaking hands and read her husband’s steady handwriting: My Nell, I found this lying atop my folded shirts. I guess sometimes dreams come true. She smiled softly as tears formed in her eyes. This was so like him. She set the note aside as she opened the cloth.
Then the tears dried and she was certain her heart stopped.
The metal of the chain was as dark as she remembered, not quite matte but seeming to absorb whatever light touched it, and the stone was as red and vibrant as she’d dreamt.
The amulet.
But that had been a dream, a childhood flight of fancy. How had Howard gotten ahold of something so similar?
Leo spoke, his voice far away. Nell paid him no mind.
Just as before, Nell stared, entranced as the colors in the stone changed. Black swirled into scarlet, slowly at first, then quicker, but the black never dulled or muted the brilliant red. “It’s beautiful…” she murmured as she slowly reached forward to lift the stone with reverence.
“Wait!” He grabbed her arm to stop her, but it was too late – her hand had already wrapped around the amulet.
Then the world fell away.