One Week Until Bleeders 3

I’m very excited right now. And a little something else.

In exactly one week, the third and final book in the Bleeders Trilogy will be released to the world. This is the end of a ride that started ten years ago, with a whole bunch of excursions and side-quests along the way. I’m excited because this, believe it or not, is the first time in my writing career that I’m calling a series complete. I have one other (incomplete) series under my belt, but other than that, all of my novels are either standalone stories or short story collections. Sixteen years in, and fourteen books later, I’m excited to have achieved this milestone.

Interestingly, though, a strange feeling came over me almost the moment I finished writing this book, and it’s one I honestly didn’t see coming. I find myself feeling a little sad that the story is over, and that I’ll most likely never talk to these characters again. Brody, specifically, my main character and the perspective from whom the story is told, has been in my head for ten years now. Even when I wasn’t actively writing the books, he was wandering around in the back there, making crude jokes and generally having a high opinion of himself.

I think this is what some actors go through, when a role they play sticks with them after shooting has ended; the way their voice, their walk, their way of holding a cigarette will change. Our brains are adaptation machines, and somehow mine has adapted to carrying around a sarcastic jerk who annoys everyone around him, even though he ultimately means well.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t that much of a stretch.

It’s funny. I thought I would be relieved when the last book was done, the story told and the readers given what they deserve after waiting so long. And I am relieved, for sure. I just never expected it to be this bittersweet. Already I’m telling myself that I could write more books in this world, or find new horrors to throw at my characters. But it’s probably just to make myself feel better, telling myself that there’s still a chance I’ll see them again. Like telling a child who wants to go to the park, “Maybe later,” even though there’s almost certainly no time for the park later.

So one week from today, May 4th, the last Bleeders book comes out. But who knows. Maybe later.

For those of you who haven’t read the first two, I’m giving everyone an easy, inexpensive way to catch up with the series. Starting today until May 1st, you can download Bleeders: Book One for free on Amazon. That’s right, completely free. And while you’re there, Bleeders: Book Two is only 99 cents. That’s two whole books for one whole dollar, and once you’re done reading those, you can always come back and finish the story with Book Three.

But be warned: it has a way of sticking with you.