I am a terrible blogger. It’s true. Though I’m a writer, I can’t bring myself to blog, even though I know that as a novelist it’s a pretty useful tool to reach your readers. Even so, I often go as long as a year (or more) between entries. So, on the eve of the Celebrate Lit Book Tour for my latest release, Unintended Detour—the last book in the Unintended Series—I thought it was time to write another blog entry. And given that this is the last book in my first series, it seemed fitting to write about the experience of beginning something and bringing it full circle to its natural close.
When I wrote and released Unintended Target in 2015, the first book in the series, it was a monumental accomplishment because it was my first book ever. It officially made me a published author. Being an author had been a dream of mine since I was a child in the library, devouring stories like candy.
After Unintended Target was released, I hoped and prayed I’d be able to write another book.
Now, six years later, Unintended Detour—coincidentally my sixth book—brings this wonderful series to a close. It’s a bittersweet thing. I feel I know these characters. I’ve experienced their highs and lows. Often the questions they wrestled with in the stories were questions I was wrestling with too. More than once, the truths ultimately highlighted in the storylines spoke to answers I was seeking as well. So as a writer and as a person, typing “The End” this time truly involved a genuine, heartfelt goodbye.
I’m not a fast writer. Unintended Target came out in 2015, Unintended Witness in 2018 and Unintended Detour in 2021. Three years between books isn’t a great marketing strategy. But life gets in the way and these books were written throughout the space created within the crazy chaos of raising a family, illness, empty nest, COVID…just like the many, varied, difficult things all of you have had to contend with during that time. So, slow but steady, and with the purpose of completing character arcs that were meaningful, relatable and hopeful. Sitting here, contemplating the finished series, I find myself truly grateful to have been a part of bringing these stories into the world. And I can’t help but think how excited young me would be to find my name on an old-fashioned paper card in the library card catalog, if such a thing still existed.
I call this series faith-laced, because in addition to being riveting suspense tales, they also follow one woman’s journey to come to God through Christ, as well as her growth and struggles in that relationship. Suspense from a Christian worldview isn’t for everyone. But I honestly couldn’t write this series any other way. In fact, each of the titles has a double meaning—one related to the suspense storyline and one related to the faith journey.
If you’ve read any of the Unintended Series books, thank you. I hope you were entertained and encouraged. If you’ve been waiting for Book 3, I’m sorry it took so long, but Unintended Detour is finally here and waiting for you on Amazon (click here). If you haven’t read any books in the Unintended Series, I would be honored if you would give them a try (click here to find the series on Amazon).
One word of caution: just please don’t be mad at me if you end up staying up really, really late to find out how the stories end. I’ve been told that happens. 🙂
Choosing Joy,
D.L.