The Last Autumn Fairy: A look back at its emotional journey

The Last Autumn Fairy is the final installment of The Last Autumn Fairy Trilogy, and it’s been seven months in the making…and that doesn’t even include the time I spent planning and outlining the thing. If we want to count back to the first time the idea of The Autumn Fairy was conceived, we can go back to some random summer day in high school. I was sitting on my bed on my bed with a clean composition notebook and a pen, and I had the inkling of inspiration for a book with a girl with magic and eyes the color of the forest.

Katy’s come a long way since then, and now, her story is coming to a close.

This third book spanned some difficult times for my family. My son had a seizure, and we seemed to catch nearly every virus in the world, which endangered him every time he caught something that involved a fever. And with his health problems, my chronic anxiety flared up and reared its ugly head. The Last Autumn Fairy was written over many nights as I dozed off over the computer, too tired but determined to finish. (I owe my copyeditor and proofreader bigtime for finding all the ridiculous typos that flowed from my fingers as I tipped over.)

This book was a good way for me to channel those emotions, though I didn’t realize how much I’d channeled them into the story at first. Only when I finished the first draft and began to reread it did I realize how much angst I must have been carrying with me throughout the writing of the first half of the book. There was a lot of darkness present in the story in its early form. Too much.

But that’s the beautiful thing about art. You can take the darkness and put it in its place, making way for the light to shine through while holding out hope for the story to be redeemed in the end.

It’s funny to see the progression of the book, as my editor would be able to tell you. As my son’s health improved, and he began sleeping through the night, the story began to recover some of the trilogy’s original charm and humor. I reread my original books and was reminded of how fun Katy and Peter could be, and I realized I needed to find that again.

The darkness wasn’t erased from the story. Honestly, I wouldn’t want it to be. It was, however, put in its proper place, and where darkness seemed to color the story, now light shined through in the end like a beacon welcoming me home. I credit this to several sources:

Jesus Christ.

Those of you who watch my weekly Live Videos on Facebook know that I’m a Christian. And it’s only because of the confidence I have in Christ that I can write my happy endings. I’ve struggled with anxiety and OCD since I was a child; fear has been a near constant in my life. This fear plants itself deep in my books, taking one form or another. But in the end, I always find peace. Always. Because no matter what I feel, I can take comfort in the forgiving, sacrificial love of Christ. I am forgiven. I am loved. I am free.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. ” -1 John 4:18.

I’m definitely not perfect, but God’s love is casting out my fear. And because of that, I can keep my eyes on the happily ever after that I know will be mine.

My Family

My husband is my biggest supporter. From taking the kids when I need an hour to hear myself think, much less type, to listening to me drone on about business all evening, to taking time off work so we can attend a writing conference two states away, he’s my knight in shining armor. Well, this particular knight wears dress blues, but hey, even sexier, right?

My kiddos, who put up with my weird work habits and give me sweet hugs and kisses no matter how good or bad the day is going. They were also the source of much of the parental angst in this book.

My parents, grandparents, and brothers for telling me I’m brilliant even on days where I’m definitely not brilliant, and for forcing your coworkers listen to you tell them all about my books. They might not always appreciate it, but I do.

Kim, My Editor

I can honestly say I’ve never had a cooler editor. Not only do you put up with my ridiculously long outlines and the rabbit trails I like to get lost on when we talk about story, you join me! I’d never met anyone who geeks out about story like me until I met you. Thanks for letting me text you random story ideas and for working so hard to make my stories succeed.

Whenever we meet in person, I owe you a huge cup of something caffeinated.

My Indie Bunch Ladies

Kitty, Melanie, Shari, Kenley, and Aya, you are the reason I am sane after this book. (Well, as sane as I’ll ever be.) Our random daily talks about writing, editing, story, marketing, chocolate, baking, coffee, life, and random animal .gifs keep me laughing, and you’ve been such great shoulders to “cry” on during this trying year. Meeting you in person this year is going to kick off one of the best birthdays ever.

So what now?

Katy and Peter have gotten their happy ending, and I’m going to let them enjoy it, at least for now. I was asked last week if I’ll be writing in this world again, and I never say never to revisiting old worlds. I will say, however, that Katy and Peter deserve a break, as do I.

After this, I’ll be delving into (or I’ve already begun, actually) A Curse of Gems: A Retelling of Toads and Diamonds, which happens back in the world of the Classical Kingdoms Collection. Lucas, Michael’s little brother (from Silent Mermaid) is having a hard time and needs his own happy ending.

After that, I’m definitely not abandoning fairy tales (I’ve got plans for at least ten more in the works, and will be adding to that list), but I will also soon be starting my clean contemporary romance series, “My Air Force Fairy Tale.” They won’t be fairy tale retellings, per se, but each will involve a fairy tale theme as girls all over the country find themselves falling in love with men in uniform…whether they want to or not.

So with that in mind, fairy tales, contemporary, and short stories in between, I hope you come with me and continue searching for those happily ever after. For just as Peter and Katy often couldn’t see future, I believe happy endings are a gift of God…even if they don’t look the way we think they will. There’s a lot of darkness in this world, even more than Katy and Peter’s. But we have eternity in our sights. For those who rest in Christ, peace is real, and so is the promise of happily ever after.

What books have given you an emotional roller coaster ride? I’d love to hear them in the comment section. If you’ve read The Last Autumn Fairy and you loved it, I’d really appreciate an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads n you get a second to post one. Reviews helps me sell books, and selling books allows me to fund my writing hab– I mean, allows me to write more books. Thank you so much for sticking around. Come back for more! And, of course, if you haven’t ready the book, you can do that here.