So anyways, I’ve got to thinking about happy endings – which is probably a good thing given that my tagline is all about happy endings: Happy Endings Begin Here. When you think about it, it’s pretty much the ultimate spoiler.

The thing is, my current character isn’t really playing ball – at least, not as far as the stereotypical happy ending goes.

I had a similar issue with Emily – my lead character in Baby, It’s You. She had a happy ending (hey, it’s not a spoiler alert to say that – after all, as I said, it’s in my tagline) but it wasn’t the down on one knee proposal sort of happy ending. That wasn’t the point with Em.

I had quite a few people asking me why she didn’t – or rather why I didn’t give her that particular conclusion. I wrote the ending I wrote for Em because that was the ending that she needed. Anything else would have made everything else all for nothing. Besides, it was still a hopeful and satisfying end. I think Em was happy with it.

Callie, my lead in I Want You Back, is proving to be just as elusive.

The thing is, a happy ending doesn’t have to be a proposal and a white dress and a happy ever after – especially if that doesn’t fit with the journey the character has taken. As an aside, I hate that word – journey…but I digress.

I’ve been reading some straight romance genre of late – namely some regency romances by Anna Campbell, an Aussie author who I admire greatly. Unusually for the genre, her heroines don’t always end up in the frothy white toilet roll doll dress – well, not immediately anyway – unless it suits the story arc for them to do so. Of course, we know that they’re in love and assume that it’s a forever thing, but these women don’t say “I will” until they are ready to do so. I find that refreshing. It shows a strength of character and, dare I say it, a sort of feminism that way too many people believe can’t be found in a romance novel.

I want my girls to find love and the forever thing too – but also on their terms….although very often they need someone else to help them with that – or, at the very least, help point them in the right direction.

As for Callie? She’ll get her happy ending, but I’m not quite sure at this point what that looks like. Nor is she anywhere near to deserving it. Not yet. She’s still got a bit of work to do.

Aaaah the joys of being a pantser.