Requiem for a Soldier (Requiem #1)

Author's Note

Tl;dr: this isn't the end, the story continues in the sequel, which is here on Wattpad but not complete yet

Thanks so much for reading Requiem for a Soldier! This was my first time writing a full novel and it took sixteen months, but I finally did it! And then it won the Wattys, which was completely unexpected and totally amazing. 

The Requiem story has been part of me for a very long time. It's been floating around in my head in one form or another since 2012. I had a very different version drafted back in 2015-2016 (that involved an earthquake, a secret fallout shelter under LAX, a much more angsty Ryan, and a female lead completely unrecognizable from Ana) and I deleted it completely, only to have the story return to me last spring in a much better incarnation, I must say. In my original version, Ryan was holding the female lead against her will, which is more along the lines of the Beauty and the Beast/Phantom of the Opera vibe I was going for, but is not the basis for a healthy relationship. I ain't about that Stockholm Syndrome romance. The plot climax for the original version involved the female lead having to escape from that proto-Ryan character by faking a serious illness. See, I told you it was bad. I'd heard of authors completely scrapping their first draft of a novel to re-writing it from scratch, (for example, Marissa Meyer did with Cinder, one of my favorite books EVER, I <3 The Lunar Chronicles) and the authors claim it's for the best. I'd never tried doing that myself until Requiem and now I understand. Requiem version 1.0 (actually, it never had a real title) was a hot mess that belongs in the recycle bin.

Several people have asked me about if I'm going to publish this book. Probably not. I've seen the flak that a lot of amateur writers' books have gotten (BookTube is great but scary sometimes) and I'm not keen to invite that kind of criticism upon myself and my story. Requiem for a Soldier is my baby and I'd hate to see it get ripped to shreds. More than likely, I'd agree with most of the criticism and then my fingers would be itching to go back and change the story to improve it, but once it's already published... it's kinda too late for that. So the only way I see myself publishing this book is after heavy editing and revision work until it's at a point that I'm completely happy with. Being that I have a tendency towards perfectionism, this is unlikely to happen. But, never fear, I plan to leave this story on Wattpad in its entirety for... ever, I guess. I have no plans to ever take it down is what I'm trying to say.

But what you really want to know is how I could write an ending like that. Just look to the comments and you'll find a massive outcry against this book's conclusion. Yeah, it was pretty brutal. Personally, I highly dislike books (especially romance novels) with an unhappy ending and those that leave a multitude of questions unanswered. So how could I end my book, this story that I love so much, like this? Trick question: the story's not over. Though people suggested that this ending was more realistic and there is a certain art to ending a narrative abruptly with plot threads left hanging, I'm an engineer, not an artist. I'm incapable of leaving things unfinished like that. So there's a sequel. And before you say "heck no, after that ending, there's no way I'm reading another word you've written!" I promise you that it'll be worth it. I won't say why exactly, because spoilers, but trust me. If you can still do that. Maybe that's too much to ask at this point.  

The current working title for the sequel is Requiem for a Love. I actually started writing a scene in Requiem for a Love over a year ago when I first decided on the ending for Soldier. It's a fabulous moment, but it won't be part of the "final first draft" that will end up here on Wattpad. It will probably be released as a bonus chapter after I finish writing Love. And who knows how long that's going to take. Love has new characters, new perspectives, and a lot of legal drama that I'm gonna have to spend a lot of time figuring out.

One last thing, if you go back to earlier chapters and comment spoilers, I'll delete those comments. I hoped I wouldn't need to say this, but unfortunately, I do. Don't ruin the experience for others, please.