My Fond Farewell to RTG

by Shobhan Bantwal

Last summer, Judith Ashley and Sarah Raplee, the two lovely and brilliant ladies who facilitate this popular blog, invited me to become a regular contributor. Since they showcase a multitude of genres, they thought my ethnic Indian fiction would be a good fit for this particular forum.

I was delighted to accept their invitation to become a genre-ista for one year. Well, my year is up this month, and it is time for me to bid RTG a fond goodbye.

It has been an honor to share the blog with so many multi-talented and dedicated writers and readers. I have had a wonderful time sharing my thoughts, ideas, advice, and most of all my books with every one of you these past few months. My sincere thanks to Judith and Sarah for offering me this rare opportunity.

Oddly, I have not been writing any new books as of late. I had never imagined that I would reach a point in my life when I actually wanted to quit writing. Nonetheless I made that eccentric decision, despite having a top-rated NYC agent and six successful books published through Kensington Publishing. I consciously opted to leave the publishing race while I was still on top of the game.

Here is the question I am asked frequently: Why was I giving it up when my books had done well in the marketplace and my editor wanted me to keep on writing, and offered me more contracts for the foreseeable future?

The answer is simple: My priorities changed. My writing career has been unusual to begin with. I more or less stumbled into creative writing at the ripe age of fifty. It began as merely a hobby, so I had never really planned on becoming a published author. It was sheer serendipity that led me to more success than I had ever dreamt of.

But after juggling two demanding careers for several years, I recently retired from both, so my travel-weary husband and I could finally spend some quality time together. We also wanted to enjoy our two young grandchildren before they got too busy with school and extracurricular activities.

Now I continue to guest blog and write an occasional article or short story, but for all practical purposes I am a happily-retired fiction writer. And enjoying every minute! Yes, there is indeed life after writing—if that is what one chooses for oneself.

Thanks again to all of you who took the time to read my monthly column during this past year.

You can reach me via my website: www.shobhanbantwal.com or my Facebook page.

Hard to Decide When to End your Book?

by Shobhan Bantwal

After you have dreamed up a marvelous storyline, engaging characters, and an intriguing opening for your novel, are you perhaps stumped about how to end your tale? There is the danger of falling in love with your own story and wanting it to go on and on, right? So when, where, and how to end one's book can sometimes be a challenge, at least for me.

I am a hopeless romantic, therefore I want a sweet and/or dramatic end. In my debut book, The Dowry Bride, the original version ended in an epilogue, with my heroine and hero blissfully married and expecting their first child. Throughout the story, they manage to overcome the endless roadblocks with grace and tenacity, so I wanted a truly gratifying closure.

However, I had two very discerning and bright critique partners who pointed out that delving into the characters' future was like licking the stale sauce off a plate of fine food left on the counter overnight. In other words, overkill.

Well, that certainly squashed my sentimental finale. So how did I manage to keep my readers satisfied and yet conclude the story on an interesting note? My heroine learns from her experiences that freedom is vital to her, despite her deep love for the hero. She wants to savor her newly-gained independence from her abusive marriage before she will commit to marrying another man. In the end I hinted at abiding love and wedding bells for the future without actually portraying them, leaving something for the readers to ponder when they closed the book.

A couple of my subsequent books also end on a positive note without the proverbial "happily-ever-after." I believe readers are more erudite today than fiction readers of yesteryear. Their lifestyles and tastes are diverse. A broader range of readers as well as writers has altered the literary scene. The ever-widening spectrum of genres attests to that fact. My own books are sold as multi-cultural women's fiction with strong romantic elements, a mixed genre unheard of several years ago.

As a consequence, the storyline, including the ending, has become trickier for a multi-genre writer like me. While my romantic heart wants a love-forever closure, I try to curb that instinct, and instead introduce a buoyant conclusion without the sappiness. So far, because my books are not pure romance, this strategy has worked very effectively for me.

I would love to hear your viewpoints, experiences, and comments about endings.

You can reach me at my website: www.shobhanbantwal.com or my Facebook page.