I’m grateful for readers’ receptive response to “What Was Mine” and thrilled that many get so wrapped up in the world of Lucy, Mia and Marilyn that they’re disappointed when the story ends. Every week, I receive an email or comment inquiring if I intend to write a sequel. At first, I considered it. If readers were asking for a sequel, shouldn’t I write one?

I shouldn’t, I’ve decided. Not because I don’t respect the wishes of readers, but because the ending is where I think the story should end. In fact, I wrote pages past the ending before turning the book in. In a longer version of the book, Lucy meets Mia at the airport and takes her to Wendy’s house where they celebrate and then, and then, and then. But as I wrote page after page, the needle in the little story compass inside me…went dead. The more I wrote, the deader the prose felt until I realized I’d already written the ending. I went back page by page until the story needle inside me started moving again.

The ending isn’t neat, but I didn’t want What Was Mine to end predictably. The ending is meant to allow each reader to imagine, in accordance with her own life experience and feelings, what happens when Mia walks out that door. Still, I hope it communicates what comes next for all characters, and that Mia ends up accepting life with two mothers.

There won’t be a sequel, but there will be a next book which I hope readers will embrace with as much enthusiasm!