Universe

 This is the end of the story for Geoff and Nia. It is tremendously sad but somehow life-affirming. Some of the scenes I wrote here were so difficult to get through and yet I enjoyed every minute of it.

Universe is a love song to this couple.  I spent so much time with them I'm shaking at the thought of having to move on. This is a 300,000 word story about one family. Holy cow.

Funny thing is, I have to keep reminding myself, the universe bestowing gifts to them—when it does—is me. I'm their universe and to me, they exist.






Comments

  1. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 12:21

    Burned through to the halfway mark. So unbelievably good! Don't ever stop writing, KT!

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  2. Unknown20 February 2017 at 12:59

    At 26% already and it's breathtaking fantastic writing, you are a fantastic author whose work is spellbinding, can't wait to finish Universe and re-read the whole series again

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    1. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 13:34

      Thanks Paul! This one means a lot to me and I'm so glad to hear people enjoy it!

      Delete
  3. Unknown20 February 2017 at 13:14

    Got it as soon as my shift ended burned through to the bathtub scene. Had to stop. Hands are shaking too hard to hold the kindle. I'll get back to it.

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  4. JL2320 February 2017 at 13:26

    Yes, this is unbelievably well done...I skimmed it at parts so I could get to the end. Now I need to go back and re-read it! Thank god its a holiday here in the States and I have time to do it!

    I like the choice of ending, its similar to the first LHW...it feels like Geoff and Nia are working toward a reconciliation, but we end at just the beginning of it, with a lot of work left to do. That feels very real to me; given all they went through it wouldn't feel real if they just got right back together.

    So Odie's is Geoff's (yay!) but one thing I'm not sure I got at the end (or maybe since I was reading so fast with my heart pounding I missed it). Is the baby's really Geoff's, or is that just Nia's wishful thinking? When they had sex at the old house I thought that might be where it was leading, but she told Rocco she got pregnant in Italy. Since she told Rocco, I'm assuming it is really his.

    Geoff may have come to terms with it, but it made my skin crawl to have Odie call him "Papa Rocco"...he's the only one of the four characters I don't have a lot of sympathy for. Yes, he got hit by Hurricane Nia in a way, but still he ended up being a dick in my eyes. I know his son dies and that's horribly tragic, but it doesn't excuse him walking out on Nia like that after she tells him. I guess for me the one part I found a little hard to believe was the relationship he developed with Odie, but I guess I can see how someone could fall for that bubbly little girl.

    Anyway, I'll be back later when I can read it again and digest more of it. But incredible job, and I am a little sad to leave Nia and Geoff and Odie behind. I'd love to hear what everyone thinks is in store for them.

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    1. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 13:42

      What a cheater! Ha ha. I understand that desperation to find out the truths...

      You may have read too fast about the baby's parentage. I'll wait for you to read it again. Slower!

      Papa Rocco: Here's how I imagine it. Odie is much like a young Nia and she has a little girl fascination with masculine men. Burgeoning of course, she's only eight. But she likes Mom's new boyfriend. Especially since he's so nice to her. Rocco is only so nice to her (not because she's Nia's) but because she is Dino's, making her his niece. So to Rocco he is pampering his niece. The Dragonieris are full of little boys and they bump up against each other because of all the testosterone. A little girl is something he would have a deep paternal, avuncular and very protective feeling for. His relationship with Odie is a glimpse at the birth of Nia's passions for big masculine men. Nothing sexual at all, just a little girl feeling overwhelmingly safe.

      Rocco deserved Hurricane Nia. Don't stand on the beach like a dumb storm chaser. There must have been evacuation orders...

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    2. JL2320 February 2017 at 14:14

      Yes, I read it too fast! I'm a premature....reader or something like that...To paraphrase George Costanza: "Geoff's boys can swim!"

      While I'm here, also want to point out you almost gave me a heart attack when I thought Nia, or Odie, or both, were about to be killed by a runaway Jeep...OK, sure I'll have more thoughts later, but I'll leave you with this.

      F--- Rocco!

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    3. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 14:27

      I know. Kids at the side of the road (and dogs in pickup trucks) seize me right up.

      And yes, Geoff is one fertile motherfucker. I think that's part of the story. Masculinity hiding underneath. Geoff being a better man than the Dragonieri brothers, despite appearances. (Not that fertility is a sign of masculinity, maybe on a primal level) Geoff's boys are indeed Olympic swimmers.

      And Rocco was never a nice guy!

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    4. JL2320 February 2017 at 14:27

      So that ending was even happier than I first gave it credit for...my imagination holds nothing but good hope for Geoff, Nia, Odie and the coming Kane/Giannopolous baby, together on their island.

      Oh, and Pippet too...though I'm personally allergic to dogs I know how people get attached to them.



      Delete
    5. JL2320 February 2017 at 14:35

      Yes, I like that lesson too...as Nia finds out what really makes a man. Its not all about a big swinging...you know what.

      But even saying that, I do like the fact that Geoff is never depicted in this story as a guy who can't compete in that department either. Too many of these stories paint with too broad a brush in those areas...

      I like that his sex life didn't exactly suffer in the time he was apart from Nia, as Krista tells him "You have something...everyone sees it but you."

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    6. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 14:43

      Geoff was never that kind of cuckold. He was no Pete. Just low self esteem. Not noticing all his positives while others did. I loved writing about him moving on. It felt so good. He's a good guy. Pete could never do what Geoff did...

      No offense to Pete, but Geoff was sexy. Talented, good hair, nice beard, cool. Pete did not have Geoff's charms.

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    7. Unknown20 February 2017 at 15:26

      So very true. They are two completely different men. So, too, are Nia and Jess two completely different women.

      The Papa Rocco stuff made my skin crawl too, JL.

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    8. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 15:30

      JL - I also liked Geoff's normality, even though, as KT says, he's actually a cut above that isn't he? I mean dude's making his money just from what comes from his own head are something really special. And the love he has to give is rare!

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    9. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 15:30

      And as usual, Fuck Rocco!

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  5. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 13:51

    PHENOMENAL WORK! I mean Odie crushes the heart felt moments, but you had me pacing around my apartment when she was on the road ... I was audibly saying "Noooo!" like a lunatic. The scene with Angie and Donna tearing up that DNA test result, such an awesome touch, absolutely loved that. It is a boss friend move, because we all know the truth of the matter, even Dino did in that "bro nod" moment. Odie is, was, and forever will be Geoff's daughter, who cares what a piece of paper and an olive complexion might say to the rest of the world. Leave it us to figure out the truth, but it doesn't matter at all!

    I came to you KT with an interest in stories that didn't end the way this one did, I wanted the hurt, the terrible choices and ugliness that lies and deceit bear. The dark parts of me loved what Jess did to Pete, and I wanted that from you again. I even thought to myself at one point that if this ended happily, I might be disappointed. What it took to get me to grow up a bit was believing what I was reading. I wanted you to prove to me that she could love someone who wasn't the Alpha male, a man that didn't make her toes curl because he knew how to draw that out of her, that made the kind of money he did doing work that masculine men do and with his own strong hands, all the while being an asshole every other moment of his life. You proved that to me, and I am so thankful for that!

    Nia's love for Geoff was always there, and you never let us forget it, even when it seemed like she really might not stay with Geoff, that her fantasy world had consumed her. Then when she made it past the point of no return and the hardest of truths were revealed to Geoff, you made sure that we remembered how they felt about each other. Made us remember square one, the park, Cherry Blossoms again. An eternal love that never leaves, shit I am making my own self cry right now, lol. This post will look ridiculous tomorrow.

    Here this helps. My new favorite Odieism "my-mown-mow" haaaa.

    She rolled one hell of a dice, but thank fuck for true love.

    I'm going to go for a walk because I need some fresh air after this series, I seriously almost drove myself insane. All the stars, KT!

    KT Fans, eat your heart out brothers and sisters!

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    1. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 14:02

      Read that last part too fast, she's all Kane/Giannoppolous!

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    2. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 14:16

      Thank you so much! I mean it. This blog is such a huge pat of why I write these stories, and this group of regular contributors is really an amazing collection of people.

      The happy ending: it appears happy, but is it? Ha ha. It definitely warms the heart. And I think it's happy, but, mmm, I tend to think that Nia was off her pill to sleep with Geoff and have his baby. At least hoped to have it. She knew she could get him back that way...is she completely cured? There's more to that ending...

      Odie at the side of the road: there is nothing scarier, nothing, than children close to traffic. I added the gruesome detail of the Sikh woman's injury to remind us how fragile our dumb bodies are right before I talk about Odie on the shoulder. I was crying while I wrote it even though I one hundred percent knew she was going to be fine!

      We've talked enough to know that the endings are the endings no matter what. Some good some bad. It has o seem fitting. This may not be as good an ending if you think about it more. But it made no sense to punish Geoff more than he already had been. I like Geoff. He is the strongest male character I've ever written. And, seriously, in the end, sexier than an Omar or a Dino.

      I talked about bloopers and outtakes...here's the original start to the chapter Mournfully Sung:

      Rocco died on April 18th. The plane he was on went down over a stretch of ice between something and something. There was a pilot, two other hunters, a Native boy called soemthing ad his eighteen year old girlfriend. And Rocco. The plane crasged four miles from the island and went through the ice. No one survived. Rocco drowned while unconscious. He was a man’s man til the end but he wasn’t indestructible. His body was retrieved by so and so, four days later.
      geoff read about I onilne sutting in front of his Imac at three in the moring in his cold studio. He cried. He cried for Rocco and he cried for Nia. He lay on his couch and cried til the sun came up. In the morning he called Nia.

      Holy shit, huh? I wrote that last October. I decided not to kill Rocco a week ago.

      Endings change and hey have to make sense. Somewhere along the way I came up with the Karma theme. it made sense to me. It made sense for Geoff and his family. I pulled back on Rocco because it was too big. Too much about me, not enough about the characters.

      I have another series I've already started (I told Edwin about it already) and I'm thinking about branding it as LHW3. It's crazy dark. Practically a suspense/thriller. I'm not working towards a happy ending with it but I can't imagine a good one. Ha ha, endings emerge from the story itself...

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    3. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 14:35

      And I liked the sense of context. Geoff has so long not felt good enough for his wife. He's learned a thing or two along the way.

      He was a Nia to Jenny.

      He is sexy, he is male, he has value. He's no Rocco or Dino, but his measurements are recorded in a different manner.

      And when he goes toe-to-toe with a big-city editor like Krista, who's had all sorts of private-scool flings and is powerful, worth a shit-ton of money, but he doesn't wilt...he is conceiving himself in a new way. Getting that context. Like his paintings. Seeing things from far way...

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    4. JL2320 February 2017 at 14:44

      I guess we should think back to what Jenny tells him: "You're the only one she can trick, everyone else sees right through her..." Not completely fair, but I can see more than a little truth in it. I'm guessing Kelly may not be thrilled about this for her brother.

      But I prefer the happy endings, so I'll go with the idea that Nia has learned her lesson and there won't be darkness ahead for them.

      I think you made the right choice not to kill off Rocco...in a way, that makes it easier for everyone, including Rocco. Now he has to live with his choices. Of course, he's also still out there to wreck more carnage in the Kane household...no happy thoughts only, happy thoughts only...

      Not sure I can take another LHW story so quickly, but then again there are fun even as they slowly rip my emotions into a thousand pieces. Maybe knowing a dark ending is probably coming will make it easier.

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    5. JL2320 February 2017 at 14:50

      If Rocco had died though, was that going to be the impetus to bring Nia and Geoff back together? I notice the passage ended with him calling Nia....

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    6. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 14:55

      Jenny was a little extreme in her view but not entirely wrong. She was hurting.

      I think the Dragonieris will be severed from the Kane household. No blood relation. Fuck off. And Dino, I feel, is done with Nia. He believed for a long time his temper had killed his own baby. He will never talk to Nia again.

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    7. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 14:57

      Yes, re: Nia and Geoff getting back together after Rocco dies.

      In my first imagining of the story Rocco takes Nia from Geoff and they go off together. Didn't work out that way. Things change as I get closer to them.

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    8. Unknown20 February 2017 at 15:37

      Hell yes Odie is a lark. She is THE one that saves the family, even if she is the scare that broke it not once but almost twice.

      I'm glad you didn't kill off Rocco. It wouldn't have fit. not with the way the characters have evolves in the last few months. While it could have been interresting, Geoff would have just been the "consolation prize" and never would have had his own character growth. And I'm glad I was wrong. Nia does love Geoff and not just the idea of him.

      KT did indeed tell me a little about her next LHW project. Ive a feeling it will be harder on me than this one was. I may have to proceed with caution, lol.

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    9. JL2320 February 2017 at 15:38

      OK...its interesting though, this talk of happy endings. In the week between the last chapter and this, I spent some time thinking of what the "dark" ending for me would be. In a lot of ways, what happened was similar to what I envisioned.

      I saw Nia going to live with Rocco, but quickly coming to realize that it could never hold a candle to what she had with Geoff, that Rocco was merely a warm body to cling to, a placeholder.

      I saw Geoff struggling at first, but finding his footing and throwing himself into his work and finding great success.

      I even envisioned an end similar to this, with Nia dropping Odie off at Geoff's...even at a wedding potentially. But this time it would've be Geoff's to his new girlfriends, or even have Geoff be married and the woman pregnant with his new baby. Then Nia would have to live with the idea that another woman could give Geoff what she couldn't.

      Probably a little too harsh on Nia, but there are plenty of parallels to what actually ends up happening. But I like your ending better.

      If you'll allow me another Seinfeld reference, it's all about who has "hand" in the relationship. With Jess/Pete, Jess always has the upper hand, and I don't think that changes even at the end. Here I see it a little differently.

      Nia definitely does throughout the story, but at the end here Geoff has the upper hand in my mind. Nia knows she's miserable w/o Geoff, that she needs him. And she also sees that Geoff probably doesn't really need her: his career takes off w/o her, his relationship with Odie is stronger than ever, and he clearly would be able to find a great woman who could love him and he could come to love. Geoff is coming back to her because he chooses to, not because he needs to. So perhaps that keeps Nia from flirting with the dark side again.

      OK, now I'm really going back to read everything closely from the beginning, and to see what other's thoughts are.

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    10. Unknown20 February 2017 at 15:39

      Also, Dino... I think he made the right move. No way he ever has a healthy life around Nia.

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    11. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 15:43

      @Edwin - I agree, killing Rocco wouldn't have worked for me either. Maybe she might have pulled that off, but it's way too easy for her!

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    12. JL2320 February 2017 at 15:44

      I lied, one other thing. About Dino and knowing Nia lied to him about their baby...I do agree with you there, I think he would be done with Nia completely after that. And yes, they should completely cut themselves off from the Dragonieri's now...but what if Odie wants to see "Papa Rocco"? (chills going down my spine).

      You had to throw that part in, didn't you. I don't even want to read those parts as I go back now.

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    13. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 16:17

      This comment has been removed by the author.

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    14. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 16:18

      KT - I want to thank you for being so accessible, and appreciate the kind sentiments that you give to your contributors here. Even if your intentions weren't to keep me hooked by keeping everyone on top of the latest, you really did it by being that way. I really like that the people that write here are actually thoughtful people. I mean I guess if you were writing this for free you might get riff-raff so you've already filtered out a lot them just by design, but still, everyone here has good thoughts, and that is really important to keeping me on here, too! What a journey!

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    15. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 18:56

      Yes, I'm very fortunate that I have passionate and literate fans here that are enjoying the story as much as the 'detail.'

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    16. Unknown21 February 2017 at 13:27

      KT, I wanted to echo the thanks for your availability and your enthusiasm in interacting with us.

      Thank You!

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  6. Unknown20 February 2017 at 15:22

    ok. breathing.... still breathing....

    Shit what beautiful writing. I don't think I could have plowed through the rest of this if the writing were less than spectacular. Between the bathtub and the jeep you had me in fits of shaking and crying, KT. Still, you convinced me with your writing before I saw your post above. Never fear, I for one won't shy from a great story because it hurts a little (or a lot). But damn if that Jeep scene didn't trigger a full on PTSD moment for me...

    Reading the rest helped though. A Happier ending than I was expecting honestly. That Nia decided, no, knew that she wanted Geoff back was heartening. That she fells the need to manipulate to get there worries me a bit. I haven't read the blog here yet but I'm guessing she went off the pill before going to see Geoff not in Italy? She's still dark. But it's directed her back to Geoff.

    But they had to have their time apart, yes? They had to grow. To change. To learn to appreciate the other for what they were and what they were becoming.

    Nia needed to see that Rocco would never be what she wanted or needed. Not really. And she had to know. She had to find the courage to know the truth about Odie, and the new baby. And to finally, fully appreciate Geoff the MAN as he deserves.

    And Geoff... I'm a bit disappointed in him, letting himself hurt Jenny like that. At first I was thinking Nia did that to break them up on purpose, out of Jealousy. Maybe she did. Two birds with one stone. It isn't like Geoff was powerless to stop it. But he still very obviously loves his wife. It's not like he's the type to get physical to stop her. At least he didn't try to lie to Jenny about it. Point to him for honesty sake. And Geoff getting the props for being the sexy beast he is does wonders for self confidence.

    This series has been a wringer. These characters will stay with me for a long time. It might sound trite to some of you but they will take their place in a pantheon of greats for me like Frodo Baggins, Matrim Cauthon, James Holden, Mistborn Vin, Mercy Thompson, Ender Wiggins, Tanis Half-Elven... Characters I can never forget.

    Now... I think I need a beer... or three.

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    1. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 15:39

      For sure! I like that you don't cut Geoff slack about hurting Jenny, because I agree with that, but that sex was really empty. It felt like desperation from the moment Nia asked him to hold her. That was an incredible scene.

      The bathtub scene was intense too! I knew Rocco wasn't going to do anything beyond rough her up, but there was a second there ...

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    2. Unknown20 February 2017 at 15:42

      My problem there was not that I was "seeing" Nia. I was reliving the past. It didn't matter that Rocco didn't, though he could have. No I was seeing my L and what happened to her. Damned PTSD.

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    3. Unknown20 February 2017 at 15:44

      But I plow on. We must face our fears or be ruled by them.

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    4. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 17:24

      Man, part of me is really curious, but another part of me is content being completely ignorant of your story. Relating so deeply to the content of this story is a whole other level of emotion that I, luckily, escaped from.

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    5. Unknown20 February 2017 at 19:27

      it's not a happy tale. good has come of it. but it isn't a good story and I don't want to steal KT's rightfully earned thunder.

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  7. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 15:26

    Regarding the ending: I leave for one minute and I come back to caveats, Can't you give me 24 hours before I have my wake up call? I also caught the undertones between Geoff and Nia when Geoff was with Jenny. I thought, wow, now Geoff knows how Nia feels about Dino and what he brings to bear.

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  8. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 15:49

    Can we do a Q&A? I write out a question, and you reply, I shoot out another set, reply, etc.? I have a few ... Others can add there's too if they want but they'll probably just say them in other posts, whatever works.

    I'll start with this one - why did Nia shave herself before she went out with Donna and co.?

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    1. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 16:14

      Sure. She really didn't know Dino would be there. Shaving was a hearkening back to an older time. A youthful, fun, sexy time. She did not shave for Dino as much as Geoff would like to imagine it...

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    2. ToBe=ToHave20 February 2017 at 16:28

      Ok cool.

      Thank you, my head went one of two ways on that and feeling young again hanging out with her old gang was one.

      That kind of leads me to this one, which is rooted in the origin story that I'd like to understand. I asked this in the other thread and maybe now can get some absolution from the source! Though it is complicated, and maybe not worth answering.

      Would Nia have eventually had the kind of blow out she and Rocco had in Montreal, had Geoff not kept pushing the idea of her stepping out?

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    3. JL2320 February 2017 at 16:56

      I guess for me, having just read the passage, I have a question where Rocco (assuming its him) comes back to stay the night with Nia after she tells him she's pregnant.

      We don't seem to get anything more on it: she just tells her friends she's done with Rocco the next time we see her. Did they agree it was over between them, or did Nia just tell him it was over? I feel like as much as I hate Rocco, he wouldn't just leave if he thought Nia was carrying his child...he'd stay around, if only to put his "claim" on the child.

      Or was that all really a dream, and Nia was just imagining someone was with her, that Geoff was with her?

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    4. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 18:50

      It is Rocco that comes back.

      He comes back because he is conflicted. This Nia bitch keeps fucking up his life. But now she's carrying his kid. So he goes back.

      That care of Rocco's is short-lived. He is selfish too. His concern for her in the following weeks would have waned. And she would have proved difficult in that time too, pushing him away.

      And Rocco is not a great Dad. He works and provides but his care is superficial. An imitation of care. Once the newness of Nia's pregnancy wore off he'd find it easier to fight with her and stop seeing her. As a provider he would follow through. Give his child with Nia all the financial support he could.

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    5. JL2320 February 2017 at 19:09

      Superficial is the perfect word...he thinks the only thing that matters is that he has money to provide for his kids. The scene with O and his boys is pretty indicative...he treats her much better than he does his boys, who he just feeds sugary cereals and plops them in front of video games, while casually threatening and cursing at them.

      I wish we could have seen the moment he finds out that both Odie and the unborn baby are Geoff's. Of course, I suspect his attachment to Odie would disappear once he found out they weren't related by blood, and that would no doubt make her sad.

      The irony is that now Geoff is a millionaire artist/painter/raconteur, and Rocco is about to be taken to the poor house. Karma man.

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    6. Unknown20 February 2017 at 19:32

      Karma indeed and I suspect you are right. the minute he knows Odie is a Kane, Rocco will probably scoot. Then again Odie is kind of addicting, herself.

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    7. ToBe=ToHave21 February 2017 at 03:52

      This comment has been removed by the author.

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    8. ToBe=ToHave21 February 2017 at 03:54

      KT, are you calling pass on my second Q? That one was a toughy, or maybe it was answered when Nia talks about the real reason she might like men like Rocco.

      I'll move on.

      What was the purpose for the premonitions? In particular, Geoff in the closet in Kaleidoscope. He foresees jumping off a bridge! Were they red herrings for the overanalyzers? Mission accomplished! :)

      Or was the Universe warning Geoff about what could happen to him if he isn't careful?

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    9. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 07:04

      2B2H, 2nd question: sorry, missed it!

      Do you mean would Nia and Rocco have come together, cheating on Geoff, say in Montreal, if Geoff wasn't supportive or interested in wife-sharing? If so: No, she wouldn't. She made it clear from the beginning she would never cheat on him again. She learned from the tryst with Dino. She would never do that again. She really loves her husband. Sometimes Geoff, I think, was sexually aroused by feeling like she didn't, refusing to hear what she said about him because it was arousing to be tickled by feeling inadequate.

      Nia does find Rocco appealing in a one night stand kind of way but she would resist him. She also wouldn't have been so flirtatious with him, not given him signals. He may not even have invited her to Montreal if he didn't think he'd get laid.

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    10. Unknown21 February 2017 at 07:41

      Yeah. That makes sense. Like I said the tragedy is of equal parts in the making.

      My take;

      Geoff's lack of self confidence, despite Nia's reassurances, pushes him to feel that he's not satisfying his wife. When he gets a glimpse of what really gets her fires hit in the very first book, when she comes home from girls night out, he starts thinking she deserves better. That opens the flood gates for Geoff because he REALLY loves seeing Nia that pleased. That of course gets Nia hot because , a) she's getting stuffed good, and b) she's making Geoff all manner of excited.

      And none of it would have been a problem had the Dragonierei boys not been on Nia's menu. Nia felt she needed to lie to Geoff about Odie to protect him. Later she felt she needed to lie to Geoff about how she felt or was starting to feel for the same reasons. Nia started feeling less and less adequate. As she says in the last chapter, wishing she was worthy of Geoff. But he felt the same way.

      Yeah. I can see this is only a really temporary tragedy. In the end Nia sees not only Geoff in a new light but Odie as well so her entire universe is turned inside out.

      Meanwhile Geoff doesn't need the papers. He's more confident. Though I suspect Nia will make sure he reads them, not to be sure me knows for certain for her sake but because he deserves the recognition and fulfillment that is rightfully his.

      I was mad at Nia for a long time, for my own reasons. But I like what she's become.

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    11. Unknown21 February 2017 at 08:23

      Also, re Geoff, I was thinking while getting ready for work, that he would have asked Nia to stay that night anyway. Regardless of the near accident. Had Nia and Odie told him of the jeep the reason to ask her to stay would not have changed, the logic behind the asking would be the same, but the feeling would have been different. Geoff making the decision on his own impacts things differently than Geoff making it because his loves were almost killed. But my question is, in the adrenaline and endorphin rush Nia is in the midst of did she think of that, or was she simply trying to protect Geoff again as he seems to have anxiety issues and she knows it? Still I worry that Nia is starting off on the wrong foot here. Even if I find it hard to care since I think the end result would have been the same.

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    12. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 08:29

      Nia is there solely to give Geoff those results. She won't at that point presume he'd invite her to stay. Not for a coffee or for dinner. Standing on the dock, she assumes that she will drop off Odie, he might not even ask her to come see the place, though she figures he might. Her desire at that point is to put that gift in his hand. She wants a nice moment, in the hope that he might forgive her. She feels like talking about the almost accident would get blood pressures high, his voice high and tense. She wants a nice calm Geoff, undistracted. Her thought at that moment are that she will in a moment change his life for the better...

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    13. Unknown21 February 2017 at 08:40

      And then he rocks her world in a consecutive series of emotional thumps by inviting her in, introducing the dog that accepts her, letting her see his art, then kissing her and asking her to stay. Man... emotional overload for Nia eh?

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    14. ToBe=ToHave21 February 2017 at 08:50

      I'll move on to my next question. I'm comforted by everyone's take here. It makes me happier about the ending in believing this won't happen again.

      You mentioned at the end of your Sanctity blog that 'sometimes love exists in a situation or a circumstance' something to that effect. Care to expound on that?

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    15. ToBe=ToHave21 February 2017 at 08:50

      This comment has been removed by the author.

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    16. Unknown21 February 2017 at 09:22

      Ooooh. Good one.

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    17. JL2321 February 2017 at 10:10

      I was also thinking about those 8 months at the beginning that we don't see. I think it was the right move to jump ahead, but I am curious as to what you think were Nia's first actions after she pulls herself together on that houseboat.

      In their coffee conversation, it seems to show that Nia moved in pretty quickly with Rocco (which angered and upset Geoff). But she also says to Geoff that she wanted to be the one to help him through things, but he shut her out. So I guess I wonder what her efforts were in those first few days/weeks to win back her family, and what caused her to back off for that 8 month time period, until the meeting at the house?

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    18. Unknown21 February 2017 at 13:36

      I have a wuestion as well. The Pajama party. It was a great intervention. But I'm wondering if you had planned to use it or something similar ahead of time? Nia was in an extremely lonely place and had Angela and Donna not shown up things could easily have been different. Geoff had Jenny and Krista pull his fat out of the fire but I'm sure Kelly and Trish would have been there as well if needed. But my point is she had no one, needed someone, and they found her. Was that planned or did you see a need for a deus ex machina?

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    19. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 19:46

      The temporal nature of love was Geoff's worry. Part of his weakness showing through. Expecting her to move on from him because he didn't feel worthy.

      It is temporal, but it doesn't have to be. That's what Geoff learns.

      Everything changes. Everyone dies.

      He has to make those things he wants his own. He knows that he's always wanted Nia and always wanted to care for her forever.

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    20. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 19:50

      The eight months in between: I think you can imagine, given where they are when we catch up with them.

      Nia is distraught. She doesn't fight for geoff at first because she knws she's guilty. She really starts to believe that Odie is Dino's where she used to always believe she was geoff's.

      the reality is she doesn't know. And that's huge for her.

      Geoff is angry with her for the first time ever and he won't talk to her. No matter what she does, no matter how much she cares about him, and she does, he viciously rejects her. This is devastating to her. She becomes a wreck and Rocco is right there. he loves this. Takes her away to Italy.

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    21. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 19:57

      Pajama Party: Does it show? Sort of a deus ex machina. But I knew I needed something there, just didn't know what it was. Wanted Nia to be absent for a stretch. Saw a gaping hole in her story line. Then I realized what was missing. That scene is so important, but literally there was a gap in the manuscript where something should be. It was blank and I had no idea, then a few hours later it was done and it was exactly as it should be. It was the second last scene I wrote. The last I wrote was the one on the island. To treat myself. Plus I knew what would happen there. The car accident happened as I wrote it, now I can't picture it without. It seemed very flat going in, just Odie and Nia talking about whether she was a good mom. No tension. Just walking through a scene. Then I thought about Ontario snowstorms and it came together, emphasized my theme...if I'd written it on another day, it might not be there...

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    22. Unknown21 February 2017 at 21:02

      Pajama Party: show? No. But on reflection I'd wondered. I'd been watching Nia get more and more despondent, feeling she needed a good kick in the pants... and someone on her side, and boom there it was. We already knew the girls adored Geoff. We already how tight she'd been with them. Them showing up felt perfect. I just wasn't sure, from the tone, if it was the author driving the story or vice versa. That I couldn't tell means it was well written.

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    23. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 00:41

      I love this, my understanding has improved so much reading all your updates tonight. Like Edwin, I loved the PJ party scene so much. Angie tearing up the test that she gave so much power to was really touching. It was a deus ex machina? Good insight, and no wonder I liked it so much. Powerful. Even if she had lied about the results (which I thought was possible), she made the right point by letting her know it never mattered.

      The more I think about this story, piece together what was going through the character's minds, the more I love how strongly understood each of them were. How good of a story it was to reveal things when they were. Maybe it was done on the fly, maybe it wasn't, but it felt in control. It makes knowing i put so much energy into this story gratifying, knowing this author knows her shit. I can't believe her ability to send this in chunks, knowing that once your precursorsy scenes are out there, you can't revise anything you might not have been clear on in developing them. Yet how I remember the beginning, everything in between, all of it culminates to where it ended. It doesn't get any better than this story.

      I will read this all again knowing everything there is to know, eventually, and I understand the full metamorphosis of all the characters with the right direction and less doubts about their arch. Can't. Wait.

      My next question centers on how much control Nia had in being unfaithful to Geoff 8 years ago.

      How did she and Dino meet up 8 years ago that led to their tryst?

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    24. Unknown22 February 2017 at 01:20

      ToBe... so you get why I'm putting this tale on such a pedistal? For me?

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    25. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 05:35

      Edwin is kind of right...after about 100,000 words the story starts to tell itself. I had no idea Angie was going to rip that envelope up. No idea Nia would admit to Odie's paternity. I just put everybody in a room because I knew they needed to be, then they started talking...

      I didn't outline that scene, it just happened like I was watching it, transcribing it. I would plot ahead a little, then fixed it all up in some editing...

      But yes, the story tells itself...

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    26. JL2322 February 2017 at 13:12

      ToBe...I've thought a lot on what could have led to that Dino/Nia one night stand.

      I'll leave it to KT to give her thoughts, but the way I came to see it is somewhat where I think Geoff lands on it in this last chapter:

      They're young, still newly married but the glow of being newlyweds wearing off, struggling financially, maybe having trouble starting their family (or fully committing to doing it)...perhaps all that is also causing tension between them.

      She probably meets Dino at a random weak moment and gives in to old, but good memories. She immediately realizes its wrong and recommits to her marriage. Then she buries the thought the baby could be Dino's in the back of her mind and when she sees how Geoff is with Odie she convinces herself Odie's his.

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    27. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 13:23

      I purposely didn't think about it. I pushed details out of my own mind. I won't say one way or another.

      However there is a purposeful parallel between Nia and Geoff in the empty garage when he has sex with her while he's seeing Jenny. I like to show that what Geoff pictures it as could be just a sudden overwhelming of old passions and well-oiled movements. He is instantly remorseful. I wanted Geoff to know there was a chance that her tryst with Dino was reluctant. It could have been. I know he pictured it as dirty but it may have been clumsy and sad. Or maybe not, ha ha...

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    28. JL2322 February 2017 at 13:32

      That's kind of why I've wondered what Geoff will come to think of that being the moment they conceived their baby. It was a moment he immediately regretted and caused him no small amount of pain.

      The fact that this moment brings him a new child obviously puts a new, great angle to it, and he's back with Nia now, so maybe that completely outweighs any of the guilt he felt over it. I'm not sure it would for me though.

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    29. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 13:36

      Yeah, I definitley thought of that and tried some workarounds and then decided I liked it. They're not unscathed. not everything is perfect. Yes he told her he hated her while he planted the seed that will become their baby. They both know the truth. He didnt hate her. he loved her. It will be a guilty feeling but they will get over it...

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    30. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 16:27

      I think how Dino and Nia came about 8 years ago is important to understanding if Nia might do it again though, in my opinion. Geoff is a totally different man, much stronger, a better catch, and now he has some scars and a few more women in his past for added intrigue. So I don't really think he's going to be why Nia would ever cheat again.

      BUT, 8 years ago was a reality where Geoff is not at all okay with her stepping out on the relationship and Nia still did it. Did Nia call Dino up one lonely night? He wore a condom, so they obviously took the time to stop and think about what they were doing, and yet it continued. If it was a premeditated action it makes me think about the ending of the series and how far removed it really was from Nia's relationship with Rocco at that point. Maybe not long enough to prove that things will go back the way they were between Geoff and Nia.

      I don't know, 8 years is a long time for a serial cheater to stop serially cheating, so maybe WHY it happened has no bearing on if it happens again. And of course, Nia has a heart and she always felt terrible about that time with Dino to the point where she even almost ruined her relationship with her own daughter. Totally just being devil's advocate here!

      My hope was it was spontaneous. Nia goes home to visit family and bumps into Dino and they meet for coffee. JL really helps remind me of Nia and Geoff's past and puts that time period into context for me.

      Another question for you KT (I have two now floating here, I didn't mean to spread it around). What is Nia more jealous of? Jenny's kiss? Or Jenny's 'Big Book of Choo' work? It took me too long to think about that element before the scene where Nia lays it all out for Geoff in Temporal.

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    31. JL2322 February 2017 at 18:07

      I'm not as worried about Nia cheating again. As KT put it, she's learned her lesson. The attraction to guys like Dino and Rocco will probably always be there for her, but she now knows the reality of what life with guys like that is like, and they're no match for her life with Geoff in my mind. And Geoff is much more self confident in himself now, and that will do wonders for their relationship.

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    32. JL2322 February 2017 at 18:12

      ToBe's Jenny reference reminded me of something I thought about: I'm imagining a scene in the future where Krista and Nia come into contact...with Geoff/Odie's book progressing you figure she will at some point. What if she puts together something happened between her husband and Krista?

      To know your husband had a fling with a beautiful, wordly, Ivy League educated woman? That is still heavily involved in his business affairs? You know what, I'm sure it would be fine. Happy thoughts....happy thoughts.

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    33. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 18:23

      Nia is ten times the woman Krista is. Your happy thoughts win out to me.

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    34. JL2322 February 2017 at 19:20

      Yeah, there would be nothing to worry about; Geoff would never do anything. It would just be an interesting scene, because I think Nia would pick up on it immediately.

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    35. ToBe=ToHave23 February 2017 at 04:57

      KT- you kind of talked about it a bit already, the Jenny kiss, but to clarify, my question above is meant to get at what Nia was afraid of in her jealous state and what she was think about.

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    36. JL2323 February 2017 at 13:45

      That scene with Nia and Geoff in their old home, in addition to being so powerful, also gave me a new word: stertorous (labored breathing)...never heard that one before.

      As my mom was found of saying, that was a "25 cent word" or "an SAT word"...

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  9. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 16:13

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  10. JL2320 February 2017 at 16:48

    So I read the first half much more closely this time...everything up to where Nia tells Rocco she's pregnant. Picked up on a lot of things I missed the first time. Most of the stuff was related to Nia and Rocco...I didn't ever like reading about them together but I pushed through it now and see what I missed the first time.

    When Nia tells him she's pregnant, she's not doing it because she hopes he'll be with her. It's clear to me now she was just more afraid to be alone...that she was clinging to Rocco as a friend, as the only friend she felt she deserved.

    And reading through the parts with Geoff/Nia I kind of see what others, including KT, alluded to. I do think its entirely possible she "pulled the goalie" with Geoff in the house. I could see a desperate Nia thinking that was the only way he'd take her back. Maybe she didn't consciously do it, but I kind of wonder whether she was ever off the pill in Italy. Maybe she was, but why do I now suspect she only was for that period when she knew she would see Geoff alone again. She does beg him to sign the papers in person after all.

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    1. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 18:44

      Exactly. Not consciously doing it. Almost not caring.

      And not in Italy. Off the pill when she got home. Lying to Rocco. Hormones wanting to mate with Geoff, knowing that would be good for her. Risking a pregnancy with Rocco.

      She told Rocco it was in Italy so he wouldn't leave. Keep him off the trail that it might be Geoff's. She does want his company.

      But, she likes to provoke him. The way she announces both statements, I slept with Geoff, I'm pregnant, they're done callously, looking to incite him. She doesn't really like him. She likes being a bad girl with him. How she would have behaved with her father.

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    2. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 18:54

      Why I didn't make this clearer: I write in third person free indirect discourse, so I tell in third person what goes on in the character's head. Nia doesn't necessarily do what I'm saying on purpose and if she did she wouldn't acknowledge it or think about it.

      Plus I like the idea of it not being there, that I'm wrong about Nia. Weird, I know. I'm not that sure she did what I'm saying in the same way she's not sure she did it on purpose either.

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    3. JL2320 February 2017 at 19:16

      Yes, I think ambiguity can often be a good thing. Everyone can come to their own conclusion as to what she was thinking. I think the story stays with you longer that way, rather than when we have a easy conclusion with all loose ends tied up.

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    4. Unknown20 February 2017 at 19:16

      ok. she just wanted Geoff. guess I was overthinking it. :P all good. It just makes the ending better.

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    5. JL2320 February 2017 at 19:24

      Who wouldn't want Geoff, right? The way I read the ending...he has already decided in his mind he wants to get back together with Nia, he is just looking for the right moment. Its why he invites her in for coffee...then he sees she's pregnant and he sees his moment.

      I love that Geoff is willing to commit to raising another man's child again (and unless I totally misread it I gotta think in that moment he believes that baby is Rocco's). That's the sign of a real man...

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    6. Unknown20 February 2017 at 19:30

      maybe. it was ambiguous. he has the papers in his hand at the end if I read correctly. so if he didn't read them he will soon.

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    7. JL2320 February 2017 at 20:04

      Yeah, I guess I feel like he has already committed now though, before he reads the truth (BTW I also like that we don't see his reaction to the news). So that's all I need to see, that he was willing to be with Nia even if she's carrying another man's child.

      But, as we've been milling things over here, I wonder if he'll do the same mental gymnastics in his own head about that day at their old house. And how will he feel if he gets the sense Nia did it on purpose. Will that make him upset? I'm not sure...so even as he feels joy that the kids are his, will he also be angry at Nia for maybe manipulating him?

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    8. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 20:11

      He made the decision to have her back in his life, kissing her first, thinking she was carrying someone else's baby. He hadn't read the letter yet. Nia didn't have to trap him or trick him at all. Plus, Nia does it with 100% love. Geoff would know that. Probably be pretty flattered...

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    9. Unknown20 February 2017 at 20:13

      Good. :)

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    10. Unknown20 February 2017 at 20:43

      Just checked. The papers are under him (elbow I think). But rereading the chapter I can see Geoff doesn't care. He just accepts and loves. He's a hell of a good man.

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    11. JL2320 February 2017 at 20:55

      Yeah, in the end it probably wouldn't matter to Geoff...he's a better man than me. That would bug me, love or not I would still feel a little manipulated.

      So do we think he brings Nia to his sister's wedding? That might be interesting..."hey, I'm back with my estranged wife and she's 6 months pregnant with my child!"...damn Nia always overshadowing others' weddings....lol

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    12. Unknown20 February 2017 at 21:34

      Hmmmm. I think he does. But not without talking it over with her first. Having the DNA results would help with that. After that the majority of their problems were as much Geoff's fault as they were Nia's. I mean the Odie issue is no longer an issue in any regard whatsoever. That being said if Nia has truly learned her lesson she'd do well to be like she was thinking in the car. Be there in the background for Odie. This I think is one of the most important things from this book. She's thinking about Odie again. And Geoff again. Her focus has shifted. She evolves as a character right before our eyes. Maybe just a little but it's there.

      No... I think it's Odie that overshadows the wedding.

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    13. ToBe=ToHave21 February 2017 at 04:23

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    14. ToBe=ToHave21 February 2017 at 04:33

      Reading the exchange about the pregnancy trap and KT's call for me to take a step back, has me thinking about this as a "happy" ending.

      KT mentions if Nia learned enough of a lesson, I also wonder if Geoff learned enough? Lots and lots of subtext and symbolism in that last scene that I overlooked feeling the love shared between Geoff and Nia.

      Geoff asking Nia to stay inside "tonight" to protect her from the roads.

      Stay inside his castle of a cottage with the moat of a lake. Raise the family there. The Prince and the Princess.

      Water being brought to a boiling point at the very end, a reminder of what happened with Nia and Rocco leading up to Montreal.

      This is why we can't have nice things ... lol.

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    15. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 04:39

      The ending is however you make it!

      My personal takeaway, how I imagine it (you're all free to interpret these characters whatever way you feel) is this is a happy ending.

      Nia will be forever doting on her family. She'll have a baby she's cuckoo for. It's Geoff's. She knows it's Geoff's. Like it or not she wasn't always sure Odie was Geoff's and it may have affected her relationship with her daughter. Now she's learned her lesson, she has a baby. She'll be forever happy with Geoff.

      Geoff will be an even better husband and father. The wife-sharing they did was awesome for him in the end. He'll enjoy it more in retrospect now, but it will be done. He will be more interested in being better at the one one one with Nia, coming up with ways for her to wet the sheets. He has a new found confidence and Nia won't be up, dangerously perched on a pedestal anymore, she will be down on the ground at his side, feet on the floor and locked arm in arm.

      The events of this book will be an equalizer for them, and also hit their reset button. Nia loves Geoff more than anything...

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    16. ToBe=ToHave21 February 2017 at 04:47

      I may have let the refrain "nothing's gonna change my world" color my view on that ending and how I thought about.

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    17. ToBe=ToHave21 February 2017 at 04:47

      Always appreciate the added commentary.

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    18. Unknown21 February 2017 at 08:35

      KT- "Nia will be forever doting on her family. She'll have a baby she's cuckoo for. It's Geoff's. She knows it's Geoff's. Like it or not she wasn't always sure Odie was Geoff's and it may have affected her relationship with her daughter. Now she's learned her lesson, she has a baby. She'll be forever happy with Geoff."

      This is my take as well. And Nia now has confidence instead of attitude. She's been knocked down a peg, sure, but she gets now that just because she can get any man she wants, be dangerous with any boy in town, ride any oversized package she can get her hands on, she doesn't need to. The guilt ferrets no longer hold her in sway.

      Oh she's not as self confident as she was, true, and this bothers me a touch. But it's subtle. More a motivational change as opposed to anything else. It's not like she ever felt worthy of Geoff to begin with. But now she truly wants to earn it.

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    19. JL2321 February 2017 at 09:54

      KT...interesting thoughts on Nia's perception of Odie and its impact of their relationship. Never thought of it that way, but I think you're right. Even if she didn't fully realize it, Odie was a symbol of her dark side, her bad secret that could ruin her family. Now she doesn't need to worry about it so there is nothing to stand in the way of her relationship with her daughter.

      I too see it as an overwhelmingly happy ending. They both have left their baggage behind that threatened the happy life they created. Geoff is self assured, confident in himself and what he can offer. Nia has learned her lesson on what she stands to lose, and led her to her great truth on just what a man she has and how much she loves him.

      Finally, this is a pretty obscure question that probably only I care about, but I think about these things. Are they going to live permanently on the island now? If I'm not mistaken, it's several hours away from the city and Odie's school...or will they keep a place closer to the city?

      Not sure if living full time on an island far away from things is a great idea when you have young kids, but I'm a city slicker so who knows.

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    20. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 19:41

      The area that his island is in, is a developed and nice, sometimes wealthy neighbourhood. Mostly summer homes but definitely a full year round population. There are public schools there...

      Right now, Geoff would have an apartment in the city as well, live there with Odie and his dog during the week. Work with Winslow.

      In the future, I would like to think they stay on the island.

      Winslow would have to find a new job but he can't be an assistant forever. if you'd like to imagine him still being with Geoff then he can find a cheap apartment up there, too. :)

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    21. JL2321 February 2017 at 20:10

      I'll just imagine Winslow goes to NY and keeps chasing after that red head girl from the party.

      I wasn't the only one who wondered early on if Winslow was going to get dragged into their games somehow, right? Believe me, I'm glad I was wrong.

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    22. Unknown21 February 2017 at 20:43

      Yeah. I was praying that didn't happen, heh.

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    23. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 00:54

      Guhrka and PS had me watching that dude like a hawk, but it didn't seem right that he would have gotten involved. I can't help but feel like the accidental almost smooching scene might have been motivated in part by those talks. Then again, the jealous feelings in Nia needed the prodding from a jealous Odie.

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    24. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 05:03

      The Winslow-almost-smooch was born from this blog, yes. But it was a vehicle for Nia's jealousy, a reminder that she loved her husband. I knew I needed that to happen, and then Winslow walked out of the studio...Odie would think it was funny...remind Odie that Jenny gave Geoff a peck...

      And Nia and Winslow? Really? I never once saw that happening. Winslow is a nice honest kid but he represented young Geoff, he's supposed to be a reminder to Geoff how lucky he is and where he came from. But he's Geoff without Geoff's spark. Geoff bagged Nia at that age because there's something he's got he doesn't see. He showed it to Nia without realizing it. She saw it and was attracted to it.

      Winslow, without Geoff's spark, is nowhere in Nia's league. Nia looks for energy, not just hot guys. Winslow doesn't have Geoff's charm and kindness nor does he have a hot stripper body.

      Don't forget, Rocco doesn't really have a good body. He's big and strong but really hairy with, at times, a big belly.

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    25. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 05:07

      I let the video of Rocco and Nia together sit in the dropbox for tension, and if I found a good reason I would have used that. I thought about it a lot. What would it serve for Winslow to discover that video, discover Nia's badness? Came up with a lot of scenarios but none of them were ever needed to get all the characters to the end...

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    26. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 05:09

      Winslow seems like a good kid. he deserved to be at that party and I loved writing him into it. I had to rewrite it, he wasn't in it the first time. He was there but he had no lines.

      I like him going after some redhead in NYC. Young guy representing young Geoff, off to chase some fantasy, his own gifts being given to him...

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    27. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 05:10

      Haha! To be fair, I don't think anyone bought that Nia wanted him, at least I didn't. No, the only way I saw that making sense was coercion through the black mail of that video in the studio they both work at. That only would have made sense to me if Geoff overworked Winslow to the point where he resented Geoff and sought to get revenge. I knew it was bs, but though you are quick to deliver stories, the mind wanders ... lol

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    28. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 05:38

      That is really good! Could have happened...

      Winslow probably would have had a late night date with Dino and a hockey stick...

      Winslow wouldn't know what he was up against, ha ha.

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    29. JL2322 February 2017 at 10:44

      Oh definitely, I never saw Winslow as someone Nia would ever pursue, like you said he's not a Rocco or Dino and those are the kind of guys she was looking to explore with.

      I just had a sense we might get a little more, maybe a one night thing they stumble into (like with the stripper), and that it was going to be used as a catalyst to further tension between Geoff and Nia. But again glad I was wrong.

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    30. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 10:51

      Oh, it could have happened! I just never found a reason. I could see her maybe doing it when goeff was out of her life, like she missed him so much she went for Geoff Jr.

      Blackmail would be a serious problem. Geoff doesn't have much to offer (in the early part of the book) Winslow is a nice guy, he likes Odie, he would feel bad. If he blackmailed for sex I feel like Nia would ring-a-dingy Rocco or Dino and our friend Winslow would wake up in the hospital...

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    31. JL2322 February 2017 at 10:53

      I'm also curious if you have any other outtakes or deleted scenes. I always enjoy hearing more about the different forks in the road, and what the alternate routes were.

      I must say, as this ending sinks in, I'm really glad you aced the "Rocco wins Nia from Geoff but then dies" angle.

      It feels like everything in this last book is different if that's where you go, and I don't think its as interesting. For me, the power in this last chapter is both Nia and Geoff fighting to reclaim their lives and their happiness, but especially Nia's desperation to win back her Geoff. I feel like we don't get any of that if she runs off with Rocco willingly. Geoff probably has a similar story line, but Nia's feels entirely different. And we don't get that scene in their old house, which was so powerful.

      This universe, where Nia always wants Geoff and in the end gets him back, is more satisfying than one where she ends up with him only through a cruel twist of fate.

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    32. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 11:01

      Gah, that scene when they are in the empty house killed me. I've spent, what five months living in that house with them in my head. I was in a sad place, ha ha.

      I will add some outtakes etc. I have a file I can pull from.

      Rooco with Nia then dying: yeah, that's where I was aiming but sometimes the stroy doesn't appear til youre in it. By the time I got there I thought Nia wouldn't do that. She would go to Italy but she wouldn't want to leave geoff. Especially since her macho man Rocco is a bit paper when it comes to substance.

      The story changes the more I get to know the charcters. I can plot all day but...you can lead a horse to water...

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    33. JL2322 February 2017 at 11:31

      I must admit until that scene at the wedding, I never thought Rocco was the threat to steal Nia away. I always figured he didn't have the emotional depth, that she would get bored with him quickly. I really thought Dino was going to be the one to rashly throw his life away for Nia, and Rocco would be the one to shake her off and grunt his way to the next girl.

      But I see where the attraction was for her in Rocco...he's who she grew up with as a male role model, so of course that's who she would gravitate towards as...him showing that brief moment of sensitivity would go a long way with her. Everything happening with his family is the perfect catalyst, and its something I didn't pick up on enough. He needed an escape from that, and Nia came along at just the right (wrong) time.

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    34. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 11:39

      One of my favourite drops was when Rocco says to Nia, You don't think I'd leave my wife for you? She's so busy thinking of herself she doesn't consider he's serious. Off thinking her own thoughts and he told her right there. (Dollhouse)

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    35. JL2322 February 2017 at 13:24

      Ha, I forgot about that...guess I'm like Nia too...I never took him seriously either.

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    36. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 15:10

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    37. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 15:12

      Trying to catch up to some great convo, the empty house was really powerful. It did make for some heartening moments, and I agree with JL that Dino seemed like the greater threat, but his humanity showing in Temporal kind of took that threat away, when thinking long term.

      KT - part of what you are talking about with Nia not hearing Rocco say he would leave his wife for her, may be an example of another question I have.

      Why doesn't she tell Geoff all the things that goes through her mind, or come out of the mouths of the men she beds? I feel like she ignored her intense feelings that extended beyond physical passion and the very real feelings that rolled off their tongue with her. She kind of eludes to not being better prepared for what happened in this adventure in the last part, did she just think she had better control than she had?

      Maybe an example is helpful (though you mention a great one I didn't remember). It might not be that big of a deal anymore now that I think about it ... Rocco's kind-of three with Dino and her in the past. Geoff should have probably learned about that, before letting him contemplate her Montreal business trip.

      I'll expand on my alternative Winslow story below, for shits and giggles.

      Delete
    38. Unknown22 February 2017 at 15:42

      Great convo indeed. Stuck at work or I'd be in the thick of it! Great to see!

      Delete
    39. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 15:56

      Sorry, I meant to say "Rocco's kind-of threeway with Dino and her in the past ..." above.

      Delete
  11. Guhrka20 February 2017 at 18:16

    KT--I almost decided to wait a day before I commented on this latest book, but I found it too compelling not to leave a few comments.

    Really a great ride to read this book. The ups and downs drew many thoughts of how this all was going to end. Yes I do like and prefer happy endings, or at least ones with hope. And my opinion of Nia even changed a little, if she likes dogs (and vice-versa), she can't be all bad.

    Bottom line... The judges scores are in (at least the ones I am allowing). You nailed the landing, surpassing anything I believed possible... A perfect 10.0. You sure picked a difficult one to weave a happy ending for, but you really did a great job. A few more like this, and I worry it will go to your head and you won't interact with us anymore (truth be known, I don't think you would take that path).

    That being said, Use your momentum and finish Cayman Proxy (with a happy ending?)!!

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  12. Guhrka20 February 2017 at 18:26

    By the way, the nerd in me noticed that the 8 you used on the cover was the font that looks like the symbol for infinity? Any hidden meaning with that, or just coincidence?

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    1. KT Morrison20 February 2017 at 18:38

      Just a lucky coincidence. The Universe at work...

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  13. JL2320 February 2017 at 21:57

    Finally, my last thought for the night. I've picked up another clue that I'm reading something written by a Canadian. It's not just favourite and colour (not favorite and color), or centre not center.

    The new one: PVR...in the States (or at least in my part of Trumpland) we call it a DVR -- digital video recording. Does the P stand for "personal"?

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    1. Unknown20 February 2017 at 22:02

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    2. Unknown20 February 2017 at 22:08

      Hmmm... oh when Nia is watching and rewatching Geoff and Odie on TV? I missed that and now I'm curious...

      Also Trumpland o.0

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    3. ToBe=ToHave21 February 2017 at 04:10

      She mentioned PVR'ing 'Quarry' too, so that must be what they do up North. :)

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    4. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 04:28

      P=Personal but we do also say DVR

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    5. JL2321 February 2017 at 09:41

      Just wanted to make sure everyone knew I meant my comment using a certain name as a joke. Not in any way endorsing many of the things he is doing down here.

      Probably shouldn't post right before bed, hopefully no one took offense.

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    6. Unknown21 February 2017 at 11:10

      Lmao. Whether you do or don't is your business. No worries here mate. I meant my comment to be tongue in cheek.

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  14. tinsoldier21 February 2017 at 05:36

    KT, I don't know what could be worse, waiting for each chapter to come out for each book you write or waiting months for you to complete the full novel. LHW2 is another exquisite story. Know that if you continue to write I will continue to read. Thanks for your efforts.

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    1. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 06:58

      I have to do it in series! I need the encouragement from this website in order to finish. If I was left to do a Game of Thrones sized novel about Geoff and Nia, all on my own from beginning to end, I'd never finish. I need the support here!

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  15. JL2321 February 2017 at 16:46

    So I finished my re-read of the second part. Man I know I'm going to go back to that last scene on the island a lot when I feel down. I don't think it will ever fail to put a smile on my face.

    One comment, and one question. The comment: on a re-read that scene between Geoff and Krista is now probably my favorite of any of your books. He screwed the Ivy League right out of her. My favorite line: "He had the body of a regular man but his heart beat the lust and passion of an alpha." That says it all about this new Geoff.

    I also went back and read parts of the first book, and you can see the striking difference between that Geoff and this Geoff. I don't think this Geoff is going to have any problems keeping his sex life with Nia at a 10 all by himself.

    My question is about Odie: she's known her mother is pregnant for some time before that final scene, I assume. She was never tempted to tell Geoff? She's portrayed as wanting to really tell him about the almost accident, but not the fact that mommy's pregnant? Or does she know, even at 8, that the news might be painful for Dad, because she realizes the baby is probably Papa Rocco's (ugh)? I'm not sure most 8 year olds could connect those dots, but Odie has always been portrayed as wise beyond her years.

    Or perhaps, since her mom was away for a month she only noticed when Nia came back from Myrtle Beach, so she hasn't had the chance to tell Geoff? I suppose that's possible as well.

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    1. Unknown21 February 2017 at 18:00

      My impression was the latter. Nia was away, so Odie didn't know. assuming she doesn't know the birds and bees she may still be oblivious about the Father, but I'm thinking Nia will be sure Odie knows that Geoff is the daddy.

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    2. JL2321 February 2017 at 19:08

      There was a scene in the first book I just read...Nia and Geoff are naked in bed (the morning after that fateful night in his studio) when Odie comes in and wants to get into bed with them. They scramble to cover up, and Odie doesn't see anything, but Nia makes a comment to herself that she suspects her daughter has more knowledge of what's going on than she might say. But I agree, its still a big leap for an 8 year old to put all those pieces together, and in the end it won't really matter anyway.

      I also thought Odie handled her parents' separation a lot better than most kids. She never lashed out at either of them, and seemed to have a good relationship with both Rocco and Jenny. Even if the kids don't really understand the very adult reasons why mommy and daddy aren't together, I think most 8 year olds would have moments where they lashed out. Odie never does.

      Speaking of Jenny, she's the only one of the other people I feel bad for. Not Rocco (screw him), Dino (he still has his family and learned his lesson), or Krista (both of them knew what that was going in). But poor Jenny...hopefully she finds a really nice guy off screen...lol

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    3. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 19:30

      Odie would have suffered but she was strong. I wouldn't want to dwell too much on that because talking too much about the suffering Geoff and Nia put her through would make them less likeable. So I chose to move past it, where she has recovered, and show her as a little confused but generally positive...

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    4. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 19:34

      And I am assuming that Nia kept her pregnancy hidden from her daughter. She's slight, only really started to show when she was leaving for Myrtle beach. She would be six months along when she returned.

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    5. KT Morrison21 February 2017 at 19:35

      Geoff was always that internal alpha, he just didn't realize it!

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    6. Unknown21 February 2017 at 20:47

      I'm imagining the universe rewarding Geoff and Nia with a blue eyed, sandy blonde baby...

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    7. JL2321 February 2017 at 22:16

      Not to ruin the fun with genetics, but any child of Nia and Geoff's is almost certain to have brown hair or darker, if Nia indeed has truly black hair as described. Of course, there is always the chance she can carry a gene for blonde hair, or if her hair is lighter (say a dark brown), then there is much better chance for a blonde haired child.

      LOL...I've read too many of these stories where we don't know who the real father is (and watched too much of Game of Thrones) that I actually looked this up once. The more you know, I guess.

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    8. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 01:03

      Huh, interesting JL...

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    9. Unknown22 February 2017 at 01:21

      JL I know.... but leave a guy some hope!

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    10. Unknown22 February 2017 at 01:22

      I mean stranger things HAVE happened.

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    11. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 04:54

      Those are some dominant Mediterranean genes! Big reason why Geoff never suspected anything about Odie, he would never have thought she'd come out looking like him...

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    12. JL2322 February 2017 at 10:34

      Sorry Edwin...like I said you can always hold out hope that Nia carries a hidden gene for blonde haired children...it does happen.

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    13. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 10:38

      Maybe Geoff's newfound confidence will transfer to his genes, wrestle those swarthy genes into submission.

      How about this: Preferences, boy or girl?

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    14. JL2322 February 2017 at 11:09

      Boy...I always like having boys and girls in the same house together; it brings a different energy, and you have to deal with different problems and tensions between boy/girl siblings. Although Odie is quite a bit older and she'll probably be a very protective older sister.

      Also, Odie is her daddy's girl, so it would fun to imagine a boy growing up as a Nia. Actually, that might be terrifying...what if he turned out to be a Rocco or Dino. Girls may be safer for Geoff then...LOL.

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    15. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 16:33

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    16. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 16:35

      Agree! I grew up in a boy girl home, my sister being the oldest and wild one who always had my back and I her's, while I'm the tame and thinking one. That's probably the son that Geoff and Nia would bear.

      I could see a second daughter turning out that way too though, the eldest are always the trail blazers, while the youngest are the thinker/observers. The best kind of people, lol.

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    17. JL2322 February 2017 at 16:44

      Yeah, there are all sorts of theories as to oldest/youngest/middle children and what they become. I still think it comes down to environment and how the parents raise them.

      And I don't think we have to really worry about the new baby, I was just kidding about the Dino/Rocco stuff of course...no way any child of Geoff's would grow up like that.

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    18. JL2322 February 2017 at 22:36

      Of course all this talk of genes and science brings up another question: how did Nia get Geoff's DNA to test? She hadn't been living with him for quite some time, and wouldn't have access to a hair sample from a hair brush or the like.

      I guess the easiest answer would be she got it off of Geoff from that day at the house, assuming she made the decision in that moment to test it and find out.

      She also could have used Rocco's DNA, to show conclusively that the baby wasn't his, and that Odie was not a relation (and therefore Geoff's by process of elimination).

      Anyway, just another dumb thought with no value to the story. As you can tell, I still enjoy talking about a few days later...

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  16. JL2321 February 2017 at 19:01

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  17. Wess22 February 2017 at 08:06

    Thank you! I feel like a sap but I loved this happy ending. I can watch the news for pain.
    I was so invested in this series it would have crushed me and likely left a bad taste if it had ended tragically.
    This story was so real and captured all the elements I love about this genre. Actually this transcended the genre.
    I don't mind a tough ending but these characters were good deep down and I felt like they deserved some happiness.
    Your writing is beautiful. Thank you.

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    1. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 08:51

      You're welcome! I love these characters and while I don't mind hurting them they didn't need to suffer anymore. they both learned so much about themselves.

      They both also suffered the blackest of Black Moments already. Nia being beaten by the wife of her fling right in front of her family and Geoff discovering that the daughter he loves desperately could be the product of his Nia's infidelity. Wow, they each got their turn. They seem like good kids and I didn't want things to end badly for them. they'd shown so much good...

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  18. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 10:26

    Two things:

    I see our friend here, Libertyne, has left a glowing review for Eternal. he however thinks it is the last book in the series. Could someone leave him a comment on the review that there is one more book left in the series. i would do it myself but I'm not supposed to do that...

    Also, showing my petty side, I was wondering if anyone here is on Goodreads. I hardly ever go there because users are generally quite harsh and the interface is definitely not author-friendly. Someone seems to have gone through and given all my books a 1-star. Cool, if you don't like them I fully believe you should have the freedom to be honest. However I feel it's abuse in this case because who keeps reading an author they think is 1 star. And they are rating books that have been unpublished for months. Strongly doubt that these reviews are legit. Somebody mad at me for something, who knows...

    If you like my books would you consider, if you are on goodreads, dropping me an honest star rating. No review, they let you just drop stars and leave. I don't want potential fans to be mislead by this abusive user. There are people out there who might like reading my work but would dismiss it because they think it's trash.

    Again, I hate being so petty, but...ah, you know how I feel...

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    1. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 10:31

      If you are so inclined, please note there are two KT Morrisons there. Both me.

      A K.T. Morrison and KT Morrison. I've tried fixing my profile but to no avail, tried getting them to combine them but they don't make it easy.

      It is the KT Morrison profile that got whacked.

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    2. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 10:32

      You can hear Gretch's 'Reputation Culture' rant in the Uber in Obsessed is actually my voice :)

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    3. Unknown22 February 2017 at 11:06

      This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. Unknown22 February 2017 at 11:09

      TLmyLXhd's profile shows over 11,000 1 star ratings, so I'd suggest that they are a troll, or just plain weird, also 11K+ reads is an awful lot of reading.

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    5. KT Morrison22 February 2017 at 11:30

      Thanks, Paul--that doesn't look so harrowing now!

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    6. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 14:54

      I straightened things out for Lybertyne!

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  19. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 15:47

    Winslow's Last Straw!
    Also titled - Shit Guhrka Put in My Head for Me to Rationalize, and KT Didn't Help Extinguish in Kaleidoscope

    Contains a dark, disgusting twist, just warning you!

    Ok so let's return back to 'Kaleidoscope' where we could see this possibility develop. Nia makes the video, Geoff doesn't destroy it. Geoff gets a text message that his wife is coming over with Rocco, and Geoff hurries Winslow out the door, but the dude has work to do! Not a big deal at the time, it is Geoff's birthday, but I thought that we were experiencing one of many more of these types of these interactions in the future (there weren't that many more though, and none of them have Winslow there). After all, Geoff had that 'premonition' or whatever thing in the closet, and it made it seem like the three of them would have had a repeat performance.

    Geoff would have begun getting more and more distracted, and I'm sure Rocco (and predictably Dino) probably would not care about convenience for Geoff and would force Geoff's hand. With deadlines coming up, and Geoff being forced to continue pushing the work onto Winslow, he starts to get pissed off, he's not his errand boy, he has real talent! Then one day, bored because all he does is work alone in that studio anymore (Geoff is watching the Discovery Channel at the moment), he looks on his computer and sees it. Maybe it's stored away in a convenient folder called "Geoff's Spank Bank" and Winslow realizes all his boss is doing this whole time is watching his wife have sex with other men. His hot wife ... his really, really hot wife ... Fuck this guy. Maybe he goes out and finds out somehow who Rocco's wife is, then maybe he catches Nia in the act with Dino, learns about Stacy. Then blah, blah, blah, "so this is what you're doing all this time while I'm working on your book? I want my turn or else..."

    Totally different guy I know, but it would be a truly eye opening scene for the couple, where neither of them want to be a participant at all. Geoff's inner dialogue turning into "I've helped turned my wife into a whore" and Nia being raped essentially. Beginning of the end of this adventure for sure!

    I hadn't thought about hipster Winslow's fate would be in the arms of Rocco and Dino though, THAT would have been some retribution. I don't know where else you go in that scenario, but that's how I made sense of it in my mind. Winslow was the catalyst to unraveling the whole story. It would have needed to be A LOT longer for this to work probably.

    You validated the thought by keeping the video, but then when you didn't even mention Winslow in the entirety of Sanctity, you were going to finish the series soon! So I realized that there is no way it happens. Winslow is exactly who we thought he was, Geoff Jr.

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    1. JL2322 February 2017 at 16:38

      I wasn't checking the comments as much in the middle portion of the books, so I honestly had no idea there were so many "theories" about Winslow.

      Like I said, I always wondered if Winslow would be used as a catalyst to causing a rift between Nia and Geoff, which would then push her towards leaving him for Dino or Rocco...

      Maybe she flirts with him more, and does something with him (not even sex necessarily), thinking Geoff will be into it. But Geoff doesn't like it, and it ruins his relationship with Winslow, who ends up quitting (or getting fired).

      But in the end, the rift between Nia and Geoff was always going to be caused that nuclear bomb...you really didn't need anything else.

      In fact, it plays better here as Geoff begins to think he has found his place as Nia's worthy partner...only to have all that completely destroyed in one moment. It was much more powerful this way.

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    3. ToBe=ToHave22 February 2017 at 17:18

      I keep missing words! I need to get better at editing!

      Guhrka kept that going strong, and then Geoff kept the file alive ... and so did Nia ...

      I think your idea of getting Winslow involved would have been better for the main focus of the story because it keeps the story more about Geoff and Nia, whereas mine shifts it to Winslow and his scheme. Specifically, the story would become less about how Geoff and Nia are feeling about their experiences and more about what Winslow is going to do to destroy what is going on.

      So I'm glad the Winslow idea thought died in a dropbox.

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  20. Guhrka22 February 2017 at 21:20

    Sorry 2B, KT, and everyone else who was misled by my early comments of Winslow potentially being an eventual fly in the ointment for Nia's and Geoff's relationship. At the time, it seemed that Nia was really going down the rabbit hole that was going to destroy both their lives at every turn, and it seemed that KT was spending a lot of time developing Winslow's character for some reason (she would never throw out such a false clue to an avid reader like me). Even though it became obvious several books ago that KT had likely walled up that plot path, I didn't come out and say that it no longer made sense that Winslow would have a significant part of the final outcome. Mia culpable all, I called that (as well as most of my other potential dark paths wrong).

    However, I felt I came about as close as I ever have on the "happy ending" path in my last post for the Eternal blog. The idea of the suggestion of Epiphany as the title still makes me smile, I wish I could have gotten it to KT sooner, although Universal works just as well.

    I must say thanks again to KT for giving two of her "kids" a happy ending. If others of you read some of my earlier blogs you may get my reference.

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    1. ToBe=ToHave23 February 2017 at 01:56

      Nothing to apologize for, I didn't mean to imply you still held out belief it was still going to happen at any point, just that you did think about Winslow as an important character in that aspect at one time and it affected how I watched him, and it was helped along by one thought I had about it (blackmail through the video on the monitor) being validated by Geoff and Nia keeping the video alive.

      My post above is just me having fun trying to wrap my head around how that would've worked, a thought that is three episodes old at this point, I'm just dusting it off for laughs and because JL brought Winslow back around.

      And you were the first person I thought of when think about this ending and the posters who wanted that kind of ending.

      I wish DW would give us her thoughts, i know she wanted Geoff and Nia to work out too.

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  21. Unknown23 February 2017 at 09:39

    Sorry I am going to be the contrarian here. I don't think that this last story is anywhere near the quality of the others and was flat and left me with no emotion. It appears rushed and never really provided us with an ending which is 'lazy' in my perspective. KT is much better than what I got out of this IMHO. I guess she has set my expectations extremely high.

    The missing 8 months was horrible. That is where the emotion and angst by both Nia and Geoff were missed. I don't think Geoff would have ever allowed Odie to be anywhere near Rocco knowing how violent he is and the minute that Nia stayed with him is the moment that Geoff went all out to keep her from him. I think that was absolutely proven true when Rocco tried to kill Nia in the tub.

    The only emotion that I got out of this is the Papa Rocco BS. I always assumed that Odie was more aware and smart than to ever let a piece of trash like Rocco in her life. She would have seen the devastation of her Dad and would never have accepted anyone in her life that did that to him.

    I don’t buy the realism of this ending based upon the facts given. Nia and Geoff needed to heal together much more and that was never presented to us. The joy from Geoff knowing that Odie WAS his and that Nia was pregnant with another of his would have sent this story over the moon.

    I also cannot believe that Nia went anywhere near Rocco after the boat. I thought she loved Geoff and was distraught over what she did to him. This would be pouring salt into the wound.

    And lastly, I really did not care for Geoff shitting on Jenny the way he did. That also was left a little abruptly without any conclusion. This brought my opinion of Geoff down significantly because we never got to see him apologize to Jenny for that. Jenny saved him and he does this?

    All in all I am flat, unemotional, and have no satisfaction from this last piece of our puzzle. Too many smoke and mirrors. It appears rushed, poorly though out, haphazard, and incomplete. I think KT’s posts are much better than what this piece provides us. I am sorry KT but you have wowed me to date and this just didn’t do it for me.

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    1. JL2323 February 2017 at 11:40

      I’m sorry you didn’t like it as much as the rest of us. But you bring up some interesting points, so I’ll just give you my take on them as a reader.

      The 8 month time jump: I think you are right, there is definitely a lot of material that could be written there, but it would be incredibly dark and sad. I think we get enough sense of what went on in that time period that I’m OK with the jump, and I think it put us in a good moment, with Geoff really feeling he was on the cusp of putting his life back together, only to be pulled back down again. Personally, it would have been incredibly gut wrenching to read about Geoff from that fall period.

      On Odie, I’m on record with how the “Papa Rocco” stuff made me really uncomfortable. But Odie is a lovable, precocious girl, so I can see how she became fond of this big boisterous guy in her life. And she only sees that side of Rocco; she’s not privy to his dark side. Though my one thought is she was in the house when Rocco gets angry over Nia sleeping with Geoff, though it was late and she’s probably asleep. The only thing that may have woke her up was her mother screaming at the end.

      Geoff has no idea what Rocco did to Nia in that moment, and I doubt Nia would ever tell him. Yes, he saw him get rough with Nia in bed, but that was a different dynamic. He would no doubt be livid if he knew about the bathtub incident, but he doesn’t know and probably never will. All he knows is Odie is fond of Rocco, so he has no reason to fear her living with him. Like I said, I’m far from a Rocco fan, but he’s always depicted as being very good around Odie.

      Nia was with Rocco for a variety of reasons. Part was her inability to be alone; she couldn’t do what Geoff did and work through his pain by himself. Hell, Geoff couldn’t even do that, he probably never would have come out if he didn’t have people like his sister and Trish, and Krista and Jenny. Nia doesn’t have any of that…she’s on the outs with her friends, she doesn’t really have any close family, she only has Odie. So she’s clinging onto Rocco for any sense of companionship, friendship. There is also the idea in her head that she should be punished for her sins, and being with Rocco is a form of punishment at times, in the way he treats her. I believe her when she says she doesn’t really want to be with Rocco, and wouldn’t be if it was up to her.

      Also think it was important for Geoff to heal alone, without Nia. He needed to be able to do that, to realize he could move on, that his life could be good again even if she wasn’t in it. Geoff was much too dependent on Nia for his happiness, as KT says he put her way high on a pedestal. Now, they’re on an even footing, and choosing to be together because they want to be.

      I feel bad for Jenny, and Geoff was being selfish there, no question. He never should have gotten involved with her romantically, but he needed someone. He feels terrible about it, and people make mistakes. It doesn’t make him a bad person to me. But a scene where he sees Jenny and tells her something like this would’ve been nice, I don’t disagree.

      Finally, on the ending, I can see your point here…I would have loved to see Geoff’s reaction to the news he’s the father of Odie and the baby. But I also appreciate the idea of leaving that moment to the reader to imagine. The bigger point there is Geoff showing he wants to be with Nia, wants to be with the baby, even when he doesn’t realize it’s his. He’s choosing them because he wants to be with them, not because he may feel he has to. Given where Geoff’s idea of fatherhood grows through this last book, that’s the most powerful moment to me. I’m OK with picturing Geoff’s joy over the test in my mind, rather than seeing it play out in words.

      Anyway, those are just my thoughts on the things you brought up. I can totally understand why you feel differently. These stories can be pretty difficult to read.

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    2. Unknown23 February 2017 at 11:53

      On Rocco: Geoff knew Rocco was violent. Not only from his own experience but from how Nia got roughed up by Rocco when she got "fired". Knowing that I agree with Bradley. I'd never have allowed Odie anywhere near the man.

      Re the missing 8 months: I agree on the missed opportunity, however I don't miss the story gap at all. I had a whole novel of couples angst in Eternal.

      Re Jenny: I'm already on record as being unhappy about that so I agree 100% with you there. My only caveat is that he didn't lie or try to hide it from her, thereby compounding it and making it worse. Bad enough to let it happen, and he DID let it happen.

      I get where you are coming from Bradley. I disagree that the level of quality was lower, but I can see where you are coming from. But I felt the story flowed like a living thing.

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    9. ToBe=ToHave23 February 2017 at 18:25

      Bradley - I am biased. I have invested a lot of mental, emotional, and lost sleep over this story. It may be hard for someone to be be impartial when they are as invested in just the mere existence of a story, to say nothing of the quality. So feel free to take this at it's worth. An obsessed reader justifying his obsession.

      This story isn't "anywhere near the quality" of her other work? Ok, we need a standard then. What is quality work from her? You gave 5 stars to 'Eternal' right. What is different about that work than this? She has no basis for your standard, so at best this just sounds flippant.

      To call the island scene anything other than an ending to this story is ridiculous. Tell me you didn't see parallels to this entire saga? The Prince and the Princess in the moated castle. Geoff asking Nia to stay inside to avoid the harsh outside world. The water boiling. A lot of that stuff could just be my interpretation, but that's what she wants you to do as a reader. I thought the ending was good, you didn't. Opinions are fine. But to call it lazy is insulting.

      I felt no loss of angst when Geoff met up with Nia to sign divorce papers ... that hate fucking scene was one of the most intense experiences in the entire series. How you came away from that unfazed, but did in other stories, is baffling. I didn't need complete knowledge of 8 months of characters killing themselves over the loss of the other to feel it either. Enough was said about their torment.

      Are you exaggerating when you say Rocco was trying to kill Nia? If you're being honest, then your 'proof' of his violence falls short of being factually correct, let alone a demonstration of Geoff's ignorance of Rocco's capability. Nia is messing with Rocco, she draws anger, she's capable of getting anyone riled up. Rocco isn’t trying to kill her. Geoff thinks Rocco is a brute, but he knows Nia wouldn't put Odie in danger, are you kidding? Rocco wouldn't lay a finger on Odie anyways.

      Geoff wanted Nia back throughout that entire book, he just didn't know it. The ending isn't warm blankets and cuddles, but you can see happiness on the horizon. Or not, but whatever ending you want to interpret, you have 300,000+ words of content preceding it to fill in whatever blanks you choose. That you don't see the possibilities for this couple means you're not trying, and want something specific. That's not laziness, that's a different story than the one in your head.

      Geoff does apologize to Jenny. He's honest about hurting her. The most meaningless sounding apology is the one right after you do something terrible. Jenny's point in this book is to show that there is a life after Nia. She's a sweet girl, but it isn't Nia, and that's no one's fault and certainly not something to hate Geoff for. Before anyone blames Geoff for cheating on her with Nia, she was pouring her soul out to him. He wants that soul to be his again. That sex scene happens 10 out of 10 times to anyone with a heart. Jenny sees that too when she stops and thinks about it. She'll still be pissed, but she understands.

      If you thought the book was rushed, poorly thought out, haphazard, and incomplete, well I think the complete opposite. Would I like her to tell more about a myriad of points in the story, fuck yeah, but that's because these are people to me. They have complete lives. She'll be writing until the end of time talking about the time between the wedding reception and the Maria beat down if I had my way.

      For my money, I'll leave it to the author to tell me when I should pay attention, and at this point, I trust that KT will have left me in good hands.

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    10. ToBe=ToHave23 February 2017 at 18:26

      As far as KT's explanations of the book on here. Everything that's been said in this blog has been at best an 'aha' moment for me. Everything that's been said could have been logically concluded if you choose to read the book that way. I think most of us just like to hear KT talk about this stuff, she knows these characters like the back of her hand.

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    11. Unknown23 February 2017 at 20:30

      I remember, when Brandon Sanderson took over The Wheel of Time series because Robert Jordan died before he could finish. The first book Sanderson finished didn't seem to have the right handle on one of the main characters, a fact that Sanderson himself admitted. It was jarring and hard to deal with. By the second of the three he had a much better handle and by the third most of the writing was Jordan's but pieced together by Sanderson in a way that kept the story alive... where am I going with this?

      Book one gave us an introduction. after that it was a wild ride of raging hurt, lust, and shocking endings with gaping wounds. Until Universe. Universe, as I noted above was a completely different tone. From beginning to end it was less about conflict and more about resolution. I note this. I find neither more appealing than the other. But the tone shift was dramatic. Now I had my own issues keeping this stressful for me, and I take KTs points to heart, but in no way did any of this seem slapdash or lazy.

      I do get your criticisms Bradley. I would ask that you read the series in total again and see if you feel the same way about Universe then. You may or may not, but new perspectives from new information may change how you see things.

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    12. JL2323 February 2017 at 20:54

      I can only speak for myself, but I never found this unemotional or poorly thought out.

      Yes, there were some things I wanted more of, but I think that happens in any story. And figuring that stuff out can be fun, and why we're still here talking about it.

      I enjoyed the first LHW, but I liked this one even more, and I think this has the better ending...certainly the happier one. I think Nia and Geoff are on much more solid footing than Pete and Jess.

      I was personally so touched by the ending that it left me wanting more, to continue and see Nia and Geoff be happy again. I think that's a good thing though, and the sign of good writing.

      I was sad to see the end of Jess and Pete, but I left that story with real concerns about their future. I really don't want to revisit them, I just hope they're happy. I do want to revisit Nia and Geoff, because I know they're happy and would like to see it.

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    13. KT Morrison24 February 2017 at 07:58

      This comment has been removed by the author.

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    14. JL2324 February 2017 at 09:50

      If Bradley is reading these comments, I suggest he go back and read again from the beginning, and still see if he feels the same way.

      Sometimes you lose perspective on the early chapters when you haven't read them in a while. I've gone back and read the first two, and with the full perspective you can pretty clearly see the path that both Geoff and Nia are setting out on, and how it relates to where they end.

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  22. JL2323 February 2017 at 16:11

    I was curious, so I happened to Google map the Toronto area, and smiled to see that the places used in the story are actual parts of Toronto. I always enjoy when real locations are used. Makes the story feel more real to me.

    I even found Little Hawk Lake...no sign of an island though.

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    1. KT Morrison24 February 2017 at 07:39

      Geoff and Nia's Little Hawk Lake is a made up one. An esoteric nod to Rocco's spot on Mishigekegwag, which is also made up. It's an Ojibway mishmash meaning Big Hawk Lake. Big Hawk? Get it? That's how juvenile I am. And how much I care about symbolism. I put it where no one would even notice...

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    2. KT Morrison24 February 2017 at 07:41

      Roncesvalles is real (look up how to pronounce it--Ronsissvayl). But the Royal York neighbourhood is not. Buckhorn is real and so is Haliburton. The Toronto islands are real, even Centreville, and that Barrel Works exists, you can even ride it virtually on Youtube. The west coast of Cook's Bay where the marina is and the Lake View Tavern are made up.

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    3. JL2324 February 2017 at 09:32

      Ah, OK...guess it was just the places I looked up from the last chapter happened to be real, like Downsview and Etobicoke.

      The real Little Hawk Lake on the map is kind far out of the city, so that makes sense. Now that's a great insight about Rocco, but we all know Geoff is really the Big Hawk in this story.

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    4. ToBe=ToHave24 February 2017 at 14:59

      Thanks KT!

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  23. ToBe=ToHave23 February 2017 at 18:21

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  24. ToBe=ToHave24 February 2017 at 17:34

    What does an author do after writing such an epic? I hope you're enjoying yourself!

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    1. KT Morrison24 February 2017 at 18:15

      Yes! Half way through writing a romance novel. Young woman goes to Paris, swept off her feet by billionaire, love, love, love. Dirty sex. No angst, no cruelty, no heartbreak. Happily Ever After. It's a reward after the anguish of LHW2...

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    2. KT Morrison24 February 2017 at 18:17

      Well, there is angst and conflict but compared to my poor Nia, I mean c'mon. Romance readers might fan themselves a little, but you guys...nahh

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    3. JL2324 February 2017 at 18:28

      Good, we all need a little break from the emotional roller coaster...or rather emotional barrel ride.

      I thought maybe you were off moose hunting in Moosonee with Rocco, I hear he could use the company :)

      I actually know Moosonee exists, its always the northern most point showed on the map in my local weather reports. It always seems cold there.

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    4. ToBe=ToHave24 February 2017 at 18:34

      Yeah KT, that sounds lame ...

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    5. KT Morrison24 February 2017 at 18:41

      I used Moosonee because I had a friend who was trapped by a bear there. Spent the night on a roof while his provisions were wrought by mighty claws from his cedar chest below...

      I'm not sure if you're in USA, but can you imagine a part of your country inaccessible by car? There are no roads to Moosonee. Plane or rail only.

      And yes, a break was needed! But I'm still plugging away at a little thing that may become LHW3. Small scenes at a time, trying to figure out this new couple and what they want.

      And for Guhrka: I am also re-editing Cayman Proxy and looking at that next installment too...

      I was avoiding because Kate and Nia had similarities...

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    6. KT Morrison24 February 2017 at 18:45

      2B2H: ha ha, should the billionaire have a brother? Maybe one who wants her for himself?

      I don't know if I can communicate to you all the physical and mental discomfort I draw up in myself trying to imagine painful things to put a couple through. Pete and Jess were bad, Nia and Geoff were worse somehow even though I united them relatively unharmed in the end. I need some insta-love and an HEA right now!

      Okay, a bit of fun. Wanna list my shout-outs to LHW1 in LHW2?

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    7. ToBe=ToHave24 February 2017 at 18:53

      You just made Guhrka's weekend!

      I'm of course kidding, It's not my thing usually, but then again I never look into it. Sounds too fantastical. I'll be in line though ...

      Shout outs? Do tell!

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    8. KT Morrison24 February 2017 at 19:01

      Oh shoot. I can only think of three. I thought there was more. Maybe there is. I should have jotted these down.

      If you can guess two I will send you a free short story. Be warned it is dumb. It was going to be something but I fizzled on it. It features Hunter from MN2HEx.

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    9. KT Morrison24 February 2017 at 19:03

      Guhrka's weekend: I was re-reading while editing the scenes with Kiley and Jay Shaker. It feels like forever ago. I want to go back to it because I really care about Kiley...

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    10. KT Morrison24 February 2017 at 19:04

      LHW callbacks: one is so obvious, you should be ashamed for not mentioning it...

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