You all know me…I am the irresistible, incredibly good-looking, and impossibly charming superhuman Socrates Benedict. In just three weeks, my time with you all will come to an end. So, I recently sat down with my creator, T.R. Freeman, to gauge her for some much craved information on the ending to my life-changing story about how I heroically saved the Universe…
Ok, just kidding. It’s not all about me. Though maybe it should be. I’m a likeable guy, right?
Ok, ok, I’ll step back and let Nora have her limelight.
For now.
Socrates: So, the last installment in our adventures is arriving at the end of this month…
TRF: It is. Are you nervous to find out how you die?
S: Um….
TRF: Just kidding! Muhahahaaaa! I think the readers would come after me with torches and pitchforks if I killed you off.
S: They better come after you for that! But, really—what should readers expect out of this final book in the trilogy?
TRF: There is a lot going on. There was also quite a bit of chaos in the first two books, but in the final installment, there are so many things that are being wrapped up in the story of the Benedicts. Questions that need to be answered, conflicts that have to be resolved, and characters who finally will be introduced.
S: How many new characters are making their way into this book?
TRF: There are actually quite a few…but there are pertinent characters who we have known about all along, who are just now making an appearance.
S: Do we finally get to learn some serious dirt about my parents?
TRF: Oh, yes. Fans are going to get to find out much, much more than they ever bargained for, I think, when it comes to the Benedict parents.
S: Where did the title, Rise of the Benedicts come from? Why not, Socrates is Awesome?
TRF: Well, S.I.A. was obviously my first choice, but it just wasn’t the publisher’s favorite. Sorry, buddy.
S: I’ll share the glory this one time.
TRF: How incredibly selfless of you, Soc.
S: I try. So, why the ROTB title?
TRF: Readers will understand the title as soon as they begin delving into this final book of the Ghost Story adventure. This novel is bigger than Nora, it’s bigger than the Unordinary and Ordinary races combined, and it’s bigger than anything we’ve seen up until now.
S: Can you elaborate—even just a little—on what “bigger” means?
TRF: Well, we left off in a pretty crazy place in book two—just when we thought we were going to really band together and win this war, every important player was separated pretty drastically, whether it was through time periods, or otherwise. Nora is chained on a ship somewhere with pirates, while you’re locked up with the Vampyre Royalty. Not to mention the four who escaped the vampyres’ castle, and then everyone else left fighting a losing battle in present day. How on earth is everyone going to find each other? That feat in itself is a pretty big one—and it’s only the beginning.
S: Is this really it? Is this really the last book?
TRF: This is the last book in the Ghost Story Series, and it is the finale in Nora’s adventure.
S: Way to dance around details….It sounds like spin-off rumors could be true, then?
TRF: Rumors are definitely true. We will be closing the book—quite literally—on Nora, but there are so many more stories to be told about other significant characters who we have fallen in love with.
S: Me?
TRF: Not you. Your fifteen minutes is over.
S: We’ll see about that.
TRF: This series—specifically this last book—is really centered around the Benedict siblings; not just Nora. So, this is your wrap up, too, my dear.
S: Well, what should readers expect to see next, then, after Ghost Story is wrapped up?
TRF: Nothing else to expect in the 2013 year, for certain. However, readers will be seeing several branch-off series in the near future, involving Cain and Isis, and Kieran Bruce. These are the only writings churning in the works that I can right now officially confirm. But I can also say that the spin-off series are not limited to just these characters, and there are many, many stories left to tell, as I said before.
S: Which Ghost Story book have you had the most fun writing? Which one is your favorite?
TRF: I can’t answer that! I don’t pick favorites among my children! But, I will say, writing the final book has been bittersweet for me. Readers will understand—you don’t want it to be over, but you just can’t help but be amazed at Nora’s incredible transformation into this destiny that has always lay dormant inside of her. She really comes into her own in this last book, and it truly is awesome.
S: You’ve said before that you jam out when you’re writing stories about me…er, I mean, your stories in general.
TRF: I do! I actually have soundtracks for each book that I do and as I write, it’s playing louder than ever on shuffle/repeat.
S: What was your soundtrack like on ROTB?
TRF: Very different than the first two books’ soundtracks. A lot of “Of Monsters and Men”…. lots of powerful music…most of the third book is set on the ocean, so I needed tunes that went along well with that setting. Nora’s finale theme song in this last installment was definitely Yellow Light by “Of Monsters and Men”. That song was made for her last adventure, and I can’t tell you how many times that was on repeat while writing the most significant Eleanor scenes.
S: How was that music different than the first two?
TRF: The first book had a soundtrack that was full of songs a bit darker and heavier, as you and Nora were thrown into this strange, new world that was full of terror and unwanted adventures. It was the beginning of a war. The second book had a playlist of music that was softer, sweeter, and more defining in the lyrics because of the love story developing even more with Andrew and Nora, and then with Nora herself also evolving and discovering her destiny. Scottish melodies are ALWAYS on the playlist, though, no matter which book. Especially scenes with Andrew—they need bagpipes! I’ve had requests from so many readers to put up the soundtracks online, so that they can listen along as they read–almost like it’s a movie…so look for those playlists coming soon on the official website.
S: I have a pretty bold and so not sugar-coated question for you–Do you think the readers will be satisfied with the ending?
TRF: I hope so. I can only hope. It is hard wrapping up a series—everyone has their own ideas of the way things should end. But this finale has been in the cards all along—since page one of Ghost Story. Plus, it’s 500 pages, 48 chapters, in 3 parts. Hopefully this is enough to give the fans a send-off better than any they could have ever imagined!
**Don’t miss Rise of the Benedicts, in stores May 31, 2013**
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