There is something interesting about the way we experience stories.
Most of the time, we read alone. We open a book, settle into a comfortable chair, and disappear into another world. For a few hours, we follow characters through places we’ve never visited, experience things we’ve never encountered, and sometimes find ourselves facing questions we’ve never considered.
And then we close the book. But every once in a while….
Every once in a while, something different happens.
We find a story that stays with us.
Maybe it’s a character we can’t stop thinking about. Maybe it’s an ending that surprised us. Or maybe it’s something about the story itself that lingers long after we’ve turned the final page. When that happens, we often want to share it with someone else.
The Stories We Carry With Us
I think most readers have experienced this. You finish a book, and almost immediately, you start thinking about someone who might enjoy it. Maybe it’s a friend who loves a good mystery. Maybe it’s a family member who enjoys stories that explore the darker corners of human nature. Or perhaps it’s someone who simply appreciates getting lost in a world that feels entirely different from their own.
You want them to read it.
Not necessarily because you expect them to love it as much as you did, but because you want to know what they’ll think. Will they connect with the same characters? Will they notice the same details? Will the ending affect them the way it affected you? There is something fascinating about discovering how two people can read the same book and come away with completely different experiences. And sometimes, those differences lead to the best conversations.
A Journey Worth Sharing
Last month, I celebrated the completion of the Meadow Trilogy with the release of Beautiful the Meadow. After ten years, the story that began with In the Meadow finally reached its conclusion.
For me, that was the end of a long creative journey.
But for readers, the journey is different.
Some of you have followed Dawn and Zack’s story for years. Others are only now discovering the Meadow for the first time. And that’s one of the things I enjoy most about writing. A story doesn’t have to be experienced when it is first published. Someone can discover In the Meadow today, continue through Returning the Meadow, and reach the conclusion in Beautiful the Meadow without ever having waited for the next book. The entire journey is waiting for them.
The same is true of my Aurora Trilogy. Different characters. Different mysteries. Different journeys. But both trilogies let readers enter a story and follow it all the way to its conclusion. And now that these stories are complete, I find myself thinking less about the years it took to write them and more about the readers who haven’t discovered them yet.
Giving Someone a Story
As we move into the heart of November and begin thinking about the Christmas season, we find another way to share the stories we love.
We give them away.
I’ve always thought books make interesting gifts. When you give someone a book, you’re offering them something more than an object they can put on a shelf. You’re inviting them into an experience. You don’t know exactly what they’ll discover inside those pages. You don’t know which characters they’ll connect with or which moments will stay with them. You might not even know whether they’ll enjoy the story. But you’re giving them the opportunity to find out. And sometimes, that invitation becomes something much more meaningful.
A book might introduce someone to a new author, a new genre, or an entirely different kind of storytelling. It might become a favorite they return to years later. Or it might simply provide a few evenings of escape from the demands of everyday life.
All of those things have value.
The Journey Continues
Over the past few months, I’ve written about why some stories deserve more than one book, why every journey deserves an ending, and what it means to finally finish a story that has been years in the making.
This month, I’m thinking about what happens afterward.
Because even though I’ve finished writing the Meadow Trilogy, the story isn’t finished with its readers. Every person who opens In the Meadow begins that journey again. Every reader who discovers Aurora experiences its mysteries for the first time. And every time someone recommends one of these books to a friend, gives a copy to a family member, or starts a conversation about something they’ve read, the story reaches a little farther.
That’s one of the things I find remarkable about books. The author may write the story, but readers carry it forward.
So, as we approach the holidays, I have a simple question for you.
What story have you read that you wish someone else could experience for the first time?
Maybe it’s a book you’ve loved for decades. Maybe it’s something you discovered recently. Or maybe it’s a story you haven’t stopped thinking about since you finished it. Whatever it is, consider sharing that journey with someone else. Because sometimes the best thing we can do with a story we love is give someone else the chance to discover it.
Share the journey.
The complete Meadow Trilogy is now available.
Start at the beginning. Return to the Meadow. Then, discover how it ends.
What do you think?