Spoilers, no more …

• Posted in About Books, On Writing

Spoiler alert: This post talks about spoilers for my Elemental Assassin books. So don’t read if you don’t want to be spoiled …

I think I’m going to have to implement some sort of spoiler policy.

Now that Web of Lies is out, I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails from folks who want to know what happens next — and mainly, who Gin winds up with in Venom (due out Sept. 28).

For those of you who have read Web of Lies, you know that in addition to Detective Donovan Caine, there’s also a new love interest in town for our girl Gin — sexy businessman Owen Grayson. And given what happens at the end of Web of Lies, with Donovan basically dumping Gin and hightailing it out of Ashland, well, let’s just say that folks want to know who Gin’s going to be spending time with in the future. So far, most folks seem to be on Team Owen, although I have heard from a few Team Donovan fans.

It’s very flattering that folks like Gin so much that they want to know what happens next — and they want to know right now. But spoilers are kind of a gray area for me. Personally, I like mild spoilers, like if someone has been cast on one of my favorite TV shows or if one of the characters might die before the season is over. I regularly troll over to Entertainment Weekly to get those kinds of spoilers.

But I don’t like spoilers that ruin a big, big twist in a TV show or movie, like in The Sixth Sense or The Usual Suspects (which I think is a truly awesome flick). If the whole point of a movie is to surprise you, then, well, I want to be surprised.

And I never know how much of a spoiler a reader wants. Do they want to know what happens in the next book? Do they want to know who Gin ends up with at the end of book 5? I just never know how much to tell people. Also, I don’t want someone who doesn’t want to be spoiled to come across the info online and feel like the book has been ruined for them.

So from now on, I don’t think that I’ll be giving out any kind of spoilers at all. My lips are sealed. Although I’ll admit that the back cover copy for the books can be a bit spoilery at times. But there’s nothing that I can do about that. So for all you folks out there who like spoilers, read the back cover copy, which is posted here on the website, to get a hint about what’s coming up next for Gin. For those of you who don’t like spoilers, you may want to stay away from the description until Venom comes out … if you can. 😉

What about you guys? Do you like spoilers or not? Share in the comments.

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6 Responses to “Spoilers, no more …”

  1. PurpleRanger says:

    A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED aired a story about TESB a day or two before the movie’s premier that mentioned “Luke, I am your father.” I was not traumatized by this. When I heard this, I was curious as to when and where this would be revealed, and how Lucas, et al, was going to get away with it.

    I have heard, though, that there was so much wailing, gnashing of teeth, and angry phone calls to NPR that the edited the story before the west coast feed went out.

    Spoilers don’t bother me.

  3. Jenny says:

    I don’t mind mild spoilers, but I don’t think I would want to know any specific details of upcoming plots. Every once in a while I am that person that flips to the back of the book and reads the last few sentences, but I’m working on that;)

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      Yeah, that’s pretty much how I am too. And I totally flip to the back of the book too. 😉

      Although that’s a habit I’m trying to break. I did it a few weeks ago and it ruined part of a heist book for me since I saw how they pulled the heist off at the end. LOL.

  4. Diana C says:

    I’m not a fan of spoilers for books and movies. For televison there is an exception. If it’s a soap I’m watchng I’ll take spoilers anytime. But for books I use to also read the last setence of a book and then begin it, but I stopped after it ruined a book I was liking. But I do read the small book descriptions on the back if it’s a series. Like it did right now right after I finished Web of Lies. Now I wish I didn’t. Because I now want to get it in my hands.

    And with that description it left me in shock. You just knocked out Carrie Vaughn and her Kitty Norville series to number two in my favorite Urban Fantasy list and became number one. Gin has now become the coolest bad ass heroine in Urban Fantasy . And BTW I am in Owen’s corner.

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      Yeah, I wish the back cover copy for books in general was a little less spoilerish. I’m like you. I don’t mind spoilers for TV, but I prefer to remain more in the dark when it comes to books and movies.

      Cool. That’s very nice of you to say. I’m glad you are enjoying the series so far. 😉

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