When an Author Dies

[StephieSlade]

AIBU to ask what happens when an Author dies whilst writing the final book in an eight book series?

Usually the estate hires someone to complete the work.

Are you talking about George RR Martin?? I guess the story never gets finished 😭.

Lucinda Riley 😭😭😭!

What?! Please please no!!

Oh god it’s true!

The Missing Sister is out now. Was there going to be a further one?

Was so sad to read the news, those books got me through my last maternity leave.

The last book was due autumn 2022.

I finished the Missing Sister yesterday and was really look forward to the next one. It is such shocking news and I feel so sorry for her family.

(I do feel awful that one of my first reactions when I heard was but what about the 8th book which is so selfish but I think a lot of people will be thinking the same)

I guess her editors will know the ending? So they'll just hire someone to finish it in her style i'd guess?

Oh this news is so sad! I've just started the missing sister today . I had no idea she was ill. I love her books

She was a fabulous author, definitely feel sorry for her family and friends though 😢😢.

Many deceased authors are replaced by someone else who continues the books, eg Sebastian Faulks and Martin Amis have written James Bond books, along with four others, Eric Lustbader has written Tom Clancy books for years.

No!! I love her books... am reading The Missing Sister now. 😥

Ian Rankin is completing William McIlvanney’s final novel so I think the thing is to find another author in the same genre who can take on their voice.

Robert Jordan died 10 books through a 12 book marathon of a series. He’d left plot notes and his wife worked with Brandon Sanderson to finish them. Hopefully something similar will happen.

Such a sad loss of a great talent at a young age. I expect she's left an outline of the plot so someone else can finish it, or else Pa Salt will just have to remain a mystery to us forevermore.

Depends. Charles Dickens died half way through one and I don’t think they finished it.

The last book seems to be finished as my friend has pre ordered it. We were shocked to hear the news today, it’s so sad. My friend has read the missing sister, I started it today,

Sue Townsend died after starting another Adrian Mole. It will never be finished by anybody else though. I will never know if Adrian ever did get with Pamdora, but I like to think he did

@PotassiumChloride

Depends. Charles Dickens died half way through one and I don’t think they finished it.

Times have changed.

Sometimes the author has been in declining health and worked with someone to take their characters onward (like MC Beating - I'm listening to the latest Agatha Raisin book and the author she handed over to describes the process in a preface). I think Mary Higgins Clark is effectively doing this already.

Sometimes they plan ahead like Agatha Christie, who wrote final books for Poirot and Miss Marple decades before she died and kept them ready to publish.

Sometimes a series is left where the author leaves it, as with Sue Grafton's alphabet series. She wrote books A through to Y and was working on Z when she died. Her family made the decision not to let another writer finish the book, as they felt it would be inauthentic. They said "as far as we are concerned, the alphabet will now have 25 letters".

I wish someone would finish the last Kinsey Millhone book, to do an alphabet series and die before Z is published is cruel!

@LadyCatStark

Are you talking about George RR Martin?? I guess the story never gets finished 😭.

I'm afraid I don't know the author who is mostly being discussed here. GRRM is the one who came to mind for me. I just can't see him completing A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) now. I gather he's appointed another author to take over if necessary and briefed her in detail. His publishers must be beside themselves. Vol 1 came out in 1996. 15 years later, ten years ago now, vol 5 was published. Two (huge) volumes to go. He's 72 and massively overweight. Hmm.

I was so sad to hear this. I've just finished The Missing Sister. I hope that the series can be finished.

My favourite series is the Outlander books. Number 9 is out in November, its a 10 part series. It took Diana Gabledon 5 years to write the last one (they are huge books). She is 69/70 so am really hoping we get them all.

I wish someone would finish the last Kinsey Millhone book

I'm OK with it being left where it is. If anyone other than She Grafton wrote an ending I would be like Kathy Bates in Misery standing there shouting "NO! That's not what happened. You're LYING!"