Awaken

After word

The question I get most often from readers at the close of a book series is, “Is it really the end?”

Of course Pierce and John and their friends could continue to have many adventures, and perhaps someday we’ll hear from them again, but for now it seems best to give them a well-deserved rest.

The inspiration for this series came from Edith Hamilton’s fantastic book, Mythology. I loved reading this book when I was growing up. The myth of Persephone was always my favorite. I used to wish the Greek god of the Underworld would kidnap me so I could live amongst the dead.

Some of the characters in this series were inspired by myths, and some by real people. Alastor, John’s horse, is named after one of the four black horses who pulled the chariot driven by Hades when he kidnapped Persephone (in the Roman version of the tale). Typhon, the tongue-in-cheek name John gives his dog, is also derived from the “father of all monsters” who attempts to destroy Zeus.

The character of Mr. Smith, the dry-witted cemetery sexton, is partly based on an amazing English teacher I had my freshman year in high school, Mr. Kenneth Mann. By giving his students creative writing assignments in addition to the state-mandated curriculum, Mr. Mann inspired not only myself but many of my fellow classmates at Bloomington High School South to want to become better writers (and consequently better human beings).

The character of Pierce, whose plight was loosely based on that of Persephone, was inspired by a close friend of mine who had a near-death experience. She filled me in on what it’s like to be an “NDE.” Much like Pierce, my friend says that only by nearly losing her life did she learn to live it to its fullest, and that the only way to fight the darkness is to bring a little light into the lives of those we love.

There are so many people to whom I am indebted for the help they gave me while I was writing this series, I could never name them all, but they include Beth Ader, Nancy Bender, Jennifer Brown, Barb Cabot, Bill Contardi, Benjamin Egnatz, Michele Jaffe, Lynn Langdale, Laura Langlie, Ann Larson, Janey Lee, Charisse Meloto, Abigail McAden, Laura Wisen, and of course, all my amazing readers. Thank you all. If I were in charge of the Underworld, you would get assigned to the “good” boat.

MEG CABOT