arbitrate (daynight) (47 page)

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Follow the
daynight
series on Facebook
here
. This is the primary place where I post dates and teasers for new releases. I also do regular giveaways.

My personal blog (where you can sign up for notification of new releases in the series) is
here
.

I’d love to hear from you! You can email me
here
.

Commonly Asked Questions

I have had readers ask questions that I cannot respond to in a public forum (because of spoilers). I’m including the three most common questions asked and my answers here.

Why did you skip a year and use flashbacks to tell the story?

There were several factors that went into my decision to tell the story this way. First and foremost, the main characters were all separated at the end of
daynight
. Kira was pregnant, and I didn’t want to tell the story of a depressed heroine who was pregnant with triplets. Her character needed time to evolve. I didn’t want the story to be about Kira’s breakdown but about how she builds herself back up. In addition, Ethan was at law school most of the year (boring), and Blake was in Exile most of the year (also boring). Second, I wanted time to pass to “move along” certain things. The Exilers needed to get the Second Chancers on board. The Clean Slate Complexes on Earth needed to get up and running, and the SCI needed to move forward their political plans. However, I did feel it was important to tell about key events during the year through flashback to give context to things happening in the present. There are important clues in each flashback.

The timeline definitely adds complexity to the story. Some crazy readers like me love complexity. It won’t surprise you to hear that one of my favorite TV shows of all time is “Lost” and one of my favorite reads of the past year is “Gone Girl.” Other readers would prefer a simpler timeline. All I can say is that I stand by my decision telling
this
story as I did. The next book,
generate,
does not need a major time jump and should be less complex in that respect.

My favorite character is Ethan. How could Kira pick anyone other than him?

There is no way to please everyone in a situation such as this. At the time that the
SCI
chose Ethan for Kira, she was seventeen years old. She had feelings for two different guys and wasn’t ready to choose either of them. Then she spent a couple nights with Ethan before being separated for a full year. That year dramatically changed both of them. Kira’s priorities changed, and her feelings evolved. Both Kira and Ethan made decisions that had lasting consequences. Could I have dragged out the drama for another book? I didn’t feel like I could. As the mother of three, Kira needed resolution and to make a lasting commitment to one person—the right person for
her
. I think, at the end of the series, everyone will look back and say, “It all makes complete sense.”

Will Ethan ever get to be happy?

I love the last scene of the book where Ethan gets a backbone and stands up to his father. Kira has told him that he has “great things” in store. Just like we saw Kira grow in
arbitrate
, we will see Ethan flourish in
generate
.
 

Map of Thera

Acknowledgements

What a wild ride! I had so much fun writing
arbitrate
. At times, I thought I might go a little nuts keeping track of all the subplots, but it was a great challenge and was all worthwhile once it came together. My primary goal with
arbitrate
was to create a completely different story feel and plot line than
daynight
. I’m not a fan of rehashed plots. The “bubble” that Kira lived in—where she used relationships as an “escape”—needed to pop, and she had to grow up and face reality. This obviously had far-reaching implications for everyone. I love flawed characters!

Many people have helped me along the way and I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all of them.

To the outstanding and dedicated fans of the
daynight
series—you are all amazing! Thank you for reading, your reviews, your messages of encouragement, your tweets, your dedicated participation on the facebook.com/daynight.series page, and for spreading the word. The series would have never hit “bestseller” status without you!

Fabulous “Alpha” readers (who read as I wrote and provided feedback) Ashley B., Breanna B., and Alyssa T.—you guys are the best and I love you!

My outstanding Beta and ARC readers and reviewers—I am grateful to each of you for your support, feedback, and sharp eyes: Jacinda O., Elizabeth N., Liz S., Melannie W., Katherine W., Rosie B., Jenn S., Jon T., Peggy K., Emily B., Virginia J., Michael L., LoraLynn A., Kristin B., Candy C., Elizabeth S., Kendra G., Alyssa P., Candice P., Elizabeth A., Ashley P., Isabel G., Shalaine H., Laura W., Tami G., Rebecca W., Sarah M., Amanda T., Becca J., LeeAnne I., Victoria R., Shannon T., Jennifer B., Claire T., Megan B., and many more.

A big thank you to my family—my husband and my five kids—for putting up with my scattered brain, an often messy house, infrequent home cooked meals, and for having to listen to me constantly stress over each and every aspect of this business. I love you and your support means everything to me.

I’m grateful to fellow
Darkest Worlds
anthology authors: Katie French, SK Falls, AG Henley, Zoe Cannon, and Kate Avery Ellison. It has been a pleasure working with you and learning from you! Thank you to friend and author Nicole Grotepas for your support, encouragement, and for often “talking me off the literary edge.”
 

Thank you to all those who helped with editing and proofreading—in particular Jill, my editor; Angelique and Sheryl, my professional proofreaders; and Jacinda and Elizabeth, my ARC readers for finding some awesome (and quite funny) errors. Despite the book having gone through three solid months of professional editing and proofreading, there may still be mistakes. If you find any errors, I give my sincerest apologies. Know that I’m cringing right along with you. I’ve done updates over a single incorrect letter, so email me at [email protected] if you find anything.

I am extremely grateful to all the bloggers who have provided so much support to me. Big shout-outs to Kathy from I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Laura from Prism Book Tours, who both did exceptional blog tours for
daynight
. Little Hyuts, A Casual Readers Blog, Sab the Bookeater, Deal Sharing Aunt, A Dream Within a Dream, Lust for Stories, Martha’s Bookshelf, Sher A. Hart Written Art, A Diary of a Book Addict, Emmy Mom One Day at a Time, EatReadGlam, Shortie Says, Magical Manuscripts, Mythical Books, Must Read Faster, Sapphire Dragon, Lisa is a Bookworm, Ever and Ever Sight, Wine Relaxation and My Kindle, Why Not? Because I said so!, Blood Sweat and Books, One More Chapter, Rattle the Stars, A TiffyFit’s Reading Corner, Letters to the Cosmos, Mel’s Shelves, My Passion for Books, Marked by Books, My Seryniti, Little Library Muse, Tressa’s Wishful Endings, Buckeye Girl Reads, Red Headed Bookworm, Coffee, Books & Me, Stressed Rach, All Fantasy Worlds, Bookaroo-Ju, Parnormal Opinion, The Cozy Reading Corner, Getting Your Read On, All Fantasy Worlds, Fantastical World of Wonders, A Backwards Story, Beck Valley Books, Books Mystify, Arriane Cruz, Candace’s Book Blog, Life of a YA Girl, Fuonlyknew, Lovin’ Los Libros, Paulette’s Papers, Becky Barmy’s Book Blog, Backing Books, Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks, Living a Goddess Life, Mortality Bites, Jack’s Junk Drawer, The Reading Diaries, Book Snob, Crafty Zoo, Heather’s Book Chatter, Forever Young Adult, Waiting on Sunday to Drown, Froze8’s Blog, Blkosiner’s Book Blog, WTF Are You Reading, Emi Gayle, Cuzinlogic, Reader Girls, leanne.me, Laurie’s Thoughts, Lena Sledge, There’s Beauty in the Breakdown, Delirious About Books, Fangirlish, Read Your Writes Book Reviews, Indie Author How-To, Impressions of a Princess, Brooke Blogs, Lady Reader’s Bookstuff, Crossroads Reviews, Michael SciFan, and many, many more who have publicized the
daynight
series through reviews, author interviews, guest posts, cover reveals, excerpts, top 10 lists, character interviews—I am grateful to each and every one of you!

About the author

Bestselling, award-winning author, Megan Thomason, lives in paradise aka San Diego, CA with her husband and five children. A former software manager, Megan vastly prefers writing twisted tales to business, product, and marketing plans. When she isn't typing away on her laptop, she's reading books on her phone—over 600 in the last year—or attending to the needs of her family. Megan's fluent in sarcasm, could potentially benefit from a 12-step program for road rage, struggles with a Hot Tamales addiction, loves world travel & fast cars, and hates paperwork & being an insomniac.