You asked, begged, pleaded...and I've listened

Okay, loyal readers, this is for you! When I planned the end of the Chesapeake Shores series and wrote what I considered to be the final book -- The Summer Garden -- I had misgivings. I always do when leaving behind a set of "friends" who've been so much a part of my life.

Yet, despite those misgivings, I felt as if there was no reasonable way to continue with so many very young grandchildren and Nell growing older. One rule of thumb I've adhered to rigidly in my career is never allowing a beloved character to die on my watch! There's enough sadness all around us without me causing more of it.

Then came your emails and Facebook posts, suggesting ways to keep the series alive, telling me how much you've enjoyed the O'Briens and would miss them. As anyone who knows me well could tell you, I am easily guilt-ridden. I may be stubborn as a mule about many things, but not this.

So, thanks to all of you, plus the enthusiasm of my publisher, I've figured out a way to keep the Chesapeake Shores series alive, at least for a few more books!! Since I started a Christmas book tradition with the O'Briens, plans are to continue with those. The paperback of An O'Brien Family Christmas will be out this fall, but there will be brand new Christmas books in 2013 and 2014.

In order to pull this off, I'll be aging the kids in "soap opera time", while Nell doesn't age a
bit. If anybody questions how this works, I'm referring them to explanations of "a willing suspension of disbelief" or "poetic license." If you want more books, you'll need to lovingly grant me this leeway.

So, cheer up all of you who've been saddened by the thought of not returning to Chesapeake Shores. Apparently the O'Briens aren't going away as quietly as I'd anticipated.

Be sure to share this blog with your friends who follow the series, post your comments here or on Facebook and watch for a poll in the next few days on who should "star" in that first Christmas book.