thanks, Ronit... thank you all.
I feel a little bit disoriented and heady. Maybe it's because of the writing I did today, or the fact that I am actually doing the Finale, and changing gears due to my own creative needs. I felt a great sadness that I felt the need to change gears and refocus, and at the same time, a responsibility to the characters and the universe I have created and lived with for the past seven months.
I am hopeful that the solution I have devised turns out to meet all of our needs as I wrap up the myriad "loose ends" and ease the way for the diverging paths of the original characters into their own worlds and explorations.
I will let slip another plan I have, which, time permitting, I expect to be working on during December. I am going to try my hand at "originalizing" the first book, "Taking Chances" as an original story. This is going to take a certain amount of thought and planning, but after much discussion and rumination, I think it can be done. And if I do get it done - I will be publishing it, and the other books, in an on-demand manner (ie. printing as they are ordered.)