Happy?

© by Gerald So | 3:00 AM

On August 8, I received another rejection on the novel-now-story I started in 1995, two years into reading mysteries for pleasure. About 1997, I put the novel aside as too wishful compared to the hardboiled and noir I enjoyed. The protagonist at the time, a Spenser-like ex-boxer, wouldn't fit a cozy, either. I happily finished other work until a 2016 themed anthology got me thinking I could revamp the novel idea as a short story.

In the four years since, I've changed the protagonist and other characters significantly, but held onto the convention of a less-than-blissful ending. Up to earlier this week, I tried endings of sudden violence, culprits turning themselves in, morally ambiguous open endings–only today writing a straightforward, non-violent, non-law enforcement, happy ending. If it helps the story finally sell, it's the right ending.