Dear Ryan,

The events of last night caught me by surprise.  I was on a roll, writing far more than the expected 1,667 daily word count.  I was feeling positive that I might be able to catch up (I’m still 7,000 words behind).  And there it was: the halfway mark, right within my reach – 25,000 words!  And, since this is the halfway point, this is also the midpoint reversal.  Something big had to happen to change what was becoming a sort of random road trip.

Unfortunately, that big event happened to be your death.

Really, you’ve been one of my favorite characters.  Although Tucker is interesting, he’s interesting in more of a sociopathic sort of way.  You were much more fun.  You added much needed humor to the story, and personally, I don’t think you totally fit the dumb jock stereotype you started out as (and how Tucker ultimately saw you).  Your jokes had some intelligence to them.  More than that, you cared about Zeke, the main character and narrator.

I’m sad to see you go.  I’ll do my best to have Zeke and Jeff mourn your loss – obviously, Tucker won’t mourn, since he’s the one who killed you.  I’m sorry I had to leave your body in the bathtub of that hotel room.  This novel is going to be a much darker tale now that you’re gone.

Sincerely,

Kate