The Third Person Narrative
(I Crossing by Andy Cody)
May 23, 2020 4pm – May 23, 2020 6pm

This Darling died as it lived, in a hotel lobby after missing my train, and will be laid to rest there. Preceded by many of my works that were well known for their stylistic approach to speaking in third person, such as Tom’s Crossing, Theo’s Crossing, and Tim’s Crossing. I chose to be brave, kill my Darling, and narrate in first person after banging out the transcript in the hotel lobby, and it proved much more immersive in understanding protagonist Pat Garvey and his perspective. That third-person narrative left this world on May 23rd 2020 and is survived by the book’s epilogue, covering the life of Garvey’s girlfriend, Claire, after the events of the main story. 

The Love Triangle
(Cold Tide Island by Laura Frazer)
November 29, 2019 – May 20, 2020

The romantic Darling of a storyline that was meant to include lead couple Leon Redfield and his old flame, Lillian Burton, I would have also included the titular island’s creepy innkeeper, Larry Tugger, whom Lillian would also begin to grow fond of. Despite having the chance to place my highly specific sexual fantasy on paper to share with the world, I was forced to put it out of misery, after realizing such stories would require 300 additional pages. This Love Triangle was discarded peacefully on May 20th, 2020, after a long fight with character development. It was predeceased by an ambitious love octagon that not even I could keep track of, not helped by all the characters’ names starting with “L”. 

A Terminator Inspired Storyline
(Binding of the Oasis by Mya Moto)
July 11, 2007 – May 1, 2008

In a desperate attempt to make my King Arthur-inspired stories appeal to the masses, I decided to incorporate a Terminator-like story, where the hero, Caradoc of Somaria, traveled back to the past and used an M-16 to combat the ghouls, goblins and skeletons he encountered. Instead I just settled on giving him a crossbow that functioned like an automatic weapon. This Darling was forced to die alongside any believability this story may have had, and any chance to make the stories of King Arthur mainstream.  

The Beastiality Message
(Casino Nights by Eugene Naka)
June 23 1991 – November 13 2006 

The main character Gary already has a love interest throughout the story in Ariel Ashman, but that’s not because she was a character I had in mind from the start, but because she was a necessary replacement for my first Darling, Gary’s Horse Girlfriend, Adele. After suffering at the hands of my publishers over the course of multiple works, they twisted my arm on Adele after saying they wouldn’t publish this book otherwise. Adele is sadly survived by nothing. 

The Alien Invasion of The Church
(Love Crafts A Way by William Ward) 
April 3, 2015 – June 13, 2020

This Darling premise left the world unexpectedly on June 13th, 2020, after a well-fought battle with the rest of the monastery storyline. This piece of Gothic Sci-Fi Drama is survived by Chuck’s initial outfit of space clothing that is shed after the first chapter. In lieu of flowers, please send letters arguing why this isn’t just stealing from a rejected Alien 3 script, since that was clearly written for a sequel movie and this is a published book. There’s a difference!