A/N: Beta'd by Miss Poison (Twilighted) and Feisty Y. Beden (FFn).

Epilogue - Swan Song

TheCongregation(dot)net

Ethan Church: Fact versus Fiction

I know there are some people out there who have taken the announcement of Ethan Church's death and the recent publication of his biography as proof that he was in fact one individual person, but I find these events cementing my belief in the exact opposite.

Firstly, the announcement had no information, and therefore proves nothing. The statement made via his publishers said that he had died, but not how, where, or even when. It's completely impossible to fact check, because it doesn't contain any facts. I could announce that I taught a monkey to speak English, but that hardly makes it true. As far as I'm concerned, it was only the official end of the Ethan Church saga.

Secondly Isabella Swan, the biographer of the infamously reclusive author is not a writer. If I had spent the last seventy-plus years successfully guarding all remotely personal information about myself from the public and then decided to narrate my biography to someone, I would hire a biographer or some kind of writer, at the very least a journalist. The fact that a translator with no known experience in writing was chosen says to me that she has some other connection to the entity known as Ethan Church.

And now, at the time when most authors would be doing press for their best-selling book, she's nowhere to be found. I understand her quitting her job - I would have too - but she's completely gone. According to an article I read earlier this week, even her mother doesn't know where she is, just that she said goodbye before she left. It seems that somebody likes to stay out of the spotlight... my how familiar that sounds.

I think I've made it pretty clear over the years what my opinions are regarding Ethan Church. I've explained at length my reasons for believing that Ethan Church is a name used by a succession of different authors, and I'll spare you from having to read all that again here. As far as I'm concerned there has never been much indication of who the authors are, but I think we may have been presented with a name, Isabella Swan.

The last in the line of Ethan Church authors would be responsible for wrapping up the franchise, and who better to pen the biography written to that end than that last author. It eliminates the necessity of bringing in an outsider, it gives them complete control, and it's a one-time chance for them to put their real name on something connected to Ethan Church. This would explain why Isabella Swan, in-house translator for the publishers of Ethan Church's novels, was chosen to write the biography. I think it also makes sense that Isabella Swan would not be working as an author under her own name; after all, you can't compare the latest Ethan Church books with her own style of fiction writing if there are no examples to look at, and I think it's pretty clear that leaving no evidence is the MO of this operation.

Reply to "Ethan Church: Fact versus Fiction" -

Maybe they didn't release the info about his death because they didn't want people tracking him down. Clearly the man appreciated his anonymity. Why would they stop protecting his privacy now?

Reply to "Ethan Church: Fact versus Fiction" -

I've always been very sceptical of the theories swirling around Ethan Church, but I have to say that the fact that his biography didn't have any names was more than a little odd. The only time "Ethan Church" appeared in print was in the title. At the very least, they avoided using it because it's not his real name, but the topic of a pseudonym was never broached. Where's the explanation for that?

Reply to "Ethan Church: Fact versus Fiction" -

I agree with pretty much everything, but I'm surprised you didn't talk about the content of the biography, specifically the connection between elements of his biography, and plot points and themes in his novels. If Ethan Church was a name used by more than one person then was the biography an amalgamation of their lives? Were the novels inspired that much by their experiences or are these connections a nod to the fictional nature of the book?

Reply to "Ethan Church: Fact versus Fiction" -

If Swan worked at his publishers, she may have met EC there and been persuaded by his ideas about privacy, or if it's true that there has been more than one author, then the latest one could have met her there, and they ran away together. Given that we know almost nothing for a fact, I think it's impossible for us to definitively narrow down the possibilities of what could have happened.

Reply to "Ethan Church: Fact versus Fiction" -

Dude, you've thought about this way too much.

Reply to "Ethan Church: Fact versus Fiction" -

Have you read the new review for Church's soon-to-be released last book? It seems like it's going to be a significantly departure from his others. Perhaps that's an indication that Isabella has started and ended her EC career with his last book.

I won't quote the whole thing, but I feel this section is particularly significant:

"Although stylistically consistent, I would describe Ethan Church's last novel, Swan Song as hopeful while his others are nothing less than heartbreaking. This beautiful and poignant story about the conclusion of a troubled life carries a message throughout that will shock most, if not all, of Church's fans: Death is not the end, but a new beginning."