Strict novelist shortly penning finales of the chapter (7)
I believe the answer is:
austere
'strict' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'novelist shortly penning finales of the chapter' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'shortly' could be 'ere' (as in 'ere long', which can mean 'shortly') and 'ere' is located in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'aus' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for austere that I've seen before include "'Spartan, simple (7)'" , "Grim -- a US tree (anag)" , "Strict in appearance" , "Abstemious and grave" , "Serious" .)