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Fall, 2000
Volume 5, No. 2 Writers ask themselves lots of questions—What if? What happens next? How would my character react? What motivates her? Why am I sitting here at the computer telling tales anyway? The story questions get answered as we write our books. Why we write in the first place is a more complicated matter. Each writer has different reasons, but one reason we all have in common is that we love writing. This issue, we ask ourselves why we write series featuring recurring characters.
Lee Harris As a reader, I love opening a mystery that is part of a series I have been reading. It's like stepping into a warm and familiar place. I know the characters, how they live, what they do, what bothers them and what pleases them. Somehow, it's like going home. In an analogous way, I enjoy writing each new book in my own series. Chris Bennett Brooks and I have become old friends. We both look forward to her next visit with Sister Joseph, the General Superior of St. Stephen's; to tea and cake with Melanie Gross, Chris's friend across the street; to her husband Jack's new job at NYPD, and on and on. I don't need to establish from scratch every character I introduce; most of them have made appearances in past books and will continue to show up in future ones. And beyond that, I don't need to say "good-bye" to all my characters when I finish the last page of the current book. They will be back in the next one, along with a small group of new people, including a victim and a killer. Lee's current book is The Mother's Day Murder. In March, The April Fools' Day Murder will be published. Lee can be reached at MysMurder@aol.com.
Lora Roberts When I started writing mysteries about Liz Sullivan (Murder in a Nice Neighborhood), I knew very little about her. She stepped into my mind as a whole person, one whose life was very different from mine, whose thoughts seemed to be her own more than any other fictional character I'd created. As I wrote that first book, I got to know more about her. I started the second book (Murder in the Marketplace), feeling pretty comfortable about her, and yet found out more things than I'd known before. In each book since then, that process of discovery has continued. That's the lure of series mysteries—the opportunity to get to know a character really well, to make her universe as complete as possible, fleshing out the people she knows, the place she lives, until it's all as real as you can make it. And that's why I love reading them as well. When I get a new Kate Austen or Josie Pigeon or Chris Bennett book, I anticipate not just a good mystery, but a return trip to a setting I've visited and enjoyed before. The characters grow and change, and I get a ringside seat. Lora Roberts' last Liz Sullivan book, Murder Follows Money, takes Liz into the rarefied air of celebrity temper tantrums. Lora can be reached at myslora@pacbell.net.
Jonnie Jacobs I didn't set out to write a series, let alone two. I wrote what I thought was a book, and while I was waiting for it to sell, I wrote another book with different characters. Little did I know! While there are constraints to writing a series—one of the biggest being that you are locked into choices you made, often inadvertently, in earlier books—there are also benefits. My two sleuths are like friends; I enjoy spending time with them and would miss them greatly if I no longer had that opportunity. Over the years I've been writing about them, I've gotten to know them better (like friends in real life.) Having the characters grow and change helps keep a series fresh. While each book stands alone, it is also a chapter in the character's life. Kate started out in a bad marriage and has now forged a new relationship. She's grown professionally, taken in a foster daughter, and her own daughter has entered school. Kali has changed jobs and locales, and her personal relationships have been through heated ups and downs. In each book, the characters face challenges that help shape them. Murder Among Strangers is the latest in Jonnie's Kate Austen series. Motion to Dismiss, the third in the Kali O'Brien series, is now available in paperback. Look for Witness for the Defense in April 2001. You can reach Jonnie at jonnie@jonniejacobs.com.
Valerie Wolzien I write two mystery series. It's great fun. After I finish a book about Josie Pigeon and her crew, I take a few months off, and when I begin to write again about Susan Henshaw, it's like returning to old friends. I'm interested in finding out what's been happening to her family and friends. Has Susan gone on a successful diet or is she still worrying about her thighs? How are Susan and Jed coping with their empty nest? What murder will Susan stumble onto this time? Of course there are problems inherent in writing two series. There are so many characters, so many animals, so many locations; sometimes I can't keep track of them all. Just the other day, I spent over an hour trying to locate a description of Sam Richardson's mother in the most recent Josie book—I needed to know her age. Characters can change their hair color, lose or gain weight, but they shouldn't get any younger! I like to "mix up" the characters in my series. Josie was introduced in a Susan Henshaw book, Remodeled to Death. And Chad Henshaw shows up in the most recent Josie Pigeon outing, This Old Murder. Death at a Discount, the next book in the Susan Henshaw series, will be published by Fawcett in December. The following month a hardback edition will be available through the Mystery Guild. Valerie can be reached at valerie@wolzien.com.
Lee Harris ~ Jonnie Jacobs ~ Lora Roberts ~ Valerie Wolzien ©2005-06 by Lee Harris, Jonnie Jacobs, Lora Roberts and Valerie Wolzien. |
