Thank you, Beth, for inviting
me to your place! I certainly enjoyed meeting you at the San Bernardino Library
Author event. I thought I’d talk a little about writing a series versus a
standalone novel.
Thank you Madeline, I really enjoyed meeting you as well. But mostly I am intrigued by your book Counsel of Ravens! Thanks for this insightful guest blog!
First some info about Madeline's novel Counsel of Raves
In the dark of night, murder strikes on Route 66, and once again Hubert James Champion III finds himself having to face realities he’d rather run from. Indeed, within two days, Hugh finds himself embroiled in murder on a national scale, seeking justice for petty-crimes of a local nature—and very close to home, reviving his skills as a psychologist to help people who have become friends. Indeed, his friends need him.
In addition, there are troubling mysteries of the personal kind still tucked away in the recesses of Hugh’s subconscious. He may still be “hiding out” in the desert, but East Coast ties continue to haunt and thwart his building hopes for the future.
Fortunately, he has his ravens to counsel him, and through it all—the Mojave winds continue to blow…
The Series Versus a Standalone Novel
Many mystery authors write
series, but for me, it’s been standalones until my latest. So, I’m talking
about one little sequel, and that may
seem like not such a big deal, but for me, it was huge. I didn’t realize how
huge until about the middle of writing Counsel
of Ravens. I’ve mentioned on blogs before how certain locations seem to
reach out, grab me, tell me there’s a story there. And from that initial spark,
my mind moves on to characters, plot, etc. Intertwined in that process—I think—is also a liking for dropping in
on characters, not only at a particular spot, but in a particular point in
their lives. Then drop out. Move on. Leaving all the “what if” possibilities in
the rest of their lives unanswered and left to the reader’s imagination.
Well, writing
a sequel with Hugh et al., I’d have to deal with what came next, tie up some
lose ends, even kick-start the next chapter of his life. At first, and for
quite awhile in the writing of Counsel of Ravens, I didn’t want to do that.
Doesn’t make much sense, but it’s true.
It was hard making what I’m
calling “second-wave” decisions for Hugh. And with that kind of mindset and
difficulty, how could I possibly ever write a series, which was one of my
initial goals way-back-when. And now, even with Counsel of Ravens published, I’m still not sure I can actually
write a continuing series. Though, somewhere during the storytelling part of my
latest I began to enjoy developing Hugh’s future, and his friend’s futures—including
his ravens—who moved in this story from being reticent, to butting-in. And
I did very much enjoy tying up the loose ends with a secondary, but one of my
favorite characters in Reticence of Ravens—Marsha Portson.
Which leads me to the
“winding-road-of-writing.” My love of P.D. James’s style, her books, her
protagonist, her approach to writing—led me to start off using M.M., wanting to
emulate my rock-star author and
because I planned on writing a series with a male protagonist—again, just like
P.D.
Things have changed for my
characters in several ways (indeed, two of my books have female protagonists)—and
for me. My writing-career-plans seem to
have their own plan—taking me on a
winding road somewhere…
A very wise author once told
me, “Enjoy the process,” and I say, “Hear! Hear! I sure better.” So here I am back
on the winding road, and what seems to be next for me is writing a thriller
sort of/mystery sort of/mainstream fiction sort of/ novel called Rhodes. It’s a standalone—BUT, I’ve
given it a secondary title—The
Mojavestone, just in case! (I’m rereading (audio) The Moonstone by Wilkie
Collins—wonder if that has something to
do with my title?)
Beth, thanks so much for
inviting me—loved being here!
About Madeline Gornell
Madeline (M.M.) Gornell has
five published mystery novels—including PSWA awarding winners Uncle Si’s Secret and Lies
of Convenience (also a Hollywood Book Festival honorable
Mention), Death of a Perfect Man, and Reticence of Ravens (a
finalist for the Eric Hoffer 2011 fiction Prize, the da Vinci Eye for cover
art, and the Montaigne Medal for most thought provoking book). Her latest is Counsel
of Ravens, her first sequel
and a continuation of Hubert Champion’s Mojave saga. She continues to be
inspired by historic Route 66, and expects to release in 2014 Rhodes.
Madeline is a lifetime lover
of mysteries, and besides reading and writing, she is also a potter with a
fondness for stoneware and reduction firing. She lives with her husband and
assorted canines in the Mojave High Desert near the internationally revered
Route.
Contact and Buy Info
Madeline’s books http://tinyurl.com/namho8g are available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com,
and Smashwords, in paper and e-book formats. You can visit her online at her
website http://www.mmgornell.com, or her BLOG http://www.mmgornell.wordpress.com or email her
directly at mmgornell@earthlink.net
