I’m sure you all know by now that I am currently working on book number three. I’m sorry I don’t have a confirmed title to share yet, but maybe I will have a reveal party or something else fun once I have it figured out. Or maybe I will even have a contest to see which of my choices you like best? I’ll may have a reveal for the cover too. Who knows? Stay tuned to find out!
As I was going through my character list for my next book, I looked back at the cast of people who played roles in my first one, The RH Factor. I’ve been considering setting book number three back in Pax and Regina’s world—back in the world of Snoqualmie, Washington and the SnoPo police department.
But before I made that decision, I wanted to go beyond the page. I thought it might be a good idea to first have a little chat with one of the main characters of the book, Private Investigator Regina Harrington, and see what she thinks about it. A lot of the plans I have for the book will directly affect her life, so I thought it would be nice of me to check with her before I really dove in.
Below is a transcript of that conversation.
“Hi, Regina,” I started. “Long time, no talk to.”
“Yeah. I’m surprised to hear from you,” she said. “I thought you were all done with me.”
I let a small chuckle loose. “Me too, frankly. But I’m thinking I may need you again. I’ve been working on another book.”
“Am I in it?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve been considering setting it back in your world. You and Pax’s world, I mean.”
“Oh.”
“You don’t sound excited.”
“Is it another murder mystery?” Regina asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t have any more relatives left, so I guess none of them will be murdered.”
“I don’t—”
“Wait a minute,” she interrupted. “You’re not going to kill off someone I know, are you? Oh my god! It’s not me, is it?””
“You know I can’t tell you that.”
A grunt escaped her lips. “I don’t know then. Why don’t you set it somewhere else? What about New York, or L.A.? There are lots of people there you could have someone murder. There are so many people in those cities they might not even be missed!”
“That’s kind of harsh.”
“That’s not what I meant. I just mean, when someone gets killed in Snoqualmie, it’s a big deal, you know? Everyone in the town hears about it. Hell, everyone in town probably knows them. It’s not like the big cities. Not even like Seattle. Why don’t you kill someone in Seattle?”
“I—”
“No. I take that back. Maybe you should write a fantasy? Then you don’t have to kill anyone at all.”
“People still die in fantasies.”
“Yeah, but they’re make-believe people!”
I couldn’t bring myself to remind Regina she was also a made-up character, instead I simply said, “I’m sorry. But I really like this area. And my friends love reading a mystery story that happens in places they’re familiar with.”
“Hmmm. I can see I’m not going to change your mind. Anything else I should know?”
I hesitated.
“What?” Regina asked. “Just tell me.”
“Julie might be there.”
“What! No. She’s still in Germany with her new husband.”
“Maybe.”
“You do remember my last moment with Pax, a year or so before my aunt died? When I broke it off with him?”
“Uh.” I did remember it, of course. But I knew better than to say anything.
“She came into his house without knocking! Walked right into the master bedroom and stood looking in the bathroom while Pax and I were in there naked! We’d just gotten out of the shower. I had told Pax weeks ago to make sure he got her key back. But he never did. I was so mad at him I couldn’t think straight! And just the weekend before, he had to go pick her up at the hospital because she’d taken too much Ecstasy and almost overdosed! She said it just felt so good, she wanted a little more.”
“At least she had the presence of mind to go to the emergency room,” I said.
“Right,” she huffed. “Some days I wish she hadn’t”
“Regina! You don’t mean that.”
“No. Of course not. But still… You’re going to bring her back?”
“I don’t know. Nothing’s in concrete yet,” I said, trying to appease her.
“I’m not sure I want to be in a story with her.”
I cringed. “I understand. Really. I’m sorry she caused you and Pax so much grief.”
“I don’t know why you’re sorry. You’re the one that wrote the backstory.”
I cleared my throat. “Back to the book idea.”
“Yeah, I don’t know about that. It’s not sounding like a very fun book for me.”
“But you love a good mystery.”
“True.”
“And it’s going to have some very interesting characters in it.”
“Yeah? Like, who?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see. And there’s a very unusual kind of woman in it. I think you’ll like her.”
“Huh.”
“And finding who the killer is should be challenging,” I tempted.
“Really?”
Regina was starting to perk up.
“Plus, I think I’ll be touching on some subjects you may not be familiar with. Should add some intriguing aspects to the whole story.”
“You’ve certainly got me curious.”
“So?”
“Wait a minute.”
“What?”
“Pax is going to be there, isn’t he?”
“Yes. Pax will be there.”
“And we’ll still be together?”
“You don’t want me to give away anything to my readers do you?” I asked.
“OK, just whisper it to me, then.”
I smiled. “No. No reveals.”
“You’re no fun.”
“I’m not going to tell you. You can pout all you want to.”
Regina sighed. “OK.”
“OK? Really? You’ll do it?”
“Yeah. You know I can’t resist a good mystery.”
“Great!”
“When are you going to start?”
“Soon. I’ve already got lots of notes and outlining done. Just starting to really get into it now.”
“I guess I’ll be on the page soon, then.”
“Yes. Very soon. And, thanks, Regina.”
“You’re welcome. I hope I don’t regret this. You better not kill me off.”
“Not making any promises. But you know, I like your character, so…”
“All right. Well, gotta go. I’m tea-dyeing some paper. Don’t want it to get too dark.”
“OK. See you in my next book.”
So after a little convincing Regina had finally agreed to be in another book. That made me happy. Now I’m itching to really dig into the writing. I have so many ideas that I’m having a bit of a hard time culling them down and getting the outline for it fine-tuned into something manageable. But it’s slowly starting to gel into a solid storyline, and I’m looking forward to continuing the work and getting this third book finished.
If you haven’t read my first book, The RH Factor, be sure to do it before my next one is released! You can read them both individually, but you’ll understand the personalities of and relate to the main characters more if you read them in order.
I have to admit I was bit surprised at where my conversation with Regina led, and now I feel even more excited about the book. If you're a writer and get a case of writer’s block or feel stuck with one of your stories, try conducting an interview or a simple phone call with one of your characters. It’s a great way to unstick your brain and motivate you to keep moving forward!