Last night I tried to start work on one half of the story that was Amaranth, pulling out the crucial pieces and renaming it Evening Primrose. I’m hoping a re-christening will give me a fresh perspective.
I shouldn’t be stressing yet. But last night a question occurred to me that is causing me some consternation. The first inklings of this novel in my imagination consisted of three elements: a forbidden love, a medieval cozy mystery with fantasy elements, and a castle full of inhabitants who all play a part in the story, including servants.
The troublesome question is this: It feels like a series to me, and I have never read a mystery that wasn’t part of a series. (As for “fantasy-mystery”, which this book is, I have no point of comparison by which to judge.) But if it’s to be the beginning of a long series, I want to pace the forbidden love element out to span the series. In otherwords, the characters involved shouldn’t marry in the first book; I want the feeling of sustained tension. However, the way I was taught to write (and the stance I generally agree with) is to never save anything “for the next book in the series”, because that next book may never be written.
So I’m in a bit of a quandary. Maybe I can resolve smaller questions about the relationship during the course of this book? But how to create the necessary dramatic tension to break the reader’s heart?
I will miss the title Amaranth, but I think it may be best to leave it behind, at least for now.
