Ah, Fall!
Since 2019, late August has become the gateway into autumn for me, mostly because it’s when I begin thinking about the next story in the Sean Colbeth series. If you’ve been following along with me for a while now, you’ll know that his first book — Blindsided — was written during the annual November Write A Novel Month, and mostly because of that connection, I reserve that month each year specifically to work on whatever adventure I have in store for my intrepid detective.
Blindsided was the first — and last — book I was able to write in four weeks. Since late 2020, I’ve more or less transitioned to taking at least two months to work on my first draft, which has allowed me to pace myself a bit better (and, occasionally, see my wife during those manic writing periods). I have to be more cognizant of my wrists now, too, so stretching the process slightly has been incredibly beneficial to ensuring I’m still able to produce at least one novel for each of my main detectives per year. As much as I would love to return to my COVID-era levels of output, the reality is that I just can’t keep to that pace these days — at least, not until I retire from my day job.
I spent a fair amount of this past weekend noodling what I want to do with this next book, tentatively entitled Redemption, including the theme(s) I hope to include. Since it is slated to take place just after the events of Aftermath, it feels important to me to deal with several of the threads I left hanging, including the fallout to Sean’s career over his abrupt leave of absence. I have a sense of where that will go and what that will do to drive his personal story forward; tied to that, of course, is the other major question: where the heck does he truly stand with Suzanne? There are some interesting hints at the end of Aftermath, and even more in the bonus chapter; while I don’t see a wedding in Sean’s future anytime soon, I do think there are some uncomfortable dinners and at least one come-to-Jesus discussion that will be very, very, very challenging to write.
It’s also been nearly three books since I’ve set a case in Maine, too. As weird as it might sound, I’m looking forward to dusting off my Village map and reacquainting myself with the colorful cast of background characters we’ve not seen in a while. I love my location, and though the choice to not set every case there has been intentional, I truly enjoy keeping a story inside the boundaries of Windeport. This case is shaping up to be one that takes me in a new direction, too; I’m going to get a chance to revisit actions Sean took in an earlier book, and perhaps see how they look to someone from the outside looking in — someone with a hidden agenda that connects to other secrets Windeport has been studiously keeping. There’s nothing I like to sink my teeth into more than the twists and turns that such a multilayered situation presents, though I’m not quite certain (yet) just how many layers exist. Since I’m in the blue sky phase of things, it’s still a bit hazy; over the next couple of weeks, I’ll sort through all the plot points I’d like to use and slim them down to the handful that will make a compelling read and a fun mystery to solve.
One pressing question for me that I’m not sure the next book will address is whether Sean keeps the Mustang he bought during the height of his midlife crisis. It’s not a terribly practical car for Maine, especially in the winter, but I also don’t see him actually admitting to anyone that he made such a mistake. My best guess is that it will likely wind up in storage for the rest of the season, replaced by his trusty unmarked SUV until such time as the grass begins to get green again. Besides, the last thing he would want is to expose any of that expensive vehicle to the chemicals used to treat roads in the height of winter. Then again, seeing Sean try and get his Mustang over a snow bank could make for a few lines of comedic gold.
We’ll have to see how it goes…
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