Books that Mark a Turning Point

By Elaine L Orr

Books that are part of a series, especially a long one, may simply be individual components of a set of characters and their action, or books may end aspects of a series and lead to others. 

In my Family History Mystery Series, which has five books, in the first three only the main character, Digger, knows that her Uncle Benjamin's ghost arrived soon after his burial. If her contact with him were only in her residence it could have stayed that way. But he was often with her, which could be comical if she was trying to communicate with him in front of others. But that's a difficult set of scenarios to maintain.

In book three, Mountain Rails of Old, his presence becomes known to her boyfriend, who had begun to think she was keeping something from him. Boy, was she. Even now, after five books and a long short story, no one else can see or talk to him. But having someone else know about him changed a great deal about how Digger could approach her world -- and the long-ago mysteries she works to solve.

In the fourteen-book Jolie Gentil series, the first six books have her reestablishing her life in Ocean Alley and resuming friendships, especially with Scoobie. My plan was to have him be killed at the beginning of book three and that book would have been titled Justice for Scoobie. Since he had become the favorite character, that really wasn't an option. And I liked him.

A relationship evolved from friends to romance to marriage. Book ten is titled The Unexpected Resolution and they are married on New Year's Eve. It also marks the beginning of major changes in their lives. Scoobie learns a great deal about his past and a new character, an unknown much younger brother, represents a major shift. I see this as the beginning of the second chapter of their lives.

Jolie continues to solve mysteries but with more family members in her life she has to be more responsible. This led to another character becoming if not a partner at least a valuable friend in crime solving. I can't claim to always think three books ahead, but I had a local newspaper reporter lose his job and spend a couple of years training to be a Private Eye. That would make him an assistant as needed -- though he certainly wouldn't have thought of himself that way.

I found I liked having a character whose business it was to untangle mysteries and eventually George garnered his own series, the Shore Shenanigans Series. Jolie will continue with a 15th book and George will have some involvement, but George will be the predominant character in his series with Jolie and Scoobie occasionally playing supporting roles.

With a new year approaching and a lot of writing ahead, I am grateful to have published for the past fifteen years. I'm even more grateful that I still like it.

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