The final Holly Hart Cozy Mystery is live!
To celebrate I thought I’d share what I learned writing this series.
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1. Writing is hard work.
I’m not going to lie. It was so much fun creating and brainstorming the Holly Hart series. Writing the first book was thrilling and kept me at the edge of my chair as I learned about my characters and they became real people to me. I loved the surprises.
2. Writing in a series flows faster when you know the characters and the world.
Knowing the characters and the relationships made moving from one book to the next book easy. I didn’t need to plan out character flaws and strengths or figure out the world or the voice of the story.
3. It’s so hard not to be distracted by new and shiny ideas.
So many ideas. I have several outlines of books and series that I might very well never write. Or I might. Sometimes I have to flesh it out in an outline before realizing if a premise is worth writing. So many of them I wanted to start writing the next day. Still do.
4. It might help to take a break and write something new.
With one book left in the series, I needed a break. Too many ideas pressing against me. Too many voices that needed to be written. Last spring, I took that break and wrote book one in a new cozy mystery series that will release this spring.
5. Character arc is nice but after a while it’s hard to keep it feeling new.
Thank God for my editor who kept me on track when I went in a wrong direction halfway through the series. She called me on it, and I agreed with her. I went on to make major changes in the story and the next one.
6. I don’t know how people write 12 book series or longer.
Recently, I’ve discovered a fantastic cozy mystery series. The fifteenth book was recently released. Yeah, I know. Impressive. I’m not saying I would never write a long-running series, but…it would have to be the right situation and the right series.
7 I love writing and reading mysteries, whether it’s a cozy mystery or the mystery is a subplot.
When I took a break to start another cozy mystery series, I knew I’d found a genre I’d love to keep writing. I love the mix of mystery and humor. All my ideas might not be cozy mysteries, but they will contain some sort of mystery and/or humor.
On that note, with mixed feelings, I’ve released the final Holly Hart Cozy Mystery.
But I’m very excited for the new cozy mystery series I started last year! More information will come soon!
Read any good books lately? Feel free to share.
I don’t know how people do it either! I can do a character arc for one book, but having it continue over 15 books??? Way too hard for my brain. JD Robb does an excellent job of it in her In Death series, so it is possible for some.
Love seeing the covers of your series together like this – they’re so awesome!!