Why did you deviate from the “Through the Mist” series when you wrote two contemporary books?
I’m currently working on the seventh book in the Through the Mist series. Those books are set in early 1800s Scotland and involve a time-travel element. (Don’t worry; that element does not weigh down the story.)
Along the way, I have written two books set in the 21st century. Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop is based on a fictional version of my hometown. A Fortune to Claim involves a road trip through Scotland. The primary character in that book eventually returns to the same fictional town.
Why not stick to writing books for the Through the Mist series? As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it? Well, sometimes, it breaks!
Doing the same thing is boring. I read A LOT about Scottish history and the 1800s. Sometimes, I need to escape that world.
With the contemporary books, I get the chance. I can create a new world with a new storyline and characters. The process stays interesting.
Trying new things is fun and makes the Through the Mist series even better. In Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop, I tried a different writing technique.
The story is told through the eyes of Peg Alexander. Her story is based strictly in the first person, with zero points of view from the other characters. This is a departure from how things happen in the series.
Peg is also a 50-something woman who gets a second chance at love. Someone who has raised a child to adulthood and rebuilt her life in her rural hometown is different from Tilly in the Through the Mist series.
In A Fortune to Claim, I explore a caretaker’s journey after the death of a dear friend. Simone Grant, the caretaker, gets an opportunity to take an all-expense-paid vacation, something that is badly needed after everything that has happened in her life.
Among other things, the book allowed me to broaden my skills with design software. I handle everything, from editing to cover design to formatting. Enhancing software skills saves time and money. When I design the cover for the seventh book, I have new tricks to try.
The contemporary books are an excellent antidote to writer’s block. We all hit the dreaded wall. It doesn’t matter if we are writing a book or trying to plan what’s for dinner.
I inevitably hit a wall with another book in the series, so cleaning the slate and diving into something completely different always opens the mind and recharges my creativity. I come away with a better idea about what I want to do with the next book in the series and how I want to approach different parts of the writing process.
So, how am I applying what I learned? With both books, I stepped outside the comfort zone of the Through the Mist series. The contemporary books showed me some ways to enhance the characters’ experiences in the series and offered an opportunity to learn about and try new techniques.
For example, Tilly has become a bit complacent. Castle Fion offers a routine, with no real surprises. In the new book, she is thrown into new situations and visits different places. What does that world look like? How does she react?
I should toss in more details when appropriate. After all, Tilly would still recognize the differences between 21st-century and 19th-century life. Why not acknowledge it?
Change can be a good thing. We shouldn’t be afraid of it. Sometimes, trying something different gives us a new outlook. It certainly worked for me.