JENN McKINLAY: I am absolutely delighted to have one of my very dearest friends and writing pals joining us today to talk about the art of the reveal when writing a series. Take it away, Kate!
Kate Carlisle is the New York Timesbestselling author of two ongoing series: the Bibliophile Mysteries featuring San Francisco bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright, whose rare book restoration skills uncover old secrets, treachery and murder; and the Fixer-Upper Mysteries (as seen on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries), featuring Shannon Hammer, a home contractor who discovers not only skeletons in her neighbors' closets, but murder victims, too.
KATE CARLISLE: Writing a long-running mystery series is a delicate balance. Each mystery must be self-contained, so that a new reader can jump in with any book and enjoy the story. On the other hand, to satisfy longtime readers I must also show change and progression in the characters and their relationships.
And the change must be something that carries through into subsequent books. I can't just go on as though nothing happened. Lessons learned must not be unlearned. Without progress, the books become episodic, and the story world feels flat.
I'll confess, I gamed the system when I started the Bibliophile Mystery series. I set up the series with a large cast of characters deliberately so that we could learn something new about different characters in each book. Bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright comes from a large, quirky family—her parents are Grateful Dead superfans (aka Deadheads) who conceived Brooklyn and her five siblings while following the band on tour; she was raised on a commune that's still thriving; and she lives in a San Francisco condo building with several very interesting neighbors. (**cough**lesbian chainsaw artists**cough**) Not to mention her love interest, British security expert Derek Stone, and his equally large and quirky family across the pond.
In each book, readers discover new aspects about Brooklyn and that book's featured secondary character. It's fun and exciting, and when the information comes up later in the series, longtime readers feel like insiders. More than that, they feel like the characters are people they know. Friends, even, and they look forward to seeing them again in the next book.
I think of this as the Art of the Reveal. It's a literary fan dance. Show a little more in each book. Let readers put the pieces together in their mind.
In The Book Supremacy, I wanted to, at long last, delve deeper into Derek's mysterious background with MI6. While on honeymoon in Paris, Derek runs into one of his old friends from his spy days (though he insists he was never a spy). A coincidence? Or did the man track Derek down on purpose? When, just days later, Derek's old friend turns up dead, he and Brooklyn will have to dig into the cases the two men worked on together to find the killer before he strikes again.
In the latest in this New York Times bestselling series, San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright investigates a mysterious spy novel linked to a string of murders...
Newlyweds Brooklyn and Derek are enjoying the final days of their honeymoon in Paris. As they're browsing the book stalls along the Seine, Brooklyn finds the perfect gift for Derek, a first edition James Bond novel, The Spy Who Loved Me. When they bump into Ned, an old friend from Derek’s spy days, Brooklyn shows him her latest treasure.
Once they're back home in San Francisco, they visit a spy shop Ned mentioned. The owner begs them to let him display the book Brooklyn found in Paris as part of the shop's first anniversary celebration. Before they agree, Derek makes sure the security is up to snuff—turns out, the unassuming book is worth a great deal more than sentimental value.
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| MAGNIFIER! |
Soon after, Derek is dismayed when he receives a mysterious letter from Paris announcing Ned’s death. Then late one night, someone is killed inside the spy shop. Are the murders connected to Brooklyn's rare, pricey book? Is there something even more sinister afoot? Brooklyn and the spy who loves her will have to delve into the darkest parts of Derek's past to unmask an enemy who's been waiting for the chance to destroy everything they hold dear.
GIVEAWAY: I try very hard to make my book worlds feel genuine, and revealing new information about different characters is one of the main ways I do that. It's like when you live in a neighborhood for a long time, and you learn something new about the people next door. Tell me something you learned about one of your neighbors that surprised you, something that you wouldn't have expected when you first moved in. I have a Bibliophile Mystery magnifier for one lucky commenter!
