First Round Down

 

I finished my initial round of editing this week, which means we're one step closer to release day! The book's with my editor, now, and we'll go over her thoughts and apply additional edits once she's finished it. Then it's proofing, and publication. 

While I wait, I've been working on part two and found myself reflecting on how much easier it's been than expected to slip back into Ava and Mercy's POVs. I've written from their points of view off and on again as the series progressed; not so much lately: they've had only cameos here and there the past few books. I had some trepidation before I started work on Lord Have Mercy. Would I remember what it was like to live inside their heads? Could I be them again; inhabit their minds and feel their hearts racing and follow their trains of thought for extended sections of narrative? Those probably sound like frivolous and unlikely worries, but not all characters store the same way. 

Sometimes, a story is very much an exercise "of the moment." Vital, and engaging, and rewarding to put on paper while I'm drafting the book...but then months, years down the line, an attempt to revisit the characters proves difficult. Those are the stories that I realize are done: could I revisit them? Sure. But it wouldn't be an inspired effort. The characters have gone quiet, content with where they are, and it's best if I leave them there. It's like a friend you've lost touch with, and when you attempt to reconnect, you realize the once-natural ebb and flow of conversation is gone. Things are stilted, awkward; those long talks all but impossible. 

I had my worries about Ava and Mercy, but they've proved unfounded. Their brains are still easy to slip into, still active and welcoming and ready to helm a story. They're the same people they've always been...though they're in a much different place than they were in Fearless. They've got three kids, and a house, and jobs, and it's been fun getting to explore the domestic side of things with them. When Part One begins, their big worries are getting everyone up and out the door on time. Obviously, everything's about to go sideways, but this time around, they're tackling club drama and crisis as married parents. 

My favorite scenes in part one are the quiet, slow beat slice-of-life scenes, with Ava and Mercy, and the rest of the family. The whole club has grown - in a number of ways - since Fearless first roared onto the scene, and I think it's important, even necessary, to highlight the whole ensemble in Lord Have Mercy, just as I did in Fearless. 

Watch this blog, and my Instagram, and expect Part I: The Good Son, in the next couple of weeks!