I do so hate finishing books. I would like to go on with them forever. Beatrix
Potter
Finishing books—and leaving the world you've created—is always a kind
of emotionally wrenching experience. I usually cry. Lauren Oliver
Last week I turned in the manuscript
for The Art of Betrayal, the third
book in the Kate Hamilton Mystery series. It's not finished. Rounds of edits
come next, but pushing send is a
milestone marking the end of something cherished. Here's a glimpse:
American antiques
dealer Kate Hamilton is spending the month of May in the Suffolk village of
Long Barston, filling in at her friend Ivor Tweedy's antiquities shop while he
recovers from bilateral hip surgery. Kate is thrilled when a local recluse
consigns a valuable Chinese pottery jar from the ancient Han dynasty—until the
jar goes missing and a body turns up in the middle of a village pageant
celebrating an eleventh-century folktale. As Detective Inspector Tom Mallory
leads the investigation, Kate begins to see puzzling parallels between the
crimes and the local legend. The more she learns, the more convinced she
becomes that the solution to both crimes lies in the murky depths of
Anglo-Saxon history and a generations-old pattern of betrayal.
After spending more than nine months
with my characters, I'm feeling disoriented. And not a little homesick.
For me, the closest real-life parallel
is the feeling I had when my oldest son left on the school bus for his first
day of kindergarten. I waved madly (and cried) as the bus lumbered down the
street, turned left, and vanished. My precious little boy was on his own.
My book will have to make its way in
the world, too. Of course, I plan to help it along as much as I can. But months
of living, breathing, and dreaming about this story have come to an end.
A fourth book is in the works—one that
must be planned, plotted, written, and polished. That will take time, and I'll
fall in love with that story, too.
But first I need a few days to mourn
the book I've left behind.
Have you ever felt homesick for a
book you've read or written?
6 comments:
yes, all the time. I'm not invited to the party because it happened between books.
While we complain about the slowness of the publishing system, I suppose we should remember it also gives us time to live and connect with our characters. It’s a positive with a few side effects, as you’ve shown. Congrats on the finishing. I can’t wait to read it.
I have a number of books I go back & read every few years because I miss them.
No, but I know what it's like to see your kid off in the world. Even at age 30 and 33, they are still my babies!
After finishing the lengthy book, "...And Ladies of the Club," I felt like I had moved away from a small town I loved. I felt a bit forlorn for awhile. I had spent so much time with the characters in that book, it was hard moving away from them.
I find myself missing the characters from my Lobster Shack series and they keep wandering into my Ice Cream shop series! I totally understand. Congratulations on finishing your book, Connie. Your characters will be fine, I promise, and we'll all enjoy spending time with them when the book comes out.
Post a Comment