Ending a Series by Marilyn Levinson

I did it! I finished writing the final book in my Haunted Library series. Tears welled up as Carrie, my sleuth, said good-bye to friends and family members before leaving on her honeymoon. Because I, too, was saying good-bye to characters I'd created and had grown to love .

But it was time to end the series. Over the course of eight books, my sleuth had made huge changes in her life. I could, of course, continue it in another vein, one reminiscent of Mr. and Mrs. North because Carrie's new husband is an investigator. They'll be living in their new home with a couple of children solving mysteries together, something Carrie and Dylan do in books seven and eight of this series. But that isn't the series I want to write.

The Haunted Library series almost never came to be. I'd sent the series proposal and first three chapters of the first book to a well-known cozy agent. She seriously considered taking it, but decided not to. Since she was the cozy agent, as far as I was concerned, I figured that hers was the final word on the subject. I had no intention of sending out my proposal to other agents. Yes, I know. You're not supposed to give up so easily. And I should have known better since I'd published many books before and had it drummed in my head that you didn't give up so easily. You kept on sending out your proposal again. And again.

Instead, I tucked away my series idea of a young woman coordinating library programs and events and solving murders with the sometimes help of the ghost of a woman who used to work in the library and focused on other projects. Then someone I knew told me she'd met an agent who was interested in a mystery she was writing, an agent I was "friends" with on Facebook.  

"Do you think I should send her my series idea?" I asked.                                                             "Sure. Why not?"                                                                                                                             And so, I sent it to my current agent. She took it, liked it, and found me a publisher.

When Death Overdue, the first book in my Haunted Library series, came out October 10, 2017, the book received a slew of wonderful reviews, including a starred Library Journal review and named their Pick of the Month. It was a nominee for the 2017 Best Contemporary Novel at Malice. I found myself chuckling as I shook my head in disbelief. Thrilled as I was, I wondered what was it about this book that brought it so much acclaim? Was it really so much better than the books I'd written previously?

I still don't know the answer to that question, though it's my belief that the writing life is a process, and hopefully the more we write the better we hone our craft. Perhaps I'm too close to my work to see the difference in my books. All I can say is I'm so very happy that readers are enjoying this series and that some have been inspired to read my earlier books.

 I'm taking a breather before I start editing the last book in the Haunted Library series. Editing is serious work. I'll be checking consistency and pacing, grammar and typos as I read through the manuscript three times then send it to my editor who's sure to find places in the manuscript that require my attention. Then I'll begin my new series. I know many of the characters who will people my new setting. They are very different from the ones that populate Clover Ridge. My sleuth is forty-four and divorced with a prickly teen-aged son. She's a bit cynical as well as feisty, astute and forever curious. What fun it will be to have my characters interact and argue over issues that somehow always lead to murder.