Thursday, February 15, 2024

Starting a New Series by Marilyn Levinson


Recently, I started writing the first book in a new cozy series. However, there was much I had to work out before I could write the first word of the first chapter. For one thing, my new series takes place on an island that you will never find on any map. Dickens Island is my creation. It's situated smack in the middle of the Long Island Sound and belongs to New York. Creating an island requires all sorts of planning—its size; its shape; how many people live on the island year round; how many come during the summer months; what ferries link the island to the mainland; what the school system is like; its local government; its history.

I researched the islands off Long Island to learn how they deal with many of these issues, and came up with many methods of my own. Setting, as any cozy author will tell you, is a very important element. It is the world where our characters live, work, interrelate, and commit murders. 

My main characters came to me early on. I knew I wanted my sleuth to be a savvy woman around forty—divorced for many years and the mother of a fifteen-year-old son. And so Delia, short for Cordelia, was born. Twelve years earlier, she divorced her abusive husband and left three-year-old Connor on Dickens Island to be raised by her parents, while she lived and worked in Manhattan. When she moves back to Dickens Island to resume her maternal duties, is it any wonder that Connor resents her? That he's distant and difficult, and bound to get into more-than-typical teenage trouble?

Graham Dickens, Delia's father, is the patriarch of the family, and feels it's his responsibility to keep the island running smoothly. Not that he holds any position in the island's government. Those positions are held by his brother, Brad, the president of the town council, and Reenie, Brad's wife, who is the island's manager. Unfortunately, Brad and Reenie are fiercely at odds over most issues. Their open discord has begun to affect their marriage and to divide the island into two hostile camps. 

 What fun it is to create new characters that will live on in future books. Helena, Delia's grandmother, has left Delia a large Victorian house when she died the previous year. When Delia discovers her grandmother's hidden room filled with sailors' logs and journals, Helena appears in ghostly form. She fills Delia in on events that occurred many years ago that shed light on the  recent homicide.

 A shaggy dog starts to follow Connor about, often spending the night at the house with Delia and her son. Delia has no success in finding his owner. She's surprised when she sees the spitting image of the dog in an early photo with her grandmother.

 And so I've begun writing the first book in my new series. I've had to stop a few times to understand my characters' relationship with one another. I'm glad I did because that enriched the texture of the story. Now all I have to do it write about the murder, why it came about, and how it gets resolved. And a few other things, of course. That should keep me busy for the next several months. 

19 comments:

  1. I know that things always take so much more work than it appears when I am reading the book. Thanks for showing us a bit behind the scenes of how a series setting and the characters are created.

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    1. You're welcome, Mark. It is a lot of work, especially at this stage, but once it's done, the writing can begin.

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  2. Oh, what fun! This sounds amazing, Marilyn.

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    1. Thanks, Annette. I love this part, but it does take time, as you well know.

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  3. Sounds like you had a great time doing the research and creating your island and their inhabitants. Congrats on starting a new series.

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    1. Thanks, Jim. It is fun to create new characters and settings.

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  4. Good luck with your new series. The shaggy dog sounds like a great character.

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    1. He came to me the way all characters come to us. And he does play a role in the action in this book. Of course I'll be adding two kitties at some point.

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  5. So many fun and intriguing elements in your new series. Congratulations Marilyn! I can’t wait to read it especially since it sounds like it’s in my neck of the woods. XO Shari

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  6. This sounds delicious for readers, plus it lets you play with your creativity and love of research. Wishing you, as always, only the best.

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    1. Thank you, Debra. I find that research creeps in constantly, showing me what I don't know and need to find out.

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  7. Love this, Marilyn! Can't wait to read it. Sounds right up my alley.

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    1. Thanks so much, Lori. I think cozies should be fun.

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  8. Sounds like a lot of fun! I’m looking forward to reading it. I’m visualizing Neil from Topper, but of course, he was a St. Bernard!

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    1. I don't remember Neil from Topper. Hmmm. I certainly remember Topper, George and Marion Kerby.

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  9. This is wonderful, Marilyn! Congratulations on the new series. It sounds fantastic - an island and a ghost? I'm in!

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    1. Thanks, Molly. Should I also mention pirate's treasure?

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  10. You've made a remarkably good start. Congratulations on the new series.
    Grace Topping

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