Happy Dance by Kait Carson

Thank you all for suffering through the last year and a half with me. I am pleased to announce that No Return, the novel of my dreams and nightmares, has been completed. Hopefully, it contains more active verbs than that last sentence. Funny how after you spend four months hip deep in edits, those things stand out like neon signs on a moonless night.

So, you might ask, what’s next? In the category of yes, she’s at it again, I’m three days into drafting Death by Deception, book four in the Hayden Kent Series. Here’s a sneak peek at the rough blurb: 

A day on the water turns tragic for Hayden Kent and her best friend, Mallory Corbett. Their plan to bag Florida’s delectable lobsters for a romantic Valentine’s dinner ends when they spot an empty boat adrift. The boat belongs to Pete Delaney, a local dive shop owner and Mallory’s new love. Closer inspection reveals eddies of blood swirling on the deck. As the pair investigate, they learn that Pete’s secrets run deeper than the wreck of the Thunderbolt at high tide. Can they find his killer before they become collateral damage?

It’s such a pleasure to return to familiar characters and landscape. When I finished Death Dive I hadn’t planned to write another Hayden Kent mystery. The story arc was complete, and the characters were all in good places. Instead, I found the further away I got from the Florida Keys, the more I missed it. When Hayden tempted me with a plot I couldn’t resist, I was all in. Because I know these characters so well, plotlines and story twists are flying from my fingers. The only learning curve is to Google the once familiar streets to see what’s changed. I haven’t been to Marathon in eight years. A long time even if you are living on island time. Sorry, Mr. Wolfe, you were mistaken. You CAN go home again.

Writers, have you ever returned to the scene of a past series? Did you feel at home? Readers, do you enjoy new offerings in a series that’s been dormant for a bit?

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries set in the Fabulous Florida Keys and is at work on a new mystery set in her adopted state of Maine. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime and a member of Sisters in Crime, Guppies, and Sisters in Crime New England. Visit her website at www.kaitcarson.com. While you’re there, sign up for her newsletter.