Series Canceled by Marilyn Levinson

 That was the message I received a few days ago regarding the fate of my new cozy mystery series. Certainly not what any writer wants to hear, no matter how kindly the words are strung together.

Death on Dickens Island, the first book in my Books on the Beach series, had been released in October, 2025 in four formats: e-book, hardcover, paperback and audio. The Large Print edition came out this past week. I had high hopes for my new series set on an island I'd created in the middle of the Long Island Sound. I enjoyed writing about my new characters--their adventures, their relationships--and murder and mayhem.

Readers liked the book, judging by the many five-star reviews it received on BookBub. Though I could see by the book's Amazon ratings that sales weren't great, I remained optimistic and started writing the second book in the series.

Learning that my publisher will not be continuing my new series has left me very sad. My first reaction was maybe it was time I stopped writing books and enjoyed a life of leisure. That didn't last long. I began to wonder: should I finish the book I'm writing and find a home for it? Should I start a new series? Too many possibilities, which led me to believe I needed to take a break from writing and writing decisions. For a week or more.

To my relief, this latest development hasn't made me doubt my writing abilities. I've written too many books for that. When I posted about my series' cancelation on Facebook, I was touched by the many who had written to tell me they loved reading Death on Dickens Island. And by the wonderful support I received from many of my fellow authors. So many suggested that I self-publish the series, but I don't have the time or the energy to do that. Eventually, I'll come up with the right decision regarding what's next in my writing career.

Rejections and cancelations are a part of the publishing industry. It can happen to any author. After all, it's not as though we're ever given tenure to keep on writing books until we retire. We write books because that's what we love to do, and we want to get our books out to as many readers as we can. 

Starting a New Series by Marilyn Levinson

Recently, Booked on Murder, the eighth book in my Haunted Library series was released. I knew this would be the final book in the series because now my sleuth's story arc was complete. Carrie Singleton had evolved from a lost, unsettled young woman to become a responsible, involved and established member of her community surrounded by people who loved her. Many readers were sad that I'd ended the series, and I felt a few pangs myself. I would miss writing about Carrie and Dylan and their friends in Clover Ridge, but it was time to move on. I looked forward to embarking on my new adventure.

Ever since I visited San Juan Island in Washington State a few years ago, I've been planning to set my next mystery series on an island. But my island would be smaller and closer to home, peopled with dissenting family members who loved one another but had different plans for the future of the island. And so I created Dickens Island and plonked it down in the middle of the  Long Island Sound between Long Island and Connecticut. Dickens Island is its own small world, yet a ferry connects it to Long Island, and Manhattan is but an hour's drive away.

Starting a new series requires a good deal of preparation. Details must be carefully thought out because setting and characters play important roles throughout the series. I spent a good deal of time creating the island itself--its topography, the layout of streets and important sites, houses and the village. Of most importance is my cast of characters, especially my sleuth and those closest to her. I am lucky that my characters appear to me fully formed. I love exploring their relationships, their secrets and their growth throughout the series.

My sleuth, Delia Dickens, is a divorced woman approaching forty. For the past twelve years she was living and working in Manhattan while her parents raised Connor, her fifteen-year-old son, on the island. Now Delia is back on the island again, living with Connor in the Victorian home her grandmother has left her. Her father has asked Delia to revitalize the Dickens General Store the family owns as he tries to stall every update she proposes. 

Delia's Uncle Brad, her father's brother, also has difficulty making changes to the island. As president of the town council, he has balked at establishing a ferry line to Connecticut and creating new housing. This infuriates his wife Reenie, the island's manager. She is tired of Brad shooting down all her suggestions to bring in more residents and attractions to the island. What's more, Reenie is convinced that Brad's having an affair with Missy, a new addition to the council. And when Missy's found murdered, Delia finds herself obliged to prove that neither her aunt nor her uncle is the killer.

Aside from the murders, there are many elements that go into creating a cozy series. When Delia comes home from the general store, the pile of rags she sees on the porch turns out to be a snoozing bearded collie that followed her son home. Where did the dog come from? The mystery is easily solved, and the dog, renamed Riley, remains with Delia and Connor.

 A secret room, the ghost of Delia's grandmother, a hidden journal, a pirate's treasure, a date with the man who broke Delia's heart twenty years earlier are a few more components of Death on Dickens Island, the first book in the series. Many more will appear in future books as the series continues.

How do you go about planning a new mystery series? What is the first element you create?