Which Story Should Be Next?

by James M. Jackson

The sixth Seamus McCree novel, False Bottom, is with beta readers and soon will undergo my copyeditor’s red pen. For the first time, I have not already started another novel. I have three ideas, and I’d like your thoughts about which story I should pursue.

As followers of WWK know, I am a pantser, so when I start a novel, I know the inciting incident, but don’t really know where the story will take me. That said here are the three concepts:

Seamus McCree #7: It’s the “G” title in the series, and I already know what the title would be. (I’m not telling because my newsletter readers get that kind of news first!) Seamus’s granddaughter, Megan, is spending much of the summer at Seamus’s camp in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. When he picks Megan up after a playdate in town, she wants to hire her grandfather to find out what happened to one of her playmates who has gone missing. Seamus eventually accepts Megan’s employ and discovers a child in desperate need, an underground economy he knew nothing about, and forces that will stop at nothing to protect their enterprise.

While the Seamus McCree novels have received very favorable reviews (the series averages 4.32 on Goodreads and 4.67 on Amazon), it isn’t exactly a best-seller.

Alternative two is to start a new series, and my idea is a spinoff from the Seamus McCree novels. Those who read Cabin Fever (Seamus McCree #3) met Niki (single name, spelled with a single ‘k’). [Spoiler alert] She’s an undercover FBI agent who would rather get the job done then kiss ass and play politics. Her background is murky, so what would happen if I gave her a billionaire father who believes his kids should make their own way in life. He’s in the middle of fending off a takeover of his business and is kidnapped.

Naturally, the FBI refuses to let her get involved because she’s family, and she goes rogue. She brings in Seamus McCree to help understand the financial aspects of the takeover when it turns out her father has given her power of attorney. Seamus is a minor character, though, since this would be the kickoff of a new thriller series staring Niki. The series titles would be something like Niki Goes (fill in the blank) – for example Niki Goes Rogue or maybe Niki’s (fill in the blank) – for example, Niki’s Billionaire Father.

The third alternative kicking around in my head is to switch from modern day suspense/thriller to a dystopian YA trilogy. I’ve been playing with this idea for some time. I know something about the world: The US has split into East and West with flyover country acting as a buffer. Split into enterprise zones, the middle of the continent supplies food and raw materials to the East and West. Interpretation of the US constitution has morphed so that only corporations have voting rights. The heroine will come from what used to be Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

My problem with not working on this earlier continues to be that I try to be a plotter and scope out the trilogy before making any further false starts. (Several years ago, I wrote 30,000 words. It wasn’t working, and I stopped.) I am a committed pantser and will need to write the stories to learn what they are. One big difference in this case is I do know how the world changes by the end of book three, so I would be writing with that ending in mind. (Of course, by the time I am done, it might change!)

Given those three choices, which would you prefer I tackle? Vote in your comments:

[1] Seamus McCree #7 featuring granddaughter Megan and set in the U.P.

[2] Niki #1, a domestic thriller dealing with family, corporate power, and a take-no-prisoners heroine.

[3] Dystopian YA trilogy featuring a young woman in a world where the US has broken in two countries and corporations rule.

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James M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree mystery series. Empty Promises, the fifth novel in the series—this one set in the deep woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—is now available. You can sign up for his newsletter and find more information about Jim and his books at https://jamesmjackson.com.

Back to my Roots a/k/a Houston, we have a problem By Kait Carson

Forty years ago, on April 13, 1970 Fred W. Haise, James A. Lovell, and John L. Swigert, were taking a little trip, to the moon. Like many travelers, they had a little problem. In their case, all oxygen stores were lost within about 3 hours, along with loss of water, electrical power, and use of the propulsion system. I mentioned they were on their way to the moon? AAA had no one close. So, they did the next best thing, they called Houston, and—remember these guys were trained professionals, but not writers—they said, “Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” Not what you thought, huh? Me either.

What happened to our beloved “Houston, we have a problem?” Didn’t they say that? Well, according to the Washington Post article quoted above, four years later there was a TV show that used that quote for its title. Why? Drama. Every writer knows the present tense is so much more dramatic than the past perfect!  It’s one of those rules we learn when we go back to our roots. So, Houston, we have a problem is iconic. And although few alive at the time remember the flight in the present tense (we’d grown rather jaded with space flight by 1970) the phrase put Apollo 13 on everyone’s personal radar. That’s a lot of power for five words, and it only could happen with a great editor and a writer going back to his/her roots.

Thirty years ago, during the time of the Cocaine Cowboys (the last of whom was allegedly captured the same week I’m writing this blog), T.D. Allman published a book titled Miami City of the Future. The book’s theme is that Miami will always be relevant because it is a city of constant renewal. Ever changing, always reinventing itself, more a style and way of life than a city. It can never be obsolete, the roots of Miami, the place it always returns, is the future. 

The writing life is like that too. Writing does not get old, it merely goes back to its roots and

gets reinvented and, from the basics, new trends burst on the scene, wash over writers and readers alike, ebb into the past, and along comes the next wave. The trick is figuring out the next wave. Sometimes writers hop on a trend full throttle because it’s what we were writing anyway and thank heaven it’s popular (think cozies). Sometimes writers follow a trend because it’s selling, and dang, this is a tough business and my book would work with this trend (think recipes in books). Sometimes writers are lucky enough to start trends (think Girl titles).

What crests, ebbs, of course, the consolidation of major publishing houses has resulted in the cancellation of a number of favorite cozy series. The first wave hit last year, and fewer and fewer series are being renewed, but new ones are debuting. The cozy is alive and well, it seems to be becoming a bit edgier in the process. Other series are reaching a natural end. One the author always intended, or perhaps one that the character arc dictates. Characters grow and change. Sometimes, the end means, well, the end.

My Hayden Kent series will always be softer and cozier than my Catherine Swope series. That was the plan from the beginning. Catherine has recently demanded more of my attention. I think she’s felt neglected. That’s another character trait. Writers spend so much time with characters that they do become sounding boards, sidekicks, and friends. Scary glimpse into a writer’s psyche that. Since Catherine is making so much emotional noise, and because she is so different from Hayden, I decided to make a bold departure and take her more into the suspense/thriller realm. To do that, I’m moving back to my roots and back to the basics of voice, plotting, outlining, etc. I’m having a blast reacquainting myself with the basics of writing  and developing my characters and stories in a different style.

Happy Earth Day to all.

Do you remember the Apollo series?

If you do, do you remember Apollo 13 as it happened, or after the movie?

Totally off topic, but there could be extra credit—do you think manned moon flights will be resumed?