LUCY BURDETTE: Allison Brook aka Marilyn Levinson visited the blog about a year ago to talk about her publishing journey. Today she's back with a new book and a new subject, one dear to my heart--relationships! Welcome Allison...
ALLISON BROOK: A few years ago after my Significant Other finished reading
some of my mysteries, he turned to me and said, "Sure, you write about
murders and mystery, but it's really about the relationships." I was very
happy that David, who rarely read fiction, "got" me.
People fascinate me. I often wonder what makes them tick.
I'm curious about their habits, their secrets, their relationships, the way
they lead their lives. It's one of the main reasons why I write fiction. My
characters are the most important elements in my novels—be it a mystery,
romantic suspense or book for kids.
My characters drive my story. They create and alter
situations, conflict with one another, love, hate and murder. Carrie Singleton,
my protagonist and sleuth in the Haunted Library mystery series, comes from a dysfunctional
family. She grew up having a father who was a professional thief and away more
often than he was home. Her mother was self-absorbed and not very maternal.
Carrie adored her older brother, but Jordan died in his early twenties. It's no
wonder that she feels disconnected and can't settle down in any one place after
college.
When Carrie reaches her lowest point, she goes to stay with
her great aunt and uncle in Clover Ridge, CT, the town where her father's
family once owned a farm and where she and her brother spent happy summers.
Aunt Harriet and Uncle Bosco give Carrie the love and sense of security that
has been absent from her life. And when, in DEATH OVERDUE, the first book in
the series, a good position in the library is offered to her, she has the good sense to heed the advice of
her aunt and uncle and Evelyn the library ghost who urge her to take it instead
of moving on.
Carrie has a good friend in outspoken Angela, who works at
the circulation desk. But other relationships are more complicated. Sally, her
boss, is unfriendly if not downright hostile, feeling that Carrie was foisted
on her by Uncle Bosco, who's on the library board. Carrie proves her mettle and
over time she and Sally become friends.
In READ AND GONE, Carrie's father shows up unexpectedly
after years of no contact and asks her to help him retrieve his share of a
heist from his thieving partner. Carrie wants no part of this, of course, but
when her father's partner in crime is murdered and her father's Suspect Number
One, she feels obliged to prove he's no murderer. She also wants to find the
gems before he does so she can return them to their rightful owner. The
father-daughter relationship is fragile. Carrie has been hurt by her father's
neglect and she rebuffs his overtures. He hasn't changed his secretive ways,
she notices. Carry and her father spend more time together than they have in
years and begin to affect one another. Carrie realizes how much Jim loves her
and how much she loves him. By the end of the READ AND GONE, both have changed
significantly.
Carrie is smitten by Dylan Avery, her handsome landlord who
spends a good deal of time away investigating gem and fine art thefts. This is
her first serious relationship, which she doesn't handle very well when she
discovers that Dylan was investigating the heist her father pulled off and was searching
for her father. She's hurt and insecure, imagining the worst: Did Dylan get
close to her in order to find out where her father was? Carrie wonders if she's
capable of having a loving relationship that leads to marriage.
The great thing about writing a series is writing about my
characters and how they change and develop through their relationships with one
another.
You can find Allison Brook, aka Marilyn Levinson, in these places:
website: http://www.
Amazon: http://bit.ly/Amazon_
Facebook: https://www.
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/
Twitter: @MarilynLevinson
Pinterest: http://www.
Congratulations on your newest book, Allison. I’m looking forward to reading “Read and Gone” . . . .
ReplyDeleteI like to read, so I’m not too concerned with whether it’s a standalone or a series. But stagnant isn’t so good; I enjoy seeing the characters grow and change over the course of the stories the writer is telling in the series . . . .
I love watching the relationships grow and change over the course of a series. That's one thing that makes my favorite series stand out in my mind.
ReplyDeleteOne of the pleasures in reading a series is watching a character evolve.
ReplyDeleteGood characters in believable relationships keep me coming back to a series; they make me want to live in the community the author has created. If the characters seem arbitrarily pasted together or get stuck in the will they/won't they phase without ever moving forward, I'm the one who makes the move. I'm outta there.
ReplyDeleteYes Gigi. I stopped reading Martin Walker after Bruno broke up with that English equestrian. It was just wrong.
DeleteI read to learn about the characters and watch them grow throughout a series. I remember when Callahan Garrity packed up and left Atlanta. I was crushed. I loved Kathy Hogan Trocheck's House Mouse cleaning service books.
ReplyDeleteIn continuing series, the relationships between the characters and how I relate to everyone involved is important. You want to see the characters change, grow and progress throughout the life of the series. I know that when reading the original run of the comic strip "For Better Or For Worse" over decades, I felt closer to the Patterson family than I did my own.
ReplyDeleteThat said, you can become attached to the characters in standalone novels as well. That's what makes you want to see the characters get expanded into a series even if that's not going to happen.
After all, if you don't like the characters it is unlikely you'd want to keep reading the books.
Welcome Allison and congratulations on the new title. Until you asked the question. I don't think I had considered just how much character growth matters to me in a series. I'm reminded of one series I abandoned because I was so fed up with the main character's enabling relationship with her younger brother. Conversely, I read all 25 of the Sue Grafton books because I adore Henry and his siblings. Characters Matter!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new book, Allison. And welcome to JRW.
ReplyDeleteAs for the question, "Do you read series for the relationships? Or are you just as happy with stand-alones?", the answer is yes.
I enjoy the relationships and like to watch them change. Presently I am rereading the Shetland (double) Quartet, and, having finished the first four, am absolutely furious at you, Ann Cleeves. How DARE you?
Whew. I really shouldn't get so invested in the characters and their relationships.
I also adore stand alones. And I continue to be amazed at the hybrid variety a la Kate Atkinson and Tana French, although I think both of their next books are stand alones.
Deb, please keep Duncan and Gemma together, if only for the children.
Happy September Morn, Reds. It's awfully chilly here.
I'm with Ann. I enjoy both series and stand alones. In good stand alones, the relationships matter just as much as in a series; the reader just isn't privy to it for the same stretch of time. I think the key to any book is engaging the reader, and character and relationships are the best ways to engagement. The books that I don't finish are the ones that I put down thinking, "I just don't care what happens to these people!"
DeleteAnd, sometimes, "I hate all these people and don't want to spend any more of my precious time with them!" I've put down more than a few books because all the characters creeped me out.
DeleteCongratulations on the new title, Allison. I, too, am all about the relationships. In fact, I'd say that is the most distinguishing characteristic between mysteries I love and those I don't like as much. It matters less whether it's a thriller or a cozy or a procedural or whatever else than it matters to me that the relationships are genuine and interesting.
ReplyDeleteAs to the series vs. stand-alone question, I would say I have a real fondness for series, but I also thoroughly enjoy a good stand-alone. I like mixing it up. And as some others have already said, I can think of a few instances where I bailed on a series if the author took key relationships in some direction that felt all wrong to me.
Congratulations, Allison! I'm a sucker for a ghost.
ReplyDeleteI confess, I read BOOKS (series, nonseries, fiction, nonfiction...) for the relationships. Unbelievable mystery plots usually stem from characters doing what no one would actually do.
I enjoy stand-alones but relationships do matter which is why I enjoy series. I realized quite some time ago that's what appeals to me about the TV shows I watch. It isn't the crime of the week or the puzzle as much as it is about the characters and their relationships. If the characters aren't growing or evolving, what's the point?
ReplyDeleteWell, yes. Duncan and Gemma, Georgie and Darcy, Russ and Clare, Abby and Marco, Jake and Jane, Flavia and Dogger, and on and on. That's the most fun aspect of series for me, seeing the relationship arcs.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Hallie - all books are about the relationships for me. Series, standalones, biographies, history - everything. People are what make events fascinating.
ReplyDeleteMary/Liz
I prefer to read series, although I do read standalones. (Yes, Reds, I read and enjoy yours:-) And, yes, I read mainly for the relationships. I expect fictional adults to behave like adults, to grow and learn from experiences. It’s annoying and boring when a protagonist never stops behaving like an adolescent: “which one am I in love with? The handsome sexy mysterious one, or the handsome sexy adventurous one?” That’s fine for a fifteen year old, but an adult should be way past that stage. I love getting inside the minds of characters who are growing and changing. The mystery doesn’t matter as much to me if the characters are believable.
ReplyDeleteDebRo
I am so with you, DebRo on this one--there is a series where the main character has had 3 competing 'loves' in her life--book after book the first two are always there, then the third guy pops up now and then. Currently, he popped in, 'married' her, then went back to his wife. This just feels so contrived to me--and the main character just stays the same--I've kept reading when there's nothing else appealing or in the vain hope that she'll grow up--but this last one--I think I've had enough.
DeleteElizabeth George actually wrote another book to explain why she killed off the character of Helen, Lynley's wife. Helen's death, of course, opened up new story possibilities--will he get over his grief, meet someone new, etc., etc. On the other hand, our very own Red, Deborah Crombie, married off her female and male leads, and now we see their marriage, their family life, even their pets grow and change from book to book. Same with her 'secondary characters.' And this is the reason I am longing for the next book to come out--the plot will keep me turning the pages, but the characters are what bring me back over and over. And I just finished a novel--a standalone--that had quirky characters that had me rooting for them.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Flora. That is exactly how I felt when I made decisions about the progression of Duncan and Gemma's relationship. So many books revolve around will they/won't they--why shouldn't what happens after be just as interesting, if not more so?
DeleteAnd don't worry--a book is coming!!!
Elizabeth George is someone I finally had to quit reading. Not because she killed off Helen, but because she continues to heap such misery on poor Barbara! Every time it looks like some little ray of sunshine might enter Barbara's life, it gets thwarted. Deborah makes me MUCH happier by allowing her protagonists to have their struggles, but in balance.
DeleteI totally agree. From the first moment that I began to read about Gemma and Duncan, I have thought of these characters as my friends; rooting for their successes, watching the ways that they work out their problems, seeing their family grow. It is great to know that there will be more to read about them. My husband loves these books, too. I can't wait to tell him.
DeleteAllison is having technical difficulties--more from her soon! (I hope)
ReplyDeleteI prefer stand-alones, but I think both series and stand-alones have to contain interesting relationships to be good. And I do agree with Gigi. The "will they/won't they" that drags on in some series gets old after a few books.
ReplyDeleteI’m in a standalones mode, too… I never really thought about that til now. Hmmmm.
DeleteCongratulations, Allison! I love library settings and the haunted library is genius! I absolutely read series for relationships. I get invested very easily - I blame John D MacDonald and Agatha Christie. Looking forward to reading READ AND GONE!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! You are such an inspiration…
ReplyDeleteSuch a good idea, haunted library! Wonderful in every way.
I think relationships are a great way of exploring motivation, you know? The balance each character has between their personal life and professional obligations is always revealing — and is a real window into the character.
Hi Allison, and congrats on Read and Gone. Both reading and writing, it's all about relationships for me. Murder just gives an opportunity to study those relationships, and to give characters the opportunity to change and grow.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited that there is a new book in this series - so, congratulations! I will admit that I do love series mysteries for the relationships. I like to know what will happen next with lots of characters that I've come to love - like Duncan and Gemma, for example - looking at Deb's picture as I write to they came to mind - ha! However, I also like standalone books because the story wraps up and then we can move on. And sometimes that's the best thing. Mostly, I like books that come to a conclusion of the particular story at the end - I don't really like a standalone that leaves us with 'and they were all unhappy ever after'. LOL
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNot directly on this point, but are you aware that you are no longer listed in the Mystery Lovers Kitchen favorite blogs list (left hand page)?
ReplyDeleteLibby Dodd
I fixed that Libby:), thanks
DeleteGlad to see you are all back!
DeleteLucy,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting me today. I’m sorry my comments aren’t coming through, but I want to thank everyone for their good wishes and for their comments about characters’ relationships. They’re of utmost importance to me, as a writer and a reader. And not only in cozies. I love learning more about Jack Reacher’s past and family ties.
Marilyn/Allison
I do enjoy some standalones but I love series mostly because the relationships can continue and change. I dumped Elizabeth George not because I loved the Helen character so much but because we went through so much to get Lynley and her together. Series don't have to be in real time so can take longer to make changes in the characters but some change is needed. Unless there is a person grudge, after a few books the police shouldn't suspect our amateur sleuth. I'm watching Father Brown, and I keep thinking why is the inspector not paying attention to Father Brown? He's always right!
ReplyDeleteAllison, I'm so glad to see you here today. Read and Gone is on my list of books to buy myself for Christmas, and Death Overdue is on my Kindle for a Halloween read. Good news for everyone is that Death Overdue is available on Kindle now for just $1.99. Great deal!
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteI'm using a different browser and hoping that this will come through. How frustrating not to be able to respond to all your wonderful comments.
Thank you for your good wishes re my series and for your great comments. Let's see if this works!
And Kathy--thanks for letting everyone know that Death Overdue is available on Kindle for only $1.99. Yes, a good read for Halloween, which is coming up!
I too enjoy the releationships among the characters in a novel; it does encourage one to continue, if there is a series, then the characters become more like friends. You get to know them and what they might do or feel..always makes for an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new release! I enjoy the relationships as much or more than the solving the mystery.
ReplyDelete