DEBORAH CROMBIE: I have been getting myself all in a twist trying to decide when exactly the book-in-progress (Kincaid/James#20) is set. There are so many things to consider.
First, there's the progress of the series in fictional time, because while it floats outside of real-time chronology--thank heavens, or Gemma and Duncan would be retired--it's not static--the characters' lives do progress. Early in the series I'd skip six months between books, except in a couple of cases where the books butt right up against one another because a major plot point was left unresolved.
Then, with the children becoming a more important part of the series, I began to slow down that fictional time stream, putting the books closer together. I don't want Kit, Toby, and Charlotte grown up and out of the house! And unlike real children, I do get to hold on to them, at least for a while.
A KILLING OF INNOCENTS takes place in November, sliding into December. I had meant to set the next book in March/April, because of the above mentioned issue with the kids, and also because it made sense with what's going on with Gemma professionally. But then I didn't get to make my big research trip until June/July, so I started thinking I'd move the story forward to at least June, wanting to make the most of all my research/sensory cues.
But...
It just doesn't feel right. I've decided to move the story back to April, and have been going through my pages and rewriting accordingly. It's not as if I haven't spent time in London in April--surely I can wing it!
This has made me wonder how much readers really notice all the seasonal atmosphere and description, or how time progresses in a book, or within a series. Even in my my own books I'm hard pressed to remember what time of year some of them are set--although, interestingly, the winter books all instantly jump out at me. (A Killing of Innocents being the fourth.)
Here's a snippet from Gemma's first scene in the new book:
It was the
first day of the second week on her new job and Gemma James was still settling
into her routine. Exiting Charing Cross tube station, she grimaced and popped
her umbrella up against the persistent April drizzle. At least it wasn’t
pouring—the last thing she needed was to ruin the shoes she’d bought to go with
her new navy trouser suit. She’d bought two new suits, better quality than her
usual Marks and Sparks work wardrobe. The price tags had made her wince, but
she sensed that presenting herself with confidence and authority was going to
be essential in this new post, and clothes indeed made the man—or in this case,
the woman.
She ducked
around behind St. Martin-in-the-Fields and into the quiet of Adelaide Street,
avoiding the puddles, the Pret a Manger at the corner of William IV Street
calling to her like a beacon. It had been the usual chaotic Monday morning
getting the kids off to school. She’d missed breakfast and managed only a gulp
of coffee, even with Duncan taking the school run, and now there was no way she
was walking into her new station caffeine-less and on an empty stomach. If the
queue at Pret wasn’t too bad, she’d just have time for a latte and a muffin.
After the last few months spent working in the Cecil Green building, the Met’s
headquarters on the Embankment, she hadn’t begun to take the buzz of Covent
Garden and easy availability of food and drink for granted.
That was the upside of the new job, or at least one of them.
There is only that one little reference to the time of year, so no big rewrite necessary there!
I'm curious about how my fellow REDs and other writers, especially writers of series, make decisions about the time progress/season stuff.
And I'm really curious about whether or not it makes a difference to readers, so chime in!
Do I sense a bit of trepidation on Gemma’s part? I like this glimpse of her “settling in” and look forward to reading the rest of the story.
ReplyDeleteDo I notice season stuff? In passing, if the author makes mention of it [but winter and snow always seems to be mentioned and I always notice that!] . . . however, it’s not a big deal for me unless it’s a major contributor to the plot. I think I’m more likely to notice the passing of time in a series, though . . . somehow the timeline of the new story needs to fit in with the one before it. But, in all honesty, I don’t see either jumping seasons or timelines jumping out at me . . . I’m generally much more focused on the telling of the tale . . . .
Much trepidation on Gemma's part, Joan, and for good reason, as we shall see...
DeleteAs long as the writer communicates how long it as been, I don't mind too much how long it is between books. And, I don't expect a series to be consistent (always 3 months between books; always 1 years between books, etc.) As long as it makes sense to the author and it gets communicated to me well, I'm fine with it.
ReplyDeleteYou're the ideal reader, Mark!
DeleteMark,
DeleteI agree with you completely!
DebRo
I am just finishing the latest Vicki Delaney "tea at the sea" book. The time between books is much longer than the 'time' that passes in the story. It doesn't bother me at all, as I eagerly await each book. There are several other authors that do the same that my brain won't bring up at this moment.
DeleteWhat Mark said, and… I love the descriptions of each season! I can almost feel the elements and smell the flowers!
DeleteDEBS: In your series, I do want to see Kit, Toby & Charlotte grow & change, but not too quickly! And if Gemma is taking on a new job/position, then some passage of time makes sense, too. And your gut told you this WIP had to be in April (instead of June).
ReplyDeleteOther long-running series I enjoy reading have definitely slowed the passage of time. For example. Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow series has 35 books. Meg, her twin boys (now tweens) and the rest of her eccentric family have slowly aged. The only season I really notice is Christmas time, and Donna likes writing several books set during this season. The next Meg Langslow book coming out later this year is called "Let It Crow, Let It Crow, Let It Crow!".
P.S. FYI, all of the Meg Langslow books have punny bird-themed titles. You always know when a new Meg book is set during Christmas because of the title.
Deletethat title is hysterical! 35 books, wow!
DeleteYes, it's cute, right? And you know it's a story set during Christmas. I checked Fantastic Fiction, and 11 out of 35 books are Christmas-themed with appropriately punny titles.
DeleteHer books are a riot. I have only read 3 or 4 so far. If I wanted, I could spend the first three months of 2024 just catching up on her series. That would guarantee a very happy beginning to next year!
DeleteI love the Meg Langslow series! The current one is on my Nook waiting for me to get to it and I have pre-ordered Let It Crow! She has done a good job with the twins growing up in the books, but Spike the dog must be immortal.
DeleteJUDY: I have read all of the Meg books but it's getting harder to keep up since Donna is now writing 2 books/year.
DeleteBRENDA: I agree about the ageless Spike. But she would not want him to die, right?
We can make dogs immortal in books, thank goodness.
DeleteI love Donna Andrews’ books, and I reread them when I’m in need of a good laugh!
DeleteDebRo
I was thinking about Donna's series when I was typing my response. She is definitely an author who has fudged the timeline. Spike is immortal, as is Meg's Grandfather and Grandmother. I feel like the twins have been early teens for a couple of years now.
DeleteAND I WOULDN'T WANT IT ANY OTHER WAY.
The reality of time would greatly impact the joy of the series. I'm more than willing to enter a time warp when I pick up one of her books.
Immortal dogs - read Louise Penny, where one much beloved dog died, but was replaced within the story with another much beloved dog, and of course 'Gracie'.
DeleteMARK; With 11 Christmas books, we know the broad time frame of the series. And yes, the twins have been tweens for a few books. I like it that they're now at an age where they can "help" in the sleuthing.
DeleteI don't notice time passage between books, but I suppose I do notice seasons - partly because weather can play such a great part in establishing setting - the way you showed April in this snippet. And holidays, of course. Otherwise, it's always the story that grabs me. I like this opening page.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Weather esp extreme weather can influence setting in a story. Since I live in a place with 4 distinct seasons, I do notice reading about places that have a different weather setting than I experience.
DeleteI'm going to enjoy London bursting into bloom.
DeleteHi Debs. That passage you quoted really sharpened my appetite for the next book. But, if you hadn't called attention to the seasons, would I have noticed that it was set in April? I don't think so. I've been aware of time passing in MY series of four books, as well (the third forthcoming in April 2024, the fourth hopefully a year later). My first book was set in late June, which was important since it's about organic farming. Because I like describing the changing seasons, #2 is set in late Nov-early Dec, #3 in late March-early April, and #4 during the summer again. Just writing this makes me realize that I left out the pretty part of autumn. Perhaps that's when I should set #5. Like your decision to change the action in your current book back to April, I suppose most of my choices about timing are based on gut feeling, except that I'm aware of trying to keep my woman detective's teenage daughter still in high school and not hurrying her into growing up. Have any readers noticed how much time has passed in my books so far? Probably not, as Joan points out.
ReplyDeleteKim, I did notice, actually, partly because of the kids. Also, you have some terrific winter atmosphere in the second book, Sons and Brothers. Winter makes a great character!
DeleteWhen I started my Zoe Chambers series, I planned to have each book be set in a different season, so about 3 months apart. That didn't always work. My latest, Helpless, was set in September, and the next one picks up only three days later due to a final chapter twist. It really is getting harder to calculate how many years have passed in the characters' lives. How long have Pete and Zoe been married???
ReplyDeleteAnnette, I had to make a chart, seriously!
DeleteThe time of year is unimportant to me as long as it makes sense. No snowing in July, etc.
ReplyDeleteI like that the children are growing slowly. And that the dogs aren’t aging out, so to speak.
So keep up exactly what you’re doing. Don’t mess with perfect. 😘
I think about the dogs, too, Ann. And the cats!
DeleteWhat Ann says…just keep to your own rhythm with Gemma and Duncan! Thank you for these wonderful books. Elisabeth
DeleteI know these issues, Debs! But as a reader, I don't think I notice time between books at all if I'm reading them as they come out, like I do with yours. If I binge read a series, then I do notice.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely notice the sensory details of the season the book takes place in. You brought April to us through Gemma. It's subtle, but all you need. Can't wait to read the whole book.
Right now I have a pregnant protagonist, and I'm coming up to the last book (#13) in the contract. I have decisions to make! What if they don't renew the contract? Does she give birth in the last book and her life is settled? Do I open it with her having to solve a murder with a newborn around? Or leave her pregnant... Questions, questions.
Fascinating questions Edith. Will you know about the contract before you're well into the book?
DeleteEDITH: Fingers crossed that Kensington renews the contract for more Country Store mysteries!
DeleteWhat a dilemma, Edith.
DeleteEdith, I feel your pain! There was a series I loved, then it ended--with the protagonist pregnant. I hated that I never knew what happened--did she decide to have the child? Tell the father? Raise it on her own? And this is years later, I'm still wondering. But now, I think, did the author's contract end?
DeleteAck, Edith! I hope you find out about your contract before you have to make those decisions. But I hope you can let her have the baby. If the series ends (fingers crossed it doesn't!) it would be terrible to leave readers hanging.
DeleteI agree with Kim--that snippet sharpened my anticipation for this next book, so write on! In Key West, the summers are so hot that I haven't persuaded myself to go down and take notes. I have featured the other seasons, and a lot depends on what events happen then and how busy the island is. Many joys in a long series, right?
ReplyDeleteLucy, you get a lot of atmosphere out of holiday themes, since the weather in Key West doesn't change much--except for the summer. Do you think about the spacing of the books?
DeleteLucy, what I noticed in your books was not the weather, but who was around - spring break kids, too many tourists, Christmas influx. That was what told me the time of year more than the weather - although you could do with a hurricane or two!
DeleteOh, you are so great, Debs! I could tell your writing a mile away, so fantastic. I think it’s incredibly important what season it is, and what month. I have it at the top of my writing chart for every book. If not only adds authenticity, it sets the reality, and the obstacles the character is likely to encounter. Whether there’s a blizzard, or whether it’s still light at eight at night. Makes a massive difference. What are the street lights would be turned on at 4 PM in November, whether, it would be so sweltering that air conditioners would be humming all the time. Or not. Since my books are standalone’s, I can do anything I want with the time. In one wrong word, for instance, it’s winter, and there’s snow and traffic and foot prints and gloves, and mittens, all of which play a big role. The other woman needed to take place in July, because I needed the Fourth of July concert on Bostón’s Esplanade. It’s so funny—one of my favorite novels, One Wrong Word, relies on that it’s the dead of winter. But I wrote it partly during one particularly hot summer. I finally put a yellow sticky on my computer that said simply: IT’S COLD. Because I kept forgetting.
ReplyDeleteHANK: I would think it is challenging for authors to write a book set in a season opposite to what they are experiencing in real life. Glad that yellow sticky IT'S COLD reminder worked for you!
DeleteI agree with Grace. I did chuckle at your sticky note reminder. Does writing about winter during the summer help you feel cooler?
DeleteOh, Hank, the “It’s cold” sticky not made me laugh. I can just picture you at your computer!
DeleteHank, so funny! Of course, there are SOME of us who could actually write an entire book in the season in which it's set. But most of us have to rely on sticky notes!
DeleteHa ha! No, writing in the winter does not make me feel warmer, writing in the summer about winter does not make me feel cooler. Sadly. And yes, those post it notes are powerful tools :-) !
DeleteI notice when a book is set in summer (sweltering temps, turning on the wheezy window unit) or winter (snow, ice, dark at 5pm), but spring and fall can blur, except for tree blooms or falling leaves. Or, Gemma's kids are in/out of school. I recognize the Pret A Manger in Trafalgar Square! I've enjoyed a picnic lunch or two on a nearby bench.
ReplyDeleteMy first two books are set six weeks apart. In the third, my MC needs healing time, so I may wait longer. It all depends.
Love that we have Prets in common, Margaret! I have grabbed a sandwich and a coffee from that Pret and picnicked on the steps of the National Gallery. But the Pret that Gemma visits is a couple of block from there and is a big, sit-down shop.
DeleteHi Debs, I love the Gemma and Duncan mysteries, especially the maps!
ReplyDeleteInteresting topic today about seasons. I find myself looking for Halloween theme books for October and I venture into somewhat scary books that Abby Endler (from Crime by the Books blog) recommends. Same for Christmas. I look for novels set during the Christmas season like Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher. For February, I look for romance novels like Eva Devon's Romances. November is Non Fiction Month so I look for non fiction books. March is Maisie Dobbs month and I read the mysteries. Other than that I read whatever grabs my interest.
Fictional time outside real world time reminds me of books like Nancy Drew mysteries where Nancy never seems to age. Your excerpt from the next mystery grabbed my attention. Wonder if Gemma is ever going to grab a coffee and a bite to eat before work? We will find out.
Agree with Hank that it is important what season it is and what month it is. And I just remembered that there are Bank Holidays in England, right?
Look forward to reading your new novel,
Diana
Bank holidays, yes, what a good idea, Diana. I don't think I've ever centered a book around a bank holiday, but that would be fun!
DeleteThank you for the snippet! I can't wait to see what happens in this one! I do notice the time of year of each book and certainly pay attention to the continuity of the series, as each character changes and grows, but I probably wouldn't notice any gaps--after all our beloved characters have some bits of their lives that don't make it to the books :) I'm glad that fictional time is not real time, so the kids are still kids for awhile longer.
ReplyDeleteI like to imagine their lives going on in an ordinary way in the gaps between books.
DeleteHmmm, I never really thought about the time of the year in a series of books maybe because I live in a city that is pretty much one moderate climate year round. I look for things such as where is the coffee shop Gemma is going to and what is the vibe there rather than what month it is.
ReplyDeleteI always check out the coffee shops and pubs:-)
DeleteI love the snippet and can hardly wait for the book! Gemma is so real! Her thoughts are genuine. Her concerns are so human. When does this book come out?
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you did not put Gemma and Duncan in "real time," however. Michael Connelly aged out his very popular detective and Harry Bosch cannot be on the police force at age 71. It totally changed what he can do with his starring character.
Now, about time and seasons, I notice and I watch for it. When I am reading a book, I will be aware of time of year, time of day, weather, sun set, clothing to match the weather, etc.
I think that you especially make it easy to follow all of that in your stories. Remember when Gemma drove a car without a/c and got scorched when she got in? You make it real!
Ha, Judy, now I'm trying to remember which book that was! Necessary as Blood, maybe, as that one is set in August?
DeleteKissed a Sad Good-bye. Gemma dances barefoot in the park with the busker and everything is hot and sweaty.
DeleteAh, that would have been my second guess. That one is set in July. Thank you, Judy!
DeleteI think in some books weather does make a difference. There are those books where you are warned early into the story that a storm is coming. This is not a harbinger of trouble in the plot, but that the climax will happen in the middle of the (insert climatic issue here) storm and will involve the hero having to fight for their life not only with the culprit but with the weather.
ReplyDeleteI also like where in books the weather is a part of the environment or a character in itself. This excerpt is a case in point. We now know that Gemma is starting her first day in a new suit that cost too much, she may be fretting over beginning the job, and now the weather is adding another damper to the situation. It sets the picture.
Some people do weather really well – Peter May, Louise Penny, Joy Ellis, Julia – and even though you know there will be weather in the book, you almost welcome it because it is just another character.
Speaking of weather – we are about to get some. Hurricane Lee is about to hit, so today is a day to batten down the hatches, move all the plants inside and decide whether to gamble on letting the tomatoes ripen outside or bring them in green. How much chow-chow do I want? Because the radio is just going on about us, they are no longer telling us whether Maine is getting hit as well. If you are in line – I sympathize with you. We had first landfall of Fiona last year and the damage was horrendous. The trees that were left standing are just starting to recover, so they don’t need this 2nd assault. Wind is bad, but salt is worse, and there will be a lot of salt air.
By the way, that would be a good adversary if you were set in Maritime climate – the salt is carried on the wind and rain, and following any kind of a breeze the windows in the house will be white as it condenses – in bad storms visibility is next to zero.
Margo, that's right. In central Connecticut, we have been watching Hurricane Lee since it began to form. It will bring us some strong wind, but last I heard, Maine is in line for a big hit. Wishing all our JRW family safe passage through the storm.
DeleteI LOVE books where weather is a character, and I agree that Julia does that particularly well.
DeleteFor all you in the path of Lee, stay safe!
MARGO & KAIT: Hope that Hurricane Lee's impact will be minimal. I know that many parts of the Maritimes are still rebuilding from the damage caused by Fiona last year.
DeleteMargo, sending good vibes for a safe passage through H. Lee.
DeleteThank you, Margo and Debs! I'm also bracing for what will be Tropical Storm Lee here (I live 14 miles from the coast, and we're expecting lashes of rain and 40-60 mile an hour winds. Mostly, I'm prepped for a power outage, which seems very likely.
DeleteDebs, I think you've made the right decision to move the time back to April. The mention of drizzle and water on the new suit is the clue the reader needs to settle into the time period. And this one there is a natural progression for the story line. Don't want those children to grow up too soon!
ReplyDeleteRosh Hashanah begins tonight. Shana Tova to all who celebrate. Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteThanks Judy! Same to you.
DeleteShana Tova to you!
DeleteShana Tova to you, Judy!
DeleteShana Tova, Judy and to others who celebrate!
DeleteHappy New Year, Judy! I’m not Jewish but some of my relatives are, and they are observing the day.
DeleteDebRo
Shana Tova!
DeleteShana Tova, everyone. May your New Year be sweet and bursting with blessings.
DeleteThank you.
DeleteAs a reader I do very much notice and pay attention to things like the weather. It makes the setting come alive. I do tend to like the passage of time to be somewhat gradual in a series. There is nothing worse than thinking perhaps you skipped a book because you seem to have missed out on something.
ReplyDeleteI think about seasons, yes. One for sensory details for the story. Two, just how long have Jim and Sally been together? How old is Rizzo? For WWII, I don't want to rush through the war.
ReplyDeleteDecisions, decisions.
All of those things! I'm reading the lastest Billy Boyle novel at the moment and wondering what he'll do when he gets Billy to the end of the war... Oh, and fans of the original TV adaptations of the Peter Wimsey books will LOVE seeing Ian Carmichael in this book!
DeleteSuch a lovely scene, Debs. I am so with Gemma on the Pret stop - and now I want a muffin to go with my coffee. I have no idea. Most of my seasonal/time elapsing decisions are made intuitively. I think if your instincts tell you it has to be April then it has to be April. Don't question it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenn! And now I want a Pret latte and a muffin, too. I wondered if you had a method of tracking the passage of time in your different series.
DeleteI don't think I notice the seasons as much as I notice the passage of time between the books (i.e., the story being continued). I love the kids and am so curious about where ballet will take Toby and where cooking will take Kit. As for Gemma, I'll have to reread the most recent book to remind me of Gemma's new job...it's not only the authors who need to keep notes on what's happening in the characters' lives!!
ReplyDeleteThat is so true Amanda! I always have a paper bookmark that I use to write down names as they appear so I can keep tract and remember them.
DeleteAmanda, as I was writing this, I had to go through the whole series in order and make a list of when the books take place. So much to keep up with!
DeleteI would love to see your timeline notes!
DeleteIn the very next paragraph after the bit I posted:
ReplyDelete"Gemma walked past the police vans parked along Chandos Place, her stomach tightening as she considered the downsides. There were many."
There is always the ... “It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!!! And I do intend to put a torrential rainstorm/flood somewhere in this book. I got caught in one when I was there last October, and it was too vivid an experience not to use. One the nice things about London (or England) is that it can rain buckets in any season:-)
DeleteFor the record, with this current book, #20 (it has a title but I don't want to use it yet, in case it changes,) we are entering the 6th year of series time. Toby was not yet two in the first book, and he will have just turned eight in this one.
ReplyDeleteREALLY, only 6 years has passed? Thanks for the timeline explanation, DEBS.
DeleteIntriguing discussion. As a reader, I DO notice and have been known to pull out the calculator to see if the timing is possible (it rarely is). That served me well as a writer and taught me not to tie events that can date a protagonist to book time.
ReplyDeleteThat is so hard to avoid. Obviously, if you're writing a really long-running series, technology changes, fashion changes, cars change. But I have tried to avoid events, mostly. I screwed up in A Finer End, particularly.
DeleteSo much to think about, Debs! The tail wagging the dog, in a way, no?
ReplyDeleteWhen you started this series, did you ever envision writing 20 books, plus?
Absolutely not, Karen. I hoped for three to five, maybe???
DeleteWe are all grateful that you have kept going!
DeleteAnd I am grateful that people have kept reading them!
Delete
DeleteThe reason I read them is the characters are likeable. Gemma and Duncan are so like police detectives I have come into contact with in my work over the years. I have read all of the books multiple times and will read them again.
I notice the seasons and weather and I don't notice them, if that makes any sense. If the author tells me it's April and then details are consistent, the season runs like a backdrop to the action of the story (and occasionally becomes part of the action--e.g., big storm, freezing temps, etc.). I notice the big season/weather events in that case, but I also get jarred out of a story if suddenly the details are inconsistent. For the writers I read on a regular basis, this is never the case. And for some writers, here's looking at you, Julia, Charles Todd, and Louise Penny, the weather can be a major character!
ReplyDeleteLoved this snippet, Debs, so looking forward to the next installment. Love seeing the kids, the animals, the whole family!
I'm making a bit of a project of listening to the audio versions of my books, and I realized after I finished In a Dark House, I wasn't sure when it was set! It is actually September (I think) but I really had to go through and look for clues. No gold star for me on that one.
DeleteI do love my weather as a character, Flora!
DeleteUnless the season or the weather is a major component of the story I don't pay too much attention to it. It's part of the background to me. I do like to know how much time has passed since the first book in a series. It gives me a better idea of the pacing and the character's progression.
ReplyDeleteI love that there are kids in your series and the real life problems of where to leave them, who to leave them with, how to explain that you can't do what you promised, all that is in your books
ReplyDeleteMany authors indicate at the beginning of the book that the story takes place in Whatever the month and year. That’s really helpful for all the readers,
ReplyDeleteDebRo
My brain thinks fiction is real unless I tell it otherwise. The stronger the settings, the more real the world becomes. Gemma and Duncan have had an exhausting 6 years, no? Early on I was so worried about Toby, he seemed destined to the struggle that high energy children face. Thank you for your brilliance creating this outlet for him that did not involve sports. Sing praises and pass the muffins.
ReplyDeleteI love this, Coralee. My brain thinks fiction is real, too.
DeleteWait, fiction isn’t real?! — Pat S
DeleteDeb:
ReplyDeleteAs an avid reader, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. When reading books as they are released, I think it's less obvious what the time jump is. However, since if I like an author, I enjoy reading the entire series, it becomes more obvious to me. As do the hanging threads (I'm still worried that Duncan and Gemma might have to move from their house. And worried that they couldn't afford it if it went up for sale.) I also feel like, even though I have to wait for the next book, I don't want to miss a large portion of the character's life. I admit, it was a bit startling to realize in A Bitter
Feast that Kit was so grown up - that he could actually function as a sou chef. And that he will be driving shortly! I can't wait to read the new book!
And I appreciate your attention to detail! I haven't forgotten about the house. I do have a solution in mind, but there are reasons I'm putting it off.
DeleteDebs, I go through some of the same things you do with the book's chronology - when I started my series, it was in real time, but if I kept that up, Russ would be 71! (Which could actually make for a very interesting story, but one very different from the action-adventure I'm known for.)
ReplyDeleteI actually teach a class on making setting work for you in your fiction. Weather is so laden with symbolism, we use it in metaphors - why not use it to its fullest?
I'd love to take your class, Julia. Maybe you could give us a mini version sometime!
DeleteYes, please!
DeleteI always pay attention to the season of the story and I'm acutely aware if the author stays true to the story's timeline. I don't like it when a child is two when the series starts and suddenly is 14 when it's only been 6 years for everything else in the book. Your writing is wonderful, don't change a thing! Except maybe write faster????? But they're worth waiting for!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI am so curious to find out what will happen with Toby's ballet, but accept that that can't be a part of every book. But, really, I can't wait to see the new book. I discovered C. S. Harris's St. Cyr books a few months ago, and went through all eighteen books already. (It's odd thinking that those eighteen books transpired within three years.) It's hard waiting for new volumes, but I'm just so thankful that you and other writers keep giving us new books (Laurie R. King, too).
ReplyDeleteI've never read the St. Cyr books. Putting on my list!
DeleteI notice seasons because weather plays an important part of so many great novels. Passage of time not so much except, as you point out, Deb, children in a series. I beg you not to let the kids in Gemma's and Duncan's family grow up too fast! I love them. In my own two series, I have a kind of rhythm so far - each one is set in the next season. Frankly, I do it for my own pleasure in the changing environment and because I've chosen amateur sleuths as real as I can imagine them, and too many deaths in a civilian's world would turn my protagonists into neurotic messes!
ReplyDeleteAaugh! No spoilers! I didn't read your snippet, couldn't because I might explode! 😉 It's too hard to wait for the rest! But I do pay attention to the weather and settings, I really appreciate that I can be pretty sure I could replicate those conditions if I went to that place at that time. In some books, it's so obviously not regarded as important, and the effect is so jarring that I find myself doubting every word in the book. And I don't reach for that author again. Thanks for taking such good care of the people and the places. I love them all.
ReplyDeleteMelinda here. Because atmosphere and scenery are important to me (I’m an artist, so a visualizer) I do notice the weather, whether fair or foul, and the progression of the seasons. You are exceptionally good at “painting” the scenes, and I truly enjoy the fruits of your meticulous research. As an armchair traveler, I have learned much that I didn’t know about England. I thank you for all of it, and am so looking forward to the next book!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the season makes an impression, and sets a mood. The passage of time...not so much, I don't want those kids out of the house either, so as slow as possible! I think properly handled the season/weather is almost another character, as important as setting.
ReplyDeleteThe season doesn't matter to me and I don't need a series to follow each season. I think as long as the season is mentioned somehow so I can place the time of year, that's what is more important to me.
ReplyDeleteEven though I'm sitting in hotter-than-Hades Tokyo right now, I was shivering and hungry after you transported me to London in April (which I do remember as always being far colder than I pack for)! As a reader, I do notice the seasons and weather, especially when it skillfully foreshadows or sets a mood for the action the way you so often do. And I have to say, I deeply admire the way you've managed the series timeline—even though it doesn't keep pace with the actual years that have passed between books, I never have the sense that I'm suddenly reading semi-historical fiction (like I did with the fabulous but unexpectedly lengthy run of Sue Grafton's alphabet series, as the changes brought by cellphones and other technology made the detection techniques of the 80s seem more and more quaint). I love that you're stretching out the period of the kids being home too—when the chemistry of the characters mixed with the demands of their jobs is working, keep it coming!
ReplyDeleteI notice the weather and the seasons in books, but it is important to stick with whatever is decided on. I mean no snowing on one page and then bikini weather 2 pages later. In a new book I read recently right in the beginning we knew it was set in the fall, hurricane season, lots of rain. Later in the book, but not in time, the point was made that the tides were very high during the spring equinox. Huh? Things like that stand out to me.
ReplyDeleteAs for the kids, you are right in wanting to keep them from growing up. I know you will do a fabulous job and I cannot wait to read it!
Today is Agatha Christie's birthday!
ReplyDeleteDiana
The progress of Duncan and Gemma's children is fine, slowed but steady. Some authors, however, take it too far. I felt badly for Caron Malloy, daughter of Joan Hess's Claire Malloy, who took 29 years to get through high school. She did not benefit from spending an entire generation there.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the brief glimpse of the new book. Now I will wonder for weeks what Gemma has to worry about!
ReplyDeleteI recall that I was very pleased Charlotte wasn’t all grown up, so I join those saying “just follow your instincts,” in terms of the passing of time.
I did finally make it to the UK this year and was reminded that indeed it rains at any season and there are all those trees and green fields as a result. So you might not want weeks to go by without a shower unless you comment on the dryness. You’d be tuned in to that!
I seem to like scenes which include food, the occasional party! , and perhaps Christmas and Halloween here and there. I don’t mind which season it is otherwise.
Sooo lovely to hear whispers about the book. And Happy Dame Agatha’s birthday!