By Liz, enjoying the last taste of summer weather while launching a Christmas book!
So, wow – today is the release of Purring Around the Christmas Tree, the sixth book in the Pawsitively Organic Mystery Series! Six books!? How did that even happen?
When I first started writing this series, I had a picture of Stan, a picture of Jake, a few ideas about supporting characters, and my lovely little town of Frog Ledge. And definitely the town green.
At the time, although I knew I had at least three books ahead of me, those pictures didn’t project that far into the future (i.e, book two). I knew I wanted Stan to have a meaningful character arc – who doesn’t want that for their characters? – but I really didn’t know at the time what it was.
But, as we know, our characters often end up writing their own stories. I wrote in an earlier blog post about how Stan’s relationship with her family took over unexpectedly. And then those relationships took on a life of their own. Her mother and sister ended up becoming major parts of Stan’s life – despite her best efforts – and therefore, major parts of each book.
While those relationships still have a huge effect on Stan and her character arc, she’s done a lot of growing on her own. She’s forged new relationships, developed her confidence, built a business from the ground up, made mistakes, made friends, made enemies. She’s fallen in love and adopted a new family, and had to learn how to interact with them – the polar opposites of her own family. She’s rescued pets and learned just as much from them as the people in her life. She’s made a name for herself in her community and become indispensable, not only to the key people around her, but to the town and its residents, both human and furry.
She’s more sure of herself now than when she was a corporate big shot with a fancy title and an expense account behind her. And it’s because she’s followed her own path, listened to her own voice and created a life she loves. She’s happy in Frog Ledge, no matter how many murders throw a monkey wrench in her plans. She has her little house, Jake’s pub, and Izzy’s cafe when she needs a safe place. She’s even got a back-up job as a news reporter if she ever needs one.
As I head into the seventh book in the series, I can’t wait to see what she’ll do next. She’s become one of my closest friends, and it’s been a blast watching her create herself.
I hope you’re all enjoying her journey as much as I am. Thanks, as always, for reading!
Readers, what’s your favorite part of Stan’s personal journey?
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