Beginning Again

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Edith/Maddie here, writing, still, from north of Boston.

For the thirteenth time – well, fifteenth, if you count novellas – I am beginning to write Scone Cold Dead, a new Country Store Mystery. The first book in the series, Flipped for Murder, came out in October, 2015, over eight years ago.

I love starting a new book. I try to craft a perfect first line. I set up an opening that I hope will draw you into the story. I write my way through a few scenes, giving you a sense of the setting, season, and regular characters, and introducing who might be a victim. I like to let you see the soon-to-be dead interacting with others, including my protagonist.

Sometimes the story of who the poor murdered person is can come later in memories and interviews, but in books when we don’t come across a corpse in the first few paragraphs or pages, I want you to know a bit about who he or she was. I want you to see how they speak with and react to other characters.

And then, when I feel the time is right, we find a body. I write cozy mysteries, so the body is already dead. You’ll never see a murder happening on the page in one of my books.

“When the time is right” is key to my process. I am the most minimal of plotters. I have a scanty outline before I start writing only because my editor demands requires strongly encourages me to hand one over. I love feeling my way through those opening scenes without really knowing what’s going to happen. Have I showed enough? Not too much? When is the right time to drop the body, as we say in the trade?

Once that’s on the page, forward we go. By the end of March I’ll have batted out a first draft, and by my deadline a couple of months after that, the book will be revised and edited and polished to the best of my abilities.

But…thirteen books, you say. Two important questions come to mind: how does the author keep track of everything, and how do we keep a long-running series fresh?

After a few books, I made a “Series History” file for my Country Store Mysteries (it’s in addition to the extensive Characters file, which I started with book #1). The history file lists how old protagonist Robbie Jordan is in each book and which year it’s in. She’s now in her fifth year (I think). I also include the murder method, the detective’s name, and a few other notes. It helps to have that summary at a glance.

As for making sure the series doesn’t go stale, the standard advice is to keep the main characters learning and changing. Nobody wants to read a stagnant series or character arc. Have the Country Store Mysteries stayed fresh?

Hmm. You be the judge. In Flipped for Murder, Robbie was single, twenty-seven, and living in an apartment at the back of her newly renovated country store restaurant. The book opens when Pans ‘N Pancakes does.

Scone Cold Dead brings us Robbie five years later. She’s married to Abe O’Neill and is a few weeks short of giving birth to their first child. The country store is thriving, with devoted regulars and lots of visitors, and Robbie employs five people.

She also has a few investigations (gulp, twelve!) under her belt. She’s more confident in working to figure out homicides, and she’s learned (mostly) not to act as if she’s too stupid to live. Plus, in this book and Deep Fried Death, the previous one, Robbie has a bun in the oven to protect, too. I have tried to keep her changing and learning over the dozen books.

Readers: If you’ve stopped reading a series before it ended, why? How long of a series have you stuck with all the way through? Writers, do you have the end of a series in sight when you start writing it?

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Published by Edith Maxwell

Agatha Award -winning author Edith Maxwell writes the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries (Beyond the Page) and short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the Dot and Amelia Mysteries, the Country Store Mysteries series, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, and the Cece Barton Mysteries (all from Kensington Publishing). She lives north of Boston in an antique house with her beau and cat Martin, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook.

68 Thoughts

  1. I usually stop reading a series when the character does grow and continue to do “stupid” and “harmful” things in terms of their investigating a crime. I tend to stay with a series until the end. I’m s till enjoying the “In Death” series by J.D. Robb which is at 58 books. Then there is Meg Langslow series by Donna Andrews which is at 36.

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    2. I have also read Donna’s books since the beginning. It’s a bit harder for me to keep up since she now publishes 2 Meg books/year, but I enjoy reading them.

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  2. There are a few series that I will stick with forever. Others, I read more hit or miss. (So many books/series, so little time.)

    As for writing, I truly thought I was at the end of the Zoe Chambers series at book ten, but now #13 is coming out this spring, so the answer to that is NO. I have no idea how the series will end. Same with my Detective Honeywell series.

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  3. EDITH: Congratulations on the long-running Country Store mystery series. I enjoy seeing how Robbie has changed and grown over the various books.

    I am a faithful reader of series. There are a few that I have been reading for 30-, 35- 40+ years. But I also have given up on some after 15, 20+ books. Why? The perpetual love triangle between the amateur sleuth & two romantic interests that goes nowhere annoys me a lot. Another reason I have stopped reading is when the author kills off a beloved secondary character with no warning. Those bombshell endings made me want to throw the book across the room & yell “NOOOOO!”. Of course, the purpose of killing off the character is to force the main protagonist to work out the grief in subsequent books. In both cases, I did try to read the next 1-2 books but I gave up.

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    1. I hear you, Grace, and thanks for being a faithful fan to Robbie. I had the same reaction when a well-known author killed off a character, the romantic interest of the protag. I asked her why she did it. Her answer: “Otherwise they would have had to be happy, and that’s not very interesting.” Gah. But she pulled it off, of course, being her.

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      1. Sounds like the Books by the Bay Mysteries by Ellery Adams. I loved that series and all of the characters. I loved Chief Rawlings and how he made Olivia Limoges so happy and (SPOILER ALERT) well you know what happens. She and Captain Havilland (her black standard poodle) go off to grieve and we never see them again. The last book was published in 2017. I wanted to know what happened to everyone of the characters.

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  4. Edith,

    Has the Country Store Mysteries stayed fresh? The answer to that is a resounding HELL YES! I love the series and the way you have evolved it from Book 1 to now Book 12 has always kept me coming back for more from my favorite cozy mystery series and I will be here for another 12 books (HINT HINT!) as well.

    As far as why I’ve stopped reading a series, how about one particular series that I read for 24 books? But in that last book I read (yes, it is still going) I noticed that wide swaths of the book seemed to be copy and pasted from the previous book (and likely from all the other books that came before). Now I understand that you have to have some repetition in order to fill in any potential new readers about who the characters are, etc., but this was insanely repetitive. It was at that point I just said, “I’m done” and have never bothered to so much as pick one of the books in that series by that author off a store shelf again. Plus after 24 books there didn’t seem to be a single shred of character progression to be found.

    As for longest series, I’d say the Spenser series. I love the series, I love Parker’s stuff, the continuations by Ace Atkins and I have the first new book written by Mike Lupica now as well.

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    1. Ugh, an obvious cut & paste job sounds like the author is losing his/her creative edge.
      For me, Sara Paretsky writes the longest series that I am still reading: 42 years and counting! The next V.I. Warshawski book, PAY DIRT, comes out April 26.

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      2. Absolutely! But V.I. is now in her 50s. The physical battering she goes through in every investigation must be taking a toll. Even her friend Dr. Lotty is tut-tutting about having to patch her up in every book!

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  5. Edith, looking forward to Robbie and Abe having a child and reading another Country Store mystery. But, if you are trying to keep the series fresh, why give it a stale title? After my brain said, “you’ve read this already”. Via a quick search, I realized “nope, it isKaitlyn Dunnet’s Scone Cold”. Felt like my new book joy was ebbing. And wondering how and why duplicate titles happen? Keep on writing.

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    1. I’m sorry you think the title is stale. I’m aware of Kaitlyn’s book, which came out fifteen years ago. My editor didn’t have a problem with my using it, and neither did the sales department.

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      1. Edith, I guess the title really stuck in my mind as it was one of the first, if not the first, Kaitlyn Dunnet, I ever read. (I came to her Moosetookallook (sp?) late. Way shorter than 15 years.) Am looking forward to more of Robbie and Abe … what ever the title. Is there any set of “rules” for this kind of title use?

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    2. Elisabeth, I can shed a little light on use of duplicate titles. Two of my books were published with names that had been used before, one by an author with the same publisher — and both times it was the publisher’s choice. We talked about it, but the earlier books were older — one was out of print, the series ended — and the publisher, Berkley/Penguin, felt the risk of confusion was minimal. Plus, there are only so many jokes about food and death. And both were the perfect titles! So I hope you’re willing to read a book that sounds intriguing, even if the title or something close to it has been used before.

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      1. Also, I have changed a title — as no doubt many authors have — when a book comes out close to our release date with the same title. It’s always a good idea to have a reserve title in mind!

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      2. LESLIE: Good explanation about duplicate titles. I also heard titles are not copyrighted, so they can be used by other authors. My beef is when identical (or similar) titles are published by different authors. For example, THE HOUSE GUEST and THE GUEST HOUSE are two thrillers published by different authors in 2023. Some readers can get confused which author wrote which book!

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      3. OH, yes. Plan to read and to find out about the growing family! Edith gives us such good stories with such interesting characters. Thanks for your experiences with repeat titles.

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      4. Grace, that IS confusing. Very often, though, neither publisher nor author has any idea about the other book until it’s too late! Even if we knew vaguely about the book, early announcements might not have given a title — or it might have changed!

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  6. The Country Store Mysteries have definitely stayed fresh. I have one author I quit reading because the story line didn’t progress. It more or less dragged on. Another that had 29 books in the series, changed dramatically. It was obvious the original author didn’t write it. To be fair, not long after the author passed away. But the way they ended the series was awful. I read many cozy authors, but your Country Store series is my favorite! I know someday it will end, I will cry, but life will go on……..lol Keep up the good work Edith!!

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  7. To me, if a series is written correctly, and yes that includes the Country Store Mystery series, the reader will never get enough. I’m hoping this particular series continues until years from now Robbie is a very senior citizen with many grands (maybe she’s turned over the daily operation of Pans ‘N Pancakes to them) and still as spunky as ever helping the law solve those difficult crimes (maybe she’s got to get one of her grands out of the long arms of the law wrongly accused). 🙂

    As long as the characters stay in with the times as they age, the stories are remain fresh and the readers are wanting more, why does a series have to end at a certain number?

    Can’t wait for the opportunity to read and review “Scone Cold Dead”. It’s already on my TBR list. Definitely ready to read another adventure of Robbie’s and to visit the Pans ‘N Pancakes. ❤
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  8. I’ll quit a series if the characters continue to do the same things over and over, and don’t learn from their mistakes.

    I didn’t have the end of the Homefront or Laurel Highlands series in sight when I signed the contracts, but at I now know what happens at the end of the current contracted books. Or at least what I think will happen in terms of character arcs. Like you, Edith, I’m not a tight plotter, so I leave room for change.

    Will those be the end of the series? Don’t really know.

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  9. I don’t have an idea how a series will end and have never wondered. I have only quit one series by another author because the main character’s love life and indecision drove me nuts and felt fake. aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com

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  10. Thanks for sharing your process. 🙂 I stopped reading one series where the reason for the murders (or their solution) seemed improbable. Two other series – the central character could not make up her mind about the guys in her life. The ‘will she/won’t she’ angle only goes so far before overshadowing the plot.

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  12. There are very few series I have completely given up on, but when that has happened it’s mainly due to simply not liking the characters or finding them to be not believable as real people. One of my all-time favorite series is the Maine Clambake series by Barbara Ross. Her characters are well thought out and relatable and I feel like I could easily live next door to them. I love the sense of family that permeates the books as well. I did recently read the first Country Store mystery and am looking forward to reading the rest!

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  13. Congratulations on the long running series Edith. And the reason it’s long running (IMHO) is that the characters grow.
    I’ll stop reading a series if the MC doesn’t grow in each book, they’re still doing too stupid to live things, or if there’s a love triangle that goes on forever.

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  14. Congratulations! 13 is amazing!

    I’m still going strong on Agatha Raisin series by M.C. Beaton, at #17 right now. Taking my time as I like to read them with the themes of the season they were written in and are more in-between reads for me as a lighthearted, fun escape type read.

    I’ve started a few others here and there, but Agatha is so hilarious, it’s one series I definitely set out to finish.

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  15. I love mystery series! My latest read of a favorite of mine, involved a mystery that felt too complicated to keep track of. I admit that if the next book has a similar problem, I may call it quits. Thanks for this thought-provoking and fun post.

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  16. Thank you for sharing your writing process-I found it very interesting. Congrats on starting Book 13 of the Country Store series-I love Robbie and gang and will definitely keep reading as long as you keep writing. I do agree with Kay that keeping things fresh and up to date in the story helps to keep my interest. Happy writing!

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  17. Looking forward to the newest book! But it will probably be my last one – once they start having children I’m no longer interested. As in the real world, everything somehow starts revolving around the child….. Now, if you could skip from delivery directly to teenager (ie: reasonably independent) that would be okay.

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  18. Congratulations on Lucky #13, Edith! Reading other authors and seeing what they’re doing, diving deeper into the MC and her relationships, keeping her growing, and exploring the community are all ways to help keep things fresh, and you nail it. Keep the stories coming!

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  19. Looking forward to Scone Cold! I have gotten selective in my series reading over the past few years. In 2018 I series binged – it was a fun time, but in some cases it highlighted that the protags had gotten a bit stale, and in others, it highlighted story similarities. I still read those series, but it’s more for the comfort of the familiar I know I will find between the pages.

    There is only one series that I flat out quit – it shall remain nameless – but it was because the sleuth would have been well over 100 in real life (the author used real events to ground the story) while writing the sleuth as if he was in his fifties. Sigh – I was sorry to let the series go, but I couldn’t suspend belief any longer.

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  20. If I like a series, I will continue reading it for as long as the author keeps on writing books for the series. I remember stopping one series simply because my library discontinued buying books for that series. Still, if I like the series enough, I will buy the books on my own. The problem is that there are many authors that I have not yet tried, so there are plenty of other options for me. If I wait long enough, sometimes my library does end up buying the books that I am missing. In your case, I will say that I don’t think I could ever get tired of Robbie Jordan’s adventures with Pans ‘N Pancakes! I will read as many as you write!

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  21. I love your enthusiasm, Edith. And it comes through in your books. I sometimes have stopped reading a series because I wasn’t aware that more stories had been written and I got way behind. More often, like Grace, I get really tired of love triangles. Sometimes I won’t even finish a first book because of them.

    I like when a series has to end (like poor Julie’s) it wraps up what happens to all the characters. I know one author, who took over a series, who said nobody would take it over again. She was too tied to her characters and would make sure to write the last book in a way that couldn’t be continued. I don’t know know if she was planning on killing off the whole group or what. 😮 . But I never get tired of your books or of Barbara’s.

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  22. I love your process, Edith. And what a great run with these characters. What keeps a series fresh for me is character growth, wonderful writing, and strong plots. As others have said, once a series loses me it’s tough to go back. Happy writing!

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  24. Character growth is so important, I stop reading when the characters become “cardboard”. The other pet peeve that causes me to stop a series is a love triangle that does not resolve in a reasonable amount of time. Some characters will juggle two men for a decade. I start disliking the indecisive character and root for both guys to find someone else. I also do not like a know-it-all, everybody gets it wrong occasionally.

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  25. Hi I actually read an entire series but understand when an author has to stop due to publishing issues. I love it when a series continues on. I have read J.A. Jance Sheriff Brady series which is still ongoing, Kathy Reich Temperance Breannan series which is still going on. I have read most of the Country Store series and try to get them from the library and if not I will get them from Barnes and Noble.

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  26. I hate saying goodbye to old friends. I have read book series up until the last book, and then I find out there will be no more so never read the last book. I do this compulsively. I do it to t.v. shows too. I hate it, but I just can’t bring myself to “close the door” or back cover.

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  27. You’re right. Some series get a bit long in the tooth. Others are refreshing. The character evolution is definitely a big part of the reason to keep on reading. I think that is why I gave up on the Janet Evanovich series after a while. It was the same, repeatedly. I like freshness but I like familiarity. I like Robbie! Another thought, did you ever know someone who seems to be wearing the same style clothing for twenty years or more? Just because. (Of course I very recently saw Walmart with a display that looked like my youth many years ago-I almost ran screaming.)

    Thank you for your methods of keeping track in your writing. Excellent advice!

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  28. Congrats on the new book and I can’t wait to read it. I am a few books behind, so this will be good marathon reading. I did that the other day on TV as I watched “Spiderman 1, 2, 3” straight through. I like doing that with book series also. Then I don’t have to wait another year to get caught up and forget stuff. I love long running series. My all-time favorite are the Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series. The guys that took over are doing a great job and sound just like Parker. It is up to 51 and I have been reading them since they first came out (along with the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall). RIP Robert. B. Parker and thank you for making such memorable characters as Spenser, Susan, Hawk, and Pearl the Wonder Dog. Other long running ones that I love/loved are David Rosenfelt’s Andy Carpenter series (30), Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone (25), Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum (30), Carole Nelson Douglas’s Midnight Louie (28), Laurien Berenson’s Melanie Travis (29), and Lillian Jackson Braun’s the Cat Who Mysteries (29), Lawrence Block’s Matthew Scudder (17) to name a few. There are so many more out there. Sue Grafton and Lilian Jackson Braun’s ended due to death and I don’t know what happened to Carole Nelson Douglas. The rest are alive and still writin’ and I am readin’. Thank all of you wonderful authors.

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