Damn! I had this post written on MONDAY, three days before my blog day, and I totally forgot to post it. I’m sorry!
I have a book due in three weeks and that’s making me tense – tense primarily because I’m not in the zone (writing without awareness of passing time) and I’m still in the “this sucks beyond everything imaginable” mode. I took 10 days off to work on the page proofs for STALKED and in the middle of that, took my daughter to college. Now, I’m back into writing STOLEN and hoping I can figure out why it’s driving me crazy! (UPDATE: yesterday, I had a revelation about what was missing, and am integrating two scenes in earlier in the story that I think will add a lot of umph! I hope!)
I get a lot of reader questions, particularly about the Kincaid’s, and decided to answer them here. I’m focusing on questions I’ve received repeatedly. If you have any I haven’t answered, ask! I’ll answer in the comments. And in a couple of weeks, I’ll post the most common questions I get from aspiring writers.
When is Patrick going to get his story?
This is the number one question I get from readers about the Kincaids. Patrick Kincaid is Lucy’s brother originally introduced in the NO EVIL trilogy. He was a cybercrimes cop for the San Diego Police Department until his two-year coma and now is Sean Rogan’s partner at RCK East. I’d planned for Patrick to get his own book in the Lucy series, and originally thought it would be STOLEN, but that’s turning out to be primarily Sean’s story.
However, I’m very excited about Lucy #7! KILLER CHRISTMAS is an entwined story of the Kincaid’s all trying to reach San Diego for Christmas. The pivotal story is Patrick’s, where he meets his match: Gabrielle Santana, the wild child daughter of family friends he grew up with. I don’t know much about her yet, but she’s mentioned in a conversation between Lucy and Patrick in STALKED—watch for it!
Are you going to write about JT Caruso or Kane Rogan, the other principles of Rogan-Caruso-Kincaid?
I’ve thought about it. A lot. Several years ago, I came up with three very basic story ideas for JT, Kane and JT’s best friend, Matt Elliott (currently the fictional DA of Sacramento – he was the hero of my short story, “Killing Justice,” and a secondary character in PLAYING DEAD and FATAL SECRETS.) But they didn’t materialize, and now I’m writing two series (Lucy Kincaid and a new series launching 2014) and I don’t know if I’ll have time. Kane is also much older than most of my heroes (I think, if I went back and figured it out, he’d be in his mid-40s.) He would be an interesting character, though! So that’s all a long answer for: I don’t know, but not in the next two years.
Are you going to write about what happened to Nelia’s son, Justin?
Justin’s murder is eighteen-years cold. I don’t know if I can incorporate his cold case into a current storyline, but I have certainly thought about it. I have two ideas on how I might do this, once Lucy is a full FBI Agent. But even if she figures out what happened that night, his case may never be officially solved. If I solve this case, it won’t be until after Lucy #8. The chances of me writing this book is much more likely than writing about JT Caruso or Kane Rogan.
When is MORTAL SIN coming out/Are you going to finish writing the Seven Deadly Sins series?
I get asked this question more than all others. As my long time readers know, my former publisher cancelled the Seven Deadly Sins series after two books. The sales weren’t as strong for my supernatural thrillers as they were for my traditional romantic thrillers. I had already started writing MORTAL SIN when the series was cancelled, and I have every intention of finishing it. However, my contracted books come first. This means that I don’t know when I’ll finish MORTAL SIN, but when I do, I will announce it far and wide! I’m just as curious to learn what happens to Moira and Rafe as my readers. I would very much like to finish the series–it’s just a matter of time.
What’s coming next/Are you writing anything beside’s Lucy books?
Right now, Lucy is scheduled to have eight books. There may be more! But book #8 will be her first book as a sworn FBI agent. I don’t know where she’s going—it won’t be announced until the beginning of book #7 (I have three locations I’m thinking about–don’t know which one will win out.) There will also be a Sean & Lucy digital-only novella next spring, right before the release of STOLEN. Once again, a day-trip turns deadly when they find a recently dug, unmarked grave in the idyllic Shenandoah Valley. They can never just have a relaxing vacation, or even a picnic! 🙂
I’m particularly thrilled to announce that I sold a new series that will launch in 2014 starring Maxine Revere, an investigative reporter. She even has a temporary webpage where next year she’ll start blogging about issues she cares about (mostly crime and criminal justice issues), as well as a twitter feed!
Did I answer all your questions? If not, ask away – I’ll be around all day to answer (and tomorrow, too, since I’m late posting.)