I ordered The Young Richelieu eight weeks ago and it has now arrived. The delay was, almost certainly, caused by the mail strikes. Understandably, I had begun to lose all hope of reading Elizabeth Marvik’s biography of Armand-Jean Du Plessis de Richelieu. Therefore, I bought a Kindle ebook of R.J. Knecht’s biography. I have found that useful, but I have higher hopes for Marvik’s psychoanalytic approach. Certainly her biography of Louis XIII has given me much material for my next book.
I can’t be sure at this early stage, but I think the fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures will be set in Paris. Once I have read The Young Richelieu, I will begin making character outlines for all the principle characters. I’ll note their fears and desires, their character traits, their strengths and weaknesses. Then I’ll note all the key events history has recorded that they have had a hand in. Perhaps I’ll look for interesting parallel events, and invent characters to link the story lines. Who knows? There will certainly be much carried forward from book 3, The Suggested Assassin.
Somewhere in the process, I will need too find a theme. Sometimes the theme smacks you in the face as you’re writing. That was the case with book 3. It emerged from the research in books 2 and 4.
Sales have slumped in the last few days. Perhaps it’s due to my change in Amazon advertising strategy. Alternatively, it may just be that people have a stack of books that they were given at Christmas, and they won’t be buying anymore for a while. I’ve certainly got a pile, but heaven knows when I’ll get time to read them. I must contact Waterstones in Bath and see if they’d be interested in an author event.