At last I feel that I’m making good progress with Book 5 of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. Yesterday I wrote 1,800 words, and I have one scene to write to complete chapter one. That might make chapter one around 9,000 words. My last two books, The Suggested Assassin and Called to Account had seventeen and twenty-nine chapters respectively. So Book 5 could turn out to be a doorstop. Our bookshelves are full of series demonstrating that authors tend to write longer and longer books. J.K. Rowling and C.J. Sansom are two of my favourites that exhibit that trend. Claire says that as readers get into your books they want them to be longer, so that they can savour them more.
So the background research is over. That doesn’t mean research is complete, it just means I’ve done enough to know the historical background I’m setting book 5 against. Whilst writing the research goes on. Yesterday, for example, I researched french currency of the early 17th century and its present day value. I also read about Guillaume de Baillou, a Paris physician of the period who was the first to write about rheumatism. I’ve made good progress on paving the way for the first two murders, introducing the victims, one of the murderers, and the red herrings. I also have the theme well established in my mind. I’m not going to tell you what it is. You’ll have to wait for the book.
A digression from the previous books is that I’m printing my work in progress, and keeping it in a file. I’ve asked Claire if she’ll read it chapter by chapter. I value her input very highly, and if she can head me off from going down some blind alley, so much the better.
My intention with book five is to have another go at seeing if I can get a literary agent or independant publisher interested in taking on the book, and / or the series. I think my writing is improving, and it would be nice to have a publisher on board. I know I’d still have to do a lot of marketing, but at least I’d be more likely to get into physical bookstores. It would be a most satisfying progression.
So that’s my progress with Book 5. I’m so looking forward to coming up with a title. A couple of ideas were going through my mind before I drifted off to sleep last night. I didn’t write them down, and they’re gone now. C’est la vie!