Letting Go…

. . . of your characters is not easy. Right now I’m working on my first stand-alone novel, Trace. Until now, I’ve always written series novels, and I’m experiencing a strange sensation. I’m reluctant to let my characters go. The reason is—I know this time it will be for good. There will be no second or third book in which we will meet again and share new adventures. This makes me sad. There are at least three characters who I’ve become fond of and I keep thinking up new chapters to write because I don’t want the book to end. This is not good, because the book is getting too long, and everyone knows short books are in. Have other writers had this experience? Do they miss their characters, like old friends, when they are gone?

The three characters I like best are: Eric Palmer, a widowed orthopedic surgeon and single parent; Benjamin, his ten-year-old son; and Gertrude Bloom, his mother-in-law (Ben’s grandmother). These three form a family, of sorts, in which irritation, exasperation, admiration, and love mix in equal parts.

Eric is trying to fill the role of two parents while pursuing a demanding career; Gertrude, helps out, but her well-meaning efforts sometimes look like butting in; Ben blithely lives his life, unaware that he is an object of concern to his father and grandmother Of course, Eric also has two women interested in him—a social worker and a police chief--but I’m not as fond of them (I’d rather keep him to myself.)

Now, the fact that I like these people is no guarantee that other people will—my readers, for example. I can only hope. But, if they do, I suppose I could turn a stand-alone into a series, if there was a demand—that is. Who knows?

Robin Hathaway