Category: Trilogies - Mala Naidoo's Book World

May The Trilogy Be With You!

Writing a trilogy is not how I began writing, Souls of Her Daughters. The ending brought on an extension to the lives of Grace and Patience, and as the muse requested two more tales were born ending in the grand finale of, What Change May Come. The second book, Chosen Lives, picks up from Patience’s mission shrouded in mystery, and suspense when the aircraft she travels in disappears, followed by time tense revelations and heart-stopping fulfilling thriller magic!

enthrals with mystery and suspense ~ engaging and addictive ~ exhilarating… oozes with deep passion ~

~ Goodreads

The present trilogy in the making was planned. Book 1 of The Bardo Trilogy, Aurora Days, was released in April 2020 and Book 2 is scheduled for an October/November release. Book 3 will follow in the first quarter of 2021. And poetry beckons, egging me on with each publication. Hence Viola is also a closet poet! Stories crafted will always borrow some aspects from the writer’s world.

entrances and entertains… epic tale of courage, love and peril ~ Goodreads

Lessons learned in writing a trilogy are keeping a tight track on characters, places, time, and events. While for the most part, I am a panster, I do plan on Scrivener and shift and rearrange as each idea emerges. The glory of Scrivener is a necessary asset in a writer’s toolkit!

Sometimes the protagonist’s trajectory takes on a different path than originally envisioned. This is the power of independent creative choices — a freedom to chop or sustain at will.

Creative freedom is the stuff dreams are made of!

The Bardo Trilogy revolves around a family mystery in the life of PI Viola Bardo, schoolteacher extraordinaire with music in her heart and justice in her soul. Family relationships are a keen part of both my trilogies as are hidden secrets that connect to my thriller edge.

Changing locations is a wonderful way to revisit places I’ve been to in grounding the story.

While all this is in the making, a new venture beckons as an epic once-off or standalone novel on a family saga. The title came to mind first and pieces are emerging on that idea. Currently, I run two journals, something I have not done with my backlist publications. It has been largely one book at a time.

I am allowing the creative spirit to bite whichever way it wants so while the second book in The Bardo Trilogy is given priority, I am jotting down ideas as they appear on a new vision. I have taken on board Elizabeth Gilbert’s advice in ‘Big Magic’ — if you don’t pick up the stories coming to you, someone else will.

The muse will nudge the writer with her private messages when a story must be told.

The new venture beckoning will shift and change with time and no deadline is on the horizon for that yet. But it will be created as it comes.

I don’t intend on leaving Viola Bardo in the wings because she has many more revelations for the reader.

Keeping track of all that the divine muse dispenses is the best way forward.

May the Muse be With you!

Happy Writing! Happy Reading!

What’s your favourite trilogy read?

Mothers Mirrored in Fiction

Mother’s Day this year has a different ring to the freedom of yesteryear.

The nation waited to hear if we would be allowed to visit our mothers on this special day of the year. Something we took for granted… our mothers would always be there to listen, comfort, cook an amazing meal, take care of grandchildren, advise on matters of the heart, and chastise bad behaviour.

Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child ~ Gautama Buddha

The hype leading to Mother’s Day has been a buzz from infancy. 2020 has been still but some retail stores have opened for a dash purchase of a gift and a card to celebrate our mothers to tell them we love them. We fervently add that we want our mothers to be safe and well during this global health crisis. Some among us ache to see our mothers, some have passed on, and others are in social isolation — it has been two months of just telephone conversations and if possible, FaceTime, Zoom and Skype chats. The aching emptiness of the missed mama/nana hug is still not a possibility. A joyous expression of love is now a cause for global anxiety as we fear the unknown, the lethal. The comforting hug now a possible cause of harm.

Mothers occupy a universal, sacred place in our hearts. A mother’s unconditional love goes with her children from the cradle to the grave. Cultures revere mothers with a divinity deserving of profound respect and care. This value should undoubtedly be universal. The hearth of family and home is a mother.

Paradise lies at the feet of your mother~ Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

In paying tribute to all mothers today I also refer to the fictional mothers in, Souls of Her Daughters, and two follow-up novels in the trilogy (each reads as a stand-alone novel too) Chosen Lives, and, What Change May Come.

Mothers Varuna and Elsie present as the yin-yang of motherhood. Mama Varuna is Grace’s bold and strong mother who has weathered hardship with loss and societal criticism. Patience’s mother, Mama Elsie is a mild-mannered mother who faces racism and hardship in apartheid South Africa. Both mothers raise their daughters as one family united in their cultural difference and struggles. The highs and lows of the lives of mothers and daughters captured in the daily lives of Grace and Patience are what makes Mother’s Day a constant expression of love.

To all mothers, and future mothers, you are the pillars of family and society and should be celebrated daily.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.’ ~ Proverbs 31:26

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Stay safe and well as restrictions ease in New South Wales and around the world.

Happy reading, happy writing.

Tripartite Character Connection

Quick access and the desire to know more, allow novel/film/ trilogies and series to thrive.
Writing a trilogy is planned either before Book 1 is written or while the first book is being written, but in my case, it emerged as the first book ended. Films such as ‘Mission Impossible,’ ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ ‘Spider-Man,’— to name a few, and novels: ‘Century Trilogy Series’ by Ken Follet, ‘Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy,’ ‘African Trilogy’ by Chinua Achebe, and ‘Hunger Games’ by Suzanne Collins — and so many more… have stood the test of time.

Being more of a pantser is probably the reason why Book 2 emerged after Book 1 was completed, thereafter a plan was mapped for each book which morphed along the way as characters spoke about their lives/situations. What is originally envisioned does not really end up as expected — this is my experience. With Souls of Her Daughters, each book that follows may be read as a standalone book or in combination as a trilogy.

In writing Souls of her Daughters, Chosen Lives and What Change May Come two arcs are included through the lives of sisters Grace and Patience, first as sisters, and then as professional women. Felicity Cassano, friend and associate to both sisters is the third arm in the tripartite connection. There is also the suggestion that Andrew Lang, young, handsome intern at City Hospital could be the third connection — ultimately the reader will pick a favourite for a host of reasons — tragic childhood or unrequited love, the emotional hook shapes preference.

Trilogies allow the inclusion of a range of characters to enter and intersect with the main arcs. Book 2, Chosen Lives, sees the entry of Ming, Audra, Masuyo and Zuri. This adds intrigue and colour to the lives of each character in their growth and development through the three books. The beginnings of a love story in Book 1, develops in Book 2, faces challenges in Book 3 adding more drama and intrigue in the rocky life of Grace with her beau Keefe Daly. Patience’s social justice initiative in creating safe houses for women of abuse in Australia sees her traveling to different places and finding commonality of the human spirit in any geographic location. Multicultural representations feature in all my books as an expression of a world where difference is of no consequence, professionally and personally.

Additionally, characters that attract negative attention for their human flaws in Book 1 can transition in Book 2 or Book 3. Such is the situation with Felicity Cassano, the legal eagle with good intentions that go awry in her sharp-tongued impulsive criticism of Grace, a medical practitioner she believes is somewhat faint-hearted.

We are voyagers, discoverers of the not-known… we have no map ~ (from HD – Hilda Doolittle’s – Trilogy- Tribute to the Angels)

Trilogies have value for both readers and writers — readers immerse themselves in the lives of fictional characters by finding limitless connections to their own worlds, and the writer relishes the depth of creative expression in fleshing out lives and situations that leave the reader wanting more.

What are your favourite trilogies? Drop a comment in the box below.

Happy Reading! Happy Creating!