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?
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