Sometimes a book needs a little nudge. I wrote Shakespeare's Blood early on in my career, intending it to be a three-book series, but the idea got lost in stuff I wanted to write and stuff my contracts said I would write. Then a friend/reader said one day, "I like Shakespeare's Blood best of all your books. There should be another one, so we know what happened to Mercedes after she lived through Book #1."

That reminded me of my original intention, so I started Charlie Dickens' Documents. Both books involve finding out things about historical characters that have been hidden or forgotten for centuries. I know that idea isn't not original, but my versions are, and entertaining too. My intention was that the third and final book would focus on Emily Dickinson. Maybe I'll get around to that one someday. 

Here's the thing: Books take time and patience and perseverance. You don't just sit down and write it all out. It goes in fits and starts and sometimes requires long walks or a half hour of staring at a blank wall to get going again. While timelines vary, I give myself six months to write a book. The time doesn't come all in one chunk either. There are times when I leave a piece to rest for a while. Other times, editors and beta readers get a crack at it. 

Events interfere with writing, and when I was actively promoting my work, there were lots of days when I didn't write at all. There are times when you can't concentrate, and there are times when the story simply won't lie down on paper. I've started books and left them for years, only to come back and think, "Oh, that's what should happen!" That was the case with this one. It took years and a nudge from a friend to make the second book go from my head to a file. And what about Book 3? Not sure, but Dickinson's been gone from this earth for a long time. She won't mind if I leave her waiting a while more.

Charlie Dickens' Documents takes up Mercedes' life after Shakespeare's Blood ends. At home in the U.S., she feels compelled to go back to England after she receives a strange package of papers once owned (but not written) by Charles Dickens. While escaping death and rescuing her friend Colm, she finds secrets relating to the French Revolution, the Dauphin of France, and Charles' boyhood visits to his grandmother. The book can be bought here for $2.99.