Backstory of my books—Open Book Blog Hop

This week we're talking about the backstory of our books. Since I have two different series, I decided to write about the most obvious one (in my mind). The Oak Grove Mysteries.


I've told bits and pieces of this story before, but my book, The Marquesa's Necklace, didn't start off as a mystery. It was supposed to be a romance—a romance with a touch of the paranormal. The Marquesa's Necklace wasn't even the original title. The working title of the book was The Ghost Who Loved Me. And yes, for those of you who've read the book, Eli was supposed to be a ghost.

But although I always have a basic plot in mind when I start writing a book, I allow myself to listen to my characters. And Harmony, the main character of the book, was absolutely certain that Eli wasn't a figment of her rather vivid imagination nor an other-worldly apparition.  I tried to convince her otherwise, and her friends tried telling her she was wrong, but she wasn't listening. So I gave in and made Eli real. Which worked out nicely for the book, and for Harmony.

Once I realized that Eli wasn't a real ghost, I considered making him a spy. That way I could keep the title. That didn't work out wither. Eli convinced me he wasn't a James Bond wanna-be, he was just a very skilled computer programmer with white-hat hacking skills. He didn't want to have to run all over the world, his long-distance relationship with Harmony is tough enough as it is.

Not only did Eli fall in love with Harmony, so did I. I hadn't planned to make the original book a series, but I knew before I got done writing the first book there would be another. Harmony was fun to write, and fun to spend time with.

So the second book, Her Ladyship's Ring, happened. And unexpectedly, Jake happened too. He was supposed to be just a small piece of backstory. The guy who broke Harmony's heart and almost ruined her life. But no, he tried to take over the whole book. Thankfully, Harmony is one strong lady and she put him in his place. It was her book and her story, and  if he didn't like it, too bad.

But Harmony isn't done with me yet. I'm writing a third book of her adventures. It's tentatively called "The Baron's Cufflinks." I'm finding this book a little harder to write. Not because Harmony has stopped talking to me, but because other writing projects keep getting in the way. But I will finish it, I promise you. Harmony won't let me rest if I don't. And who knows, there may be a fourth book as well. I haven't run out of jewelry to use in the title.

Oh, and the original title? The Ghost Who Loved Me? I haven't given up on that title yet. There may still be a book by that name. But Harmony won't be in it. At least, I don't think she will be.

To buy the books of The Oak Grove Mysteries (if you haven't already) check out the My Books page here on my blog. You'll find my Free Wolves books there too, including my newest release, Wolves' Knight.

To find out the backstory of author Nicole Sorrell's  book, catch her post at Nicole Sorrell  She's highlighting her book The Art of Going Home.

Maddie dreads going home to face the memories of her dead sister. But she must go back to the tiny town after a decade to attend a funeral. As it turns out, the haunting reminders of her twin are the least of her worries. . .

     Not given any details of her sister’s murder at the age of ten, Maddie is persuaded to track down the killer. Following one ominous clue after another, she learns the surrogate family she thought honestly loved her has been hiding the truth of her childhood for eighteen years. As suppressed memories of her past come crashing forward, Maddie begins to doubt everything she once believed. And everybody she thought she could trust.

     Including Zac, her high school crush. Though she can’t seem to find the strength to resist their mutual attraction, Maddie isn’t sure she’ll ever be able to forgive his betrayal. As she struggles to come to grips with her family’s past and absolve those who deceived her, can she survive the horrifying discovery of who killed her sister?




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