Hooray! I finished the first draft of the second book in my two-part mystery series.

(Okay, that sounds like a complicated bunch of numbers– first draft, second book, two-part. Sorry! I’m thinking it’s not great to confuse the reader with my opening line!)

I completed the first of the two several months ago and sent it to an editor for recommendations as I started the second. I’ve since made her suggested edits, and now it’s hard to keep the first one under wraps. But I’m finishing the second before I release the first.

There are a couple reasons I’ve delayed the release. The main one is that I want readers to be able to go immediately from the first to the second if they so choose. Another is that the over-arching mystery has been complicated to write as I’ve juggled details, clues and red herrings. Holding the first book back gives me a chance to tweak it if I realize, during the writing of the second one, that I need to clarify, add or remove something from the first. You don’t always get that chance as a writer, and since I’m not on a tight deadline, I’m taking advantage of it. I think this will pay off for you, the reader, when they’re finally ready.

As I wind up the second novel, I’m excited about giving my readers a chance to meet a whole new crew of characters. At the heart of these mysteries readers will find the troubled Ash, haunted by an accident that derailed her life plans and alienated her from her longtime best friend, Ben. Also key is the cynical Graham, who must get his hands on enough money to pay a huge debt to a dangerous drug kingpin and who will do just about anything to buy his freedom — and avoid going back to jail. The story builds around these two individuals as the reader learns, along with them, of the dark secrets underlying the quiet surface of their bucolic, upstate town and the events that force them to take reckless – and sometimes dangerous – action.

The wait will soon be over as I put the finishing touches on these tightly-wound mysteries!