Pesky final drafts

Firstly, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reached out to me during these last few months. I know I haven’t been as receptive as I should be, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t appreciated every single kind thought sent in my direction. As for now, things are better. My husband is growing stronger every day. He really has been amazing through this all, never once feeling sorry for himself or complaining despite the graveness of the situation and the huge changes he had to face, not to mention the pain and discomfort he feels. It’s been tough, but I think we managed to drag each other through it well.

I’ve been doing my best to keep busy. Yesterday, I signed off on the final draft of ‘Hotel Beaupain’ (the 13th Hugo book), so now it can go off for its clean and polish ready for a… release soon; who knows for sure at this point as there are two completed books in the queue in front of it.

I’ve been working on ‘Hotel Beaupain’ pretty much nonstop this last month, and I have to say the final draft work is never my favourite. Writing the books is generally easy, but pulling it into that final draft is often excruciating. This one was particularly troublesome because it differs from my usual books. I do like to experiment occasionally with the concept of a standard murder mystery, and the Hugo books allow me to do that. ‘Hotel Beaupain’, though, is probably one of the most unique entries in the Hugo series, and it has taken me a lot of time trying to get it right. I’m still not sure I have, but that will sort itself out in the editing stage when it finally comes in front of someone else and not just me. As a side note, I have to say that most of these books I finish and am convinced that it is terrible and the worst one yet. I don’t think I’ve ever finished one and thought, ‘Yeah, that’s good,’ so it just shows you I’m probably not the best judge… Still, HB is different; there’s no getting around that. Obviously, I can’t give spoilers, but I will say this: there are technically two stories running parallel, and the real bad guy of the piece actually walks into the police station at one point and hands himself in! And that isn’t even the end of the story. Interested yet?

Now that HB is done, my thoughts turn to what is next. My immediate future is the fifth Coco book. After an awful summer and a complicated Hugo novel, I’m really looking forward to getting lost in Paris for a while with my favourite chaotic dame and her sidekicks.

Then there will be Hugo book fourteen. I’ve promised myself a more straightforward story this time, but we’ll see. Actually, HB was the first time we’ve had a Montgenoux set story (the last time was ‘Prisonnier Dix’), so catching up with these characters I’ve come to know very well has been good. As I worked on HB, I was again reminded that it’s difficult to give space and time to all of these characters, no matter how much I wish I could. Mare-Louse, for example, the bubbly police receptionist, is assigned to a couple of walk-on scenes, which is tough. I hate making them background window-dressing because I like these characters. I’m invested in them; I know their stories. I often add a little side story for them if I can, but more often than not, it gets removed in the second, third, and fourth drafts. There is too much real story going on, so an ongoing skit about Mare-Louise wearing an inappropriate dress and making Hugo blush is more likely than not to end up on the cutting room floor.

I suppose I’m thinking of this now because I’m still pondering over the story for Hugo 14 (‘Souvenirs Négligents’ / Careless Memories) and wondering whether I can make space for these characters and make them part of the story. Part of the problem is that there is a whole story to tell and to do so, I need a cast of characters where at least one needs to be a victim, another a murderer, so we can’t linger too long on the side characters. At one point, I had thought of doing a book of short stories, a separate story devoted to each of these characters. That book is on my ‘to do when I’m stuck for ideas’ pile, which I haven’t had a chance to get to yet. It’s a growing list; there’s ‘The Met Outsiders’ trilogy about Hugo’s time in London and another potential spinoff. Ah, well, maybe one day.

These characters are real to me: I know that sounds a bit weird, but they are; how else do you make them appear real in a story than actually to make them real to you and your readers? Someone told me they enjoyed reading each new book because it felt like revisiting old friends; honestly, that’s how I feel when I write these stories. I know these people, and for the most part, I like them, and I’m glad you do, too.

Apologies for the rambling. I thought I’d better make up for being absent lately, and there was much to catch up on.

I hope life is treating you all well.

Love and best wishes always,

Gxx