A name by any other name.
I was reminded recently how some characters I create and write stick with me and how others, well, I appear to forget instantly when I type FIN—case in example, I’m now two books in with my new character Lucien Olivier Stone until it comes to editing time. It is pointed out to me that I already have a central character by that name, and one, without giving spoilers, who turns out to be a little bit of a bad boy. I was adamant no such character existed until I was proven wrong (he’s in ‘Prisonnier Dix’ as it turns out). I had no real recollection of him, even after refreshing my memory, and I was pretty shocked. I suppose the truth is that each book I write exists in its own time, and when I am in the eye of the storm, so to speak, I live and breathe the story and the characters. But then, once I am done and have gone through second, third, and fourth drafts, edits, corrections, cover design, typesetting, and finally released, I think I have had more than enough of that story, and out of necessity, I move on. I suppose I don’t have enough room in my head for all of these stories. I have to let them go.
Obviously, some characters stick with me. Coco is a case in point. I first wrote Coco for ‘Les Mauvais Garçons’, but I knew instantly there was something special about her. That was why I returned to ‘La Famille Lacroix’, which was in the editing stage, and replaced a non-essential character with Coco because it fit. I thought it would be an excellent introduction to Coco’s character before she landed in LMG. I had no idea then that the monster I had created by the end of LMG would not only have stolen her scenes, but she would also demand a book of her own. But that’s another story, or as it turns out, now pushing six stories!
My point, if I have one, is that I have known most of these characters for such a short time that they become strangers to me, too, which I find interesting because if and when I do go back and look at my earlier work (I try not to do that, too traumatic) I will do so with a great deal of interest and a lot of surprise.
So, back to Lucien. I reluctantly agreed to give him a name change. I toyed with Peter, primarily because I spent Christmas rewatching Peter Ustinov’s Poirot movies (he’s not really Poirot as Agatha describes him, but by gosh, I think I prefer him to Suchet and as for Kenneth Branagh, I’m honestly on the fence, but Peter wins it for me.) Ultimately, I decided Peter didn’t really fit as a young half-Asian man, so he became Caspar. It’s strange for me to write him as Caspar after completing two books where he was Lucien, but I’ll have to get the hang of that. Caspar is a much more fitting name for him, so I’ll have to stop being stubborn about it. However, I still maintain that no one would have noticed there were two Lucien’s, but I was overruled!
Right now, I’m halfway through ‘Souvenirs Négligents’ (Hugo book 14) and then I’ll start on ‘Le Fantôme en Dessous’ (Les Enquêteurs book 2). What can I tell you about them? Well, SN is turning out to be an interesting story which, as often is the case in a Hugo book, takes place over several different periods, starting as early as 1944. It begins with a bus crashing into a lake and two people drowning. Or did they? And who are they really? All will be revealed… As for ‘Le Fantôme en Dessous,’ interestingly enough, I envisage it as almost a ghost story, or shall we say ‘ghostly?’ because as is evident in most of my books, things are not always as they seem…
I know you’re all waiting for updates regarding release dates. All I can tell you is that I have four books, all finished and in various stages of production. As you know, my life was a little derailed in the last six months, which is all having a knock-on effect, but I’m hoping there will be at least two releases in 2024, and I will try very hard to make that happen.
I hope all is well with you. My life continues to have moments of joy and sadness, and I fear that my hopes for 2024 won’t be what I hoped for in all aspects. However, my husband continues to recover, and with two more procedures scheduled, I hope that he will finally get the clean bill of health he so deserves. Again, thank you for your kind thoughts and messages; they mean the world to us.
Until next time,
Gxx