by Charlotte Hinger
Since forever, I've tried to find a perennial flowering plant for this oversized terra cotta planter that would bloom every year. Hollyhocks look perfect, but none of them have survived for another year until this one.
I suspect the gentle frequent rains did the trick. Perhaps I didn't water the plants enough in the past. I'm very grateful for this unexpected blooming.
And speaking of blooming! This unanticipated flowering has so many parallels with my writing process.
One of the most difficult questions I have to address from readers is "how long does it take you to write a book?" The truth is--I don't know. When I'm working on one book, in the background of what passes for my mind, bits and pieces of other works are taking root.
Best of all, little tendrils of plots mesh. Buds of possibilities peep through. Problems are solved that have nothing to do with the work in progress. A new book is taking form.
I have to know what a book is about before I begin. A novel is concocted around a central problem or idea that's of interest to me. For instance, the focus of Come Spring, my first historical novel, was that settling Kansas was really hard. Can you make someone into a Kansan?
My first mystery novel, Deadly Descent, was inspired by a character in my favorite books of poetry, The Spoon River Anthology. This very handsome, very successful man attributes his achievements to his superior genetic heritage when, in fact, he was adopted. Who knew?
All of my novels, whether historical or part of the Lottie Albright series, involve a lot of research. As a historian, I care a lot about accuracy. Then through research, other ideas for development pop up.
When I wrote Lethal Lineage, my foray into material about the frontier Catholic Church was one of my favorite research journeys. In fact, that book was one of my favorites to write because it was my one and only "locked room" mysteries. Why do I say "one and only?" Because I will never have an idea that's that good again.
Unless, of course, I'm blessed with some random blooming.
