Some people might think writers take time off between projects, to reignite energy and enthusiasm before starting another book. I’m sure some authors do that. Not me, not if I can help it. Not yet, anyway. I’ve just finished my sixth contracted book, ninth if you count the three I did years and years ago, but I haven’t lost my excitement over the privilege of getting to write another book. I’m still at the point where I can’t help but write.
One drawback with writing a blog, however, is that it’s so immediate. Here I am, all excited about my new project when the book I’ve just finished hasn’t even released yet! It’ll be quite some time before what I’m talking about today will reach the shelves (over a year away, in fact). So here’s what I plan to do. As the months draw nearer to the release of Look To The East (this fall), I’ll still be talking about that project as well as a bit of this new one. That way we should both have fun, because my excitement for any project is highest at its inception and then again just before the release.
As I may have mentioned, this new project is the second in a three book series. My preference in a series is to write completely independent stories, so that each one can be read in any order. (Although this isn’t really true of my first two Inspirationals, Pieces of Silver and Remember Me. You could read Remember Me first and still have a whole story, but to know the main character fully it would probably be best to read Pieces of Silver first.)
But even with independent story lines, if it’s a series there must be a reason for the books to be connected. As a reader I usually don’t like to be left hanging at the end of a book, so as a writer I try not to do that to my readers. I did it with Pieces of Silver only because the word count would have been astronomical to continue with Josef’s story under the same cover.
So with this new series, each book will have its own satisfying end. Although connected in some way, new characters will be introduced in each book. Major similarities: they’ll have the Great War in common (WWI), and all three stories will be set in Europe.
The working title for Book Two is Will-O’-The-Wisp, which is really hard to type fast in case you’ve never done it. Yes, it’s a working title again, which means next winter when we’re closer to the release date (spring/early summer of 2010) we’ll be looking at the title again to decide if that’s the best fit.
I originally chose this title from a quote out of an underground, uncensored newspaper that was distributed during the German occupation of Brussels, Belgium. One of the first things the occupying army did was control the newspapers (this was the only source of news back then, before radios were available for personal use and television was barely a twinkle in either Zworykin or Farnsworth’s eye, depending on whom you credit with the invention). The German regime restricted the news they printed to German victories and other propaganda. So a group of Belgian patriots risked their lives (and a considerable amount of money) to print and distribute their own paper. It would reach subscribers without a fee, not only to encourage the Belgian population but to spread whatever other news they could acquire from sources smuggled in from beyond the occupied territory. In other words, propaganda from the other side.
This illegal newspaper did more than include Allied victories to try balancing the war reports. They also brought to light the cruelty of the occupying army and criticized the German regime, occasionally even poking fun at the German Governor-General presiding over Brussels. Obviously the Germans found the paper an embarrassment, and dangerous to the point that it prevented the population from “accepting” their oppressors.
But it was impossible to stop, despite many arrests, deportations to work camps and even several printers and distributors sent to the firing squad. The paper, called La Libre Belgique, (Free Belgium) referred to itself at least once as a “will-o’-the-wisp” because it was impossible for the Germans to stop. Impossible to grasp, elusive. It remained in production throughout the four-year occupation. In fact, La Libre Belgique is still circulated in Belgium today. When I was there last year, I picked up a copy at one of the newsstands. No more smuggling for its distributors today! It really does represent a Free Belgium.
This project actually has its own little history as far as how long I’ve been tinkering with this book idea. More on that next Monday, along with some news about the cover for Look To The East.
Join Me!