Marilyn's Musings

As I typed the title of this post, I have to admit to feeling a little sad. For several reasons, I made the decision a few months ago to end my Malone mystery series with the fifth book, Marnie Malone. I already miss my characters because I’ve spent many, many years in their world and, to me, they’re almost real. I got the idea for the first book, Mixed Messages , in 1995 when I was going for a walk and spotted an old Victorian. From that moment on, the book and the characters were always on my mind. I began to jot down notes and eventually created a chapter-by-chapter outline of what needed to be included in each chapter. Of course, as I wrote the book, that changed many times. Seventeen years after taking that walk, Mixed Messages was published! I originally intended Mixed Messages to be a standalone mystery/suspense novel. Instead, it turned into a five book series. My characters had so much more to offer me (and hopefully my readers) than what could be told in a si...