In the informal series arc I had developed, the next book after Time and Tyra Again should have focused upon Rafe’s history and his character.
Only, one of those rare things happened to me: I was “given” a book.
You might think that this is the way most books are built—that writers are struck with divine inspiration, or kissed by their muse, or they simply have a great idea. In that single moment, the entire story shape and colour and feel forms in their mind.
Sometimes, this does happen.
But the mundane truth is that when a writer reaches the bottom of the list of books they have been thinking about writing since before they started writing, then they must build the next books from the merest hint of an idea. Books are built brick by brick, on most occassions.
But then there are the gift books—those stories which do drop into one’s lap fully formed and coherent, with all the characters and plot and feeling already in place.
That has happened to me on only a few occassions, and Kiss Across Seas was one of them.
The story came to me one sleepless night. I have many sleepless middles-of-the-night, when I wake for some reason, then my brain fires up and that’s it—I’m awake and staring into the dark, my mind buzzing. It’s one of the reasons I use a note-taking phone, so I can scribble reminders in the dark. On this night, I was given Kiss Across Seas. Even the title came attached.
That presented a problem which possibly only existed in my anal mind. The next book in the series was supposed to be Rafe’s story. Yet, this story I’d been given had a lot of pressure behind it. Too much pressure. It was demanding it be written.
I also knew Rafe’s story very well. The basic movements of Rafe’s history have been in place since Kiss Across Chains, and I have contemplated and embroidered upon the details since I wrote that book.
I mentally assured Rafe I would get to his story eventually.
Then I wrote Kiss Across Seas.
There was a lot of setting up for future stories to be done with this book, including the introduction of new characters. I spent some time laying out the “rules” of time travel, so that any inconsistencies in past stories were aligned and made story-sense.
Plus, the kids were growing up! As children grow older, their impact upon adult events increases. I had to show that the children in these stories were no longer blank ciphers tucked away like Victorian offspring, only to be trotted out when it was convenient.
Kiss Across Seas was first published in April 2017. It is one of my favourites in the series.