Friday, June 19, 2020

What's next?

        
Six years ago this month, on a full-moon Friday the 13th, I released "Full Moon Friday," the third mystery in the Jordan Daily News series. In addition to lots of full moon madness and a world-threatening finale, "Full Moon Friday" heats up the love lives of the four main characters. The book ends at a satisfying spot. 
          Fans and friends asked when the next mystery was coming out, but I decided to focus on writing the stories of my ancestors. It just so happens that one of them, Capt. Benjamin Merrill, was hung for treason 249 years ago today. I stumbled upon many more heroes and horrors in my family tree. Thanks to the Covid quarantine I finally managed to finish my research and print a book this month to give to my relatives.
          So once again the slate is clean. Should I return to the Jordan Daily News mysteries?  Or should I finish a whole different story I started years ago? Or should I start on something new, an historical series inspired by some of the exploits of  my ancestors?
         It's always hard to decide the best course of action; impossible to look ahead and imagine what will be. I wonder what ggggreat-uncle Ben thought when they strung him up on June 19, 1771. He probably just assumed the British governor would always be in power, never dreamed that some ragtag Sons of Liberty stood a chance against the powerful British empire. How could he foresee that those revolutionaries would build a country that would become the most powerful on earth? Or that 250 years later that wealthy country would still not be able to provide justice and equality for all citizens.
         Like Uncle Ben, I have no idea what's next.