I just turned in the ninth Countess of Harleigh mystery to my publisher earlier this month and since it’s the last book in the contract, I am at that weird point where I think, now what? For the last three years, my deadline was established and I would of course be plotting the next book. I don’t feel like Frances is done yet, so I’ll ask for another contract, but you never know. I get this drifty feeling every time a contract ends and what I do is work out plots for two books—one for the Countess of Harleigh series and one for something else. Since the question I get asked most is where do I come up with my story ideas, and that’s the point I’m at right now, I’ll try to take you through the exercise without giving too much away.
First of all, I have dozens of story ideas circulating through my mind all the time, but some of them are just too dark for a Countess of Harleigh book. That’s not to say I can’t use them. They just need some tweaking. Characters are murdered in my books, but I want to avoid dragging my readers to a dark place. There was a murder I’d read about that fascinated me, not because it was a horrible murder—which it was—but because the person had the audacity to think they’d get away with it. I was captivated, but it really was too dark—or was it? What if everyone thought the crime played out in this heinous fashion, but that’s not what happened?
So, I gave George and Frances a cold case where the police have suspects, but no proof. That turned out to be A Daughter’s Guide to Mothers and Murder. If you haven’t read it yet, I don’t think that’s too much of a spoiler, but whatever you think happened, you’re probably wrong.
It isn’t always a crime that inspires the story. Sometimes it’s an historical event. For a Countess of Harleigh book one thing I need to know is, where are the characters historically. When I was researching for book four, A Fiancée’s Guide to First Wives and Murder, 
I learned that Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich, the exiled grandson of Czar Nicholas I, was visiting the Prince of Wales in London. I had just the character in mind who could stir up trouble among the royals, and even more for George and Frances.
Book nine was inspired by the weather at the Norfolk Coast over Christmas and I’ll get into that a little more in a later post. That book leaves my characters in December of 1900. What happens next? Queen Victoria dies on January 22nd. That is a big event; a momentous event. There were eleven days between her death and the funeral. She was a beloved monarch. Her son—well, there were concerns about what kind of king he’d be. I’ve started the research and if you are at all interested in Queen Victoria’s funeral, Curtain Down At Her Majesty’s is fascinating.
There were so many people at Osborne House where she died; family and other loved ones, people who worked at the house, and people who worked for the Crown. Would they even notice if someone else died? I have no idea yet if that will be the next book, but I think it’s a good jumping off point. Fingers crossed I get to write it!
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