I love reading a series. It’s the same reason I prefer television to movies. I like revisiting my favorite characters, finding out what they’re doing, how they’re growing, how they’re going to solve the Next Big Crime. So when I had the opportunity to write the Lucy Kincaid series I jumped at it.
I knew from the minute Lucy survived her ordeal in FEAR NO EVIL that I wanted her to be a series character. It wasn’t until I wrote CUTTING EDGE six books later that I started to think that Sean Rogan might be the best man for her. He was cute, charming, smart, and fun. Lucy was pretty, intelligent, sad, and driven. They needed each other — Lucy to temper Sean’s wild “live in the moment” lifestyle, and Sean to make Lucy laugh. They are good for each other.
But when I started writing the first book, I originally envisioned a trilogy — maybe because I’d written so many trilogies I think in threes. I wanted to write as many books in the series as made me (and my readers!) happy, but I had a three book romantic story arc. I wanted each book to stand on it’s own — meaning, I wanted the mystery to have a complete arc in each book — but I wanted the love story to go beyond one book. In LOVE ME TO DEATH, Sean and Lucy meet and connect. In KISS ME, KILL ME, Sean confesses his love for Lucy. She cares for him, but holds back — out of fear, mostly, and her own insecurities. In IF I SHOULD DIE, Lucy realizes she loves Sean … only they have to survive before she can tell him.
