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Hello
Most writers will tell you that a novel starts with an idea, often a small idea, or a single scene. Then comes the "what if?" game.
That's how it was for me. I had decided I was going to write a novel. Unfortunately, I had no idea what it was going to be about. Then came the germ of an idea: an ethereal woman sitting at the edge of a pool. Just that scene; nothing more. I saw her as a glowing, incandescent creature. What if she was an angel? What if someone saw her? The pool I envisioned seemed more like a memory than an invention. What if it was the spectacular Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle, a place I had seen years before?
I kept asking "what if?" until the whole story of The Angel's Cup unfolded.
The "what if?" scene that started The Angel's Key was Amanda's car crash (though I didn't know her name was Amanda yet). What if a person was whisked out of her car an instant before it crashed? What if she was left standing next to her car, unhurt, watching it burn? I loved this idea, because there were so many questions inherent in it. Where was she taken? Who took her? Why? How could it happen? How would she react?
I kicked that idea around for a very long time. I could only go so far with it. The final breakthrough came when I discovered the story of the Morro Castle. I read everything I could find about the ill-fated ship and her passengers. I could almost hear the click of the key turning in the lock, opening up the whole story.
While The Angel's Key has raced to its inevitable and, for me, very satisfying conclusion, I can't help thinking there's more to the story. I haven't discovered yet whose story it will be. What if...?
In any case, The Angel's Key sequel will have to wait until I finish the screenplay. Only 80 pages left to write, and then rewrite, edit, revise, polish, proofread...
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