Nick Posh Line Up.

     A man I work with, and who has made an appearance (sort of) in one of my modern books, a drama titled "Dion", asked me recently how it is that I know what it is that I'm going to write in the future. He said something like, "People write a book and it takes years to do it, but you've written six or so this past year that I've known you.' I don't get it. How do you do that? How do you know what you're going to write?" Well, I have the good answer to that, but when I told him he wasn't sure I was sane - he may be right.

    I told him I have voices in my head that talk to me all the time. I listen to them, and I see which voice is the loudest, or the more persistent, and that's the next book.  As it stands, Nick Posh, the American Detective from the 1930s (now, he'll progress), is the one who shows up more than anyone else. He's inside my brain, living rent-free, and has for well over twenty-five years. Now, my sweet Highland husband, Craig Allen Mackenzie, also lives in my head; he talks to me, but there's no way I could write down what he and I discuss.

    So, I thought I would run through what is now, to date, the lineup for the Nick Posh books. I think I have something like 14 or 15 planned. I've written 6 so far, and will start the 7th, in earnest, tomorrow. Let's see how it goes:

Murder Book  (June 1929 to Jan 1, 1930)Pinball  19301211  1931 or soMesa 1932Stratford 1933Cask   (Early 1934)Amicus Curiae (March 1934 to June)Heir (1934 June to August)Shadow (September 1934 - March 1935)Boom (March 1935 to July 1935)Stollen  (late summer 1935- end of year)Kingdom  (January 1936-May 1936)Deathmask ( June 1936 - January 1937)Dance (Spring 1937)    So there you have it, 14 Posh books. I'm writing #7 now. It will be a couple of years before I finish them all. I have other books in my head too; romance novels, dramas, and more, but Posh is feeding me with stories about his life, his love, his antics, and what happens, and I can't simply ignore him. If I try to somehow pack him away inside my head or force him back with other thoughts, he shows up out of nowhere and demands my attention.
    For the life of me, I can't understand why I let so much time skip between the books at first. I shouldn't have done that, but I did. I may go back and change the timelines on books like "Dance" and "Boom." I may have them use flashbacks as a means to explain it all -- "Dance" is that way for sure. It is a book about Nick's life before he joined the army, before he became a cop, and before he became a detective.  "Stollen" uses flashbacks to explain things, but I think "Boom" and "Dance" will take place in the past.
    
    I don't want to get too far up the timeline - Alistair will grow as the books get written. He can't remain a pre-teen forever. He'll take over more and more pages, and eventually, Alistair will go to law school and begin his life. I haven't decided yet if he'll stay in Oklahoma or move back to Scotland. We'll have to see how it all plays out. I know what Nick wants. He wants his son to stay innocent and carefree - don't we all wish that for our kids?
    
    Well, that's how I decide. I have help. I have the ideas, the thoughts, the voices, the playbook, actually, and before I actually outline anything, I ask what would logically happen, and if I can get it straight, I try not to screw up the timeline too badly. I can't even remember when Nick and Elaine's anniversary is. They didn't get married until either "Mesa" or "1211" -- I'll have to go look. Alistair was 7 or 8.  They're about to have another baby, but Elaine won't go into labor until "Heir" is released. 

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