Don’t be alarmed. Book 3 will happen. In fact, Book 3 work has begun.

Ever since I set up the preorder pages for Tangled Roots, I’ve been thinking about Book 3. Right now, the file name is “Hidden Gifts” although I also have “Longest Night” in the back of my mind. I’ve typed one line in the file, and I already know I’m going to delete it.

I stepped back and spent a couple weeks with my writing journals. I’ve made lists of what must be addressed in the larger story in the next installment. I’ve written backstory and timelines for “what really happened” to make sure continuity is up to snuff. However, the hardest part – until recently – was settling on the starting point.

Where to start Driftless Spirits wasn’t very hard. Charlotte’s strange recurring dream needed to be described, and the most obvious person Charlotte would describe it to was her best friend, Ivy. That launches the road trip and her arrival in Casten’s Horn. Layering in a present-day crime to Charlotte’s journey of discovery (and self-discovery) was the hardest part to writing the story. In the end, Book 1 set a solid foundation for Charlotte’s new world. It’s an origin story with hints of hidden secrets and more to come.

In a sense, that made writing Tangled Roots easier. It starts with a storm and sets a foreboding mood, setting the scene for a new discovery in the first few chapters. The hardest part to writing Book 2 wasn’t the story or where to start; it was telling it to its greatest effect.

Tangled Roots casts the bigger issues in Casten’s Horn in a firm light, and only Charlotte can solve them as the caretaker of Casten House. I know what needs to happen in Book 3 (I’d tell you but, you know, spoilers…). However, I’ve only this week figured out the present-day crime that travels through Book 3’s tale as more of the past is uncovered and Charlotte drives towards understanding what needs to be done to set things right.

Where does Book 3 start? Almost certainly (I haven’t written it yet), it starts with a break-in at the library/community center. The storage room is a treasure trove of relics from the past and letters from the dead. But, what was stolen, by whom, and why? If Charlotte can’t find out, she’ll never rid Casten’s Horn of its greatest threat.