Secrets Destroy is the fastest novel I have written. And it took the longest to settle on a title. There were so many bad choices. 

 

I started the book immediately after I finished Secrets Never Stay Buried and was done in about two months. By the time I completed the first novel in the series, I was so in tune with the characters I didn’t have to think about how they would respond. I remember telling a friend I was starting to dream about Chris and Angie. And I might have named my car after Maria. He replied I needed to get out more. Good advice. 

 

Developing My Process

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This is the first novel I started listening to music while I typed. I no longer have the playlist, but I remember being hooked on Jason Aldean’s Night Train song. I probably racked up 300 plays on that track getting through the book. I loved the building tempo and line, “A billion stars.” It felt like Shady County to me. 

 

In addition to learning more about how to write a story, I have also looked inward to determine what leads to my best writing. One of my first discoveries was I do my best work when happy. I’m not a person who can pour depression onto the page while experiencing it. Once I am through dark times, I can share them with readers, but not during. Just the way I am.

 

I also find muses in multiple forms, often entertainment. A great movie, TV show, song, or book usually inspires me to create. Since this novel, I have always created themed playlists for stories and sometimes characters. 

 

When talking about muses, it would be criminal not to mention caffeine. Especially Coco-Cola. Yes, I am addicted to Coke. I limit myself to one 12 oz can of Coke Zero a day, usually flavored with cherry or orange. What can I say? It works for me. 

 

Best Laid Plans 

 

Compared to my two previous stories, this one had the fewest changes. I believe it is because I spent 80,000 odd words in Secrets Never Stay Buried writing myself into this book. Hmm, is that a lesson about writing a series?

 

There were three changes worth nothing. First, I did rewrite the beginning three or four times. After I had my eyes opened to the slow opening in Secrets Never Stay Buried (which I fixed before releasing), I realized this book started slow, too. I also struggled to find the right setting to introduce Doug. For the longest time, he was a bodyguard for an unkind rich businessman, but I could never get it right. 

 

One night, the book Gods seemed to type the new opening through my fingers, and I haven’t looked back. Or at least not since my beta readers agreed. Self-doubt and writing seem to go together more often than peanut butter and jelly. 

 

The next significant change was that Coronado did not appear until page 42 in the first draft. In revision, I moved this up to jump start the tension. 

 

The last change was Miguel didn’t show up in the original manuscript until the final fight with Chris. I reached the scene and realized I needed a notable foe. In hindsight, it seems impossible to have missed that for a couple of hundred pages. Sadly, it is not the first time I have missed something obvious. Anyway, I wrote the scene as if he had always been there and inserted him throughout the book during the second draft. 

 

Decisions

 

I know I made some unpopular choices with a couple of my characters in this book. I love the anti-hero concept, but there are some traits that make me who I am. Call it my code. I believe in family, which Chris does, too. However, he struggles to accept that families often don’t remain the picture-perfect representation you find in happy TV shows, and you must love the family you have at that time. I also feel people who break certain rules need to be punished, even if it is not against the law and are characters you might cheer for.  

 

I’m excited to return to Pine Ridge to conclude the Coronado and Chris story line, and hopefully, you are too.