In Conversation with…Myself

From time to time I dive back into the earlier Owen Archer novels to check what I’d written about a character who is showing up again in the latest book. As I did this on the weekend, and felt I was in conversation with myself, asking what I’d been thinking about years ago. It’s a curious experience. Despite the decades since writing this particular pair of books I found passages that took me back into the moment of first writing them, my doubts, my hesitations, and then that frisson of pleasure when I satisfied myself—yes, this is what I see in my mind, yes. Happily, they’ve stood the test of time.

I also catch snippets of thoughts, Owen’s and other characters’, that remind me of their past troubles, worries, intentions, hopes, joys, sorrows. Over time those slip away, but we all know how easily old moods can be resurrected—a chance encounter, a comment, a scent, a fragment of song. It’s helpful to refresh my memory about my characters’ internal lives. No database of facts about characters can catch this depth—it would be far too long.

Though rereading takes time I don’t consider it a burden. It’s fun to revisit previous episodes and rediscover tidbits that I can use now. There are benefits to writing a long running series. I have the space and leisure to follow characters across books (covering a little over a decade in their lives in many cases) and imagine how their lived experiences have changed them, for better or ill. I can build on encounters in earlier books, or simply return to a character whose story didn’t feel finished. Or I might flesh out an incident mentioned in passing that will deepen a character. I’m fortunate in being fond of most of the characters—actually all in one way or another–even if I’m just grateful that they remain characters I enjoy disliking, providing convenient foils for other characters.

I’ve teased you with the covers of the two books I reviewed on the weekend, the two books, 6 and 7 in the series, set in Wales. I wrote them after spending several months in Wales to get a sense of Owen’s roots. I fell in love with the Pembrokeshire Coast, and particularly St David’s (the photo is an aisle in St David’s Cathedral). Aberystwyth to the north holds wonderful memories for me as well. Once I’d experienced Wales, I simply had to let Owen return for a while.

I know, now you are wondering if I’ve taken Owen back to Wales. No, the next book is set in York and Yorkshire. So why was I reviewing this pair of books? You’ll need to wait to read the book–I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you!