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My original intention was to write Constance as a sequel, following on from the main character’s partnership formed with Jason in Crusader. I next considered Constance as a prequel, but the story will now be a standalone.

Not fully conversant with the differences?

A sequel is usually produced after the first story, film or whatever. A prequel is produced after the existing story, (in this case, Crusader), but the new tale is written about a prior time period. A standalone, unsurprisingly, may or may not be connected to another story, but can be read independently.

Why have I opted for individual stories instead of creating a mini-series?

My intention had been to reveal Constance using flashbacks, conversation, documents, media, events, and suchlike. Instead, the story will introduce the character before she meets Jason, aka Crusader.

The Constance character is firmly established in my mind, so I know her back story, and how she interacts with others. My aim is to highlight Constance as an individual, although at some stage the tale will blend with the original. Her story will not end when she meets Jason; it will continue, featuring the crime-fighting heroine in her own right.

Fans of the ‘Beyond The Law‘, or ‘Codename‘ stories will be pleased to learn that well-loved characters will make a cameo appearance.

When I have a clear idea of a time-frame for beta reading, final edits, and publishing, I’ll give everyone a heads-up with a post here.

For those who are interested, Crusader is selling regularly, although thanks to Amazon’s restrictive practises regarding reviews, it doesn’t look that way. The book recently won a gold award in the Thriller/Horror category in the Connections eMagazine, and a bronze award for cover design. Needless to say I was delighted with such recognition, and publicity.

As always, thank you for comments, suggestions, and dropping by.

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Crusader is available as an eBook, and the paperback edition will follow soon.

Once again, I immersed myself in the story, aiming to create not only believable, but memorable characters and situations. There are only so many plots irrespective of the genre, so it’s the duty of the author to create twists and turns to develop the tale from the first word to the last.

Writers often create a formula which works for their readers, and while this is acceptable, it is the differences that will spell success or failure for an individual story.

Another area that can affect how a new tale is received is the length. My first draft of this story ended at 120k words. It took a lot of work to reduce it to 112k words which is how it went out to my beta readers. In response to their feedback, and because I wanted to tighten up the narrative, I reduced the content to 106k words.

As explained in a previous post, my secondary character was taking centre stage too often, so I removed whole chapters, and Constance deserved her own story. You’ll see from my Work in Progress that her tale will be the sequel to Crusader.

For those of you interested in such things, a handful of characters from the Beyond The Law and Codename titles play cameo roles in Crusader, and they earn the right to be there. I may get Constance: Crusader – Part 2, underway, but I’m in no rush. It has to feel like a different hero taking the lead, and to create that, I must leave the Jason and Constance team alone for a short while.

If you’ve never read my crime thrillers, this would be a good one to try. If you have read my work, I’m confident that you’ll enjoy Crusader.

Thank you, once again for valuable input from fellow author, Carmen Lopez, and from IASD authors: Lesley Hayes, Barbara Speake, Penny Luker, and Ruth Coulson.

My thanks also to those who take the time to read my work, and this writing blog.

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