All Good Things Must Come to an End: the Bittersweet Emotions Concluding a Series.

During lockdown, I wrote 50,000 words on a time-jump novel – a love story. It was good, but I had the annoying habit of killing people – too many for a romance, my agent dryly pointed out.

So, the book was a duff, but the characters – grumpy, loner Robin Butler and chatty Freya West – stuck in my head. I returned to my happy place, and started writing a police procedural. I had an idea – that a man would be found dead in a hotel room with all the markers of a tragic accident, but where the cop he was having an affair with suspected more sinister goings-on. That became Last Place You Look – the first in the Butler and West series.

Robin Butler and Freya West have been an absolute joy to write. Some characters arrive fully formed and Robin was exactly that. From the beginning I knew how he would react in any circumstance, down to what he would say and the expression on his face. I even knew what he looked like.

This makes the process of writing a book incredibly easy. Or at least – easier! Half of the battle of a first draft is getting to know the characters. But with Butler and West that was sorted from the off. All I needed was a pesky plot. No mean feat!

There was a downside – they had an incredible amount of backstory. I have spreadsheets detailing mannerisms, descriptions, timelines, ages and murder victims. Exposition can get boring and wordy – necessary for those who hadn’t read the books before but not so much it gives previous plots away. Thank goodness for editors, to give feedback on the worst of this.

But as someone I deeply loved, I had a habit of putting Robin through the worst of situations. He starts the series utterly alone and depressed, and across five books – trying to avoid spoilers – his best friend is arrested for murder, he’s been punched in the face, dumped by his girlfriend, and put into hospital twice.

And that’s not mentioning his long-standing crush on Freya.

From the beginning, Robin and Freya were destined to be together. But, as in all good romances, the path of true love can never run smooth.

Putting a love story into a crime book has met with mixed reviews from readers. Personally, I love it. The best thrillers have an element of romance – the Strike series by Robert Galbraith, Josh and Maeve as written by Jane Casey, Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta and Wesley. It is human to fall in love. We invest our time in these people; we care. 

Even with the best of these novels, a writer can’t keep star-crossed lovers apart forever. I wanted Robin and Freya to fall in love – they deserved their happy ending. But it’s bittersweet. Once together, they can’t work as partners in the police force. So, in my head at least, the series had to end.

Completing that final proofread of Out of the Ashes was, I must confess, a little emotional. The book, and the series, is exactly how I wanted it to be and I have been overjoyed by ever single review and message from readers saying how much they’ve loved it. I will miss Robin. It’s a strange thing to say about a character that exists solely in my own head, but it’s true. If I’d spent as much time thinking about a real man as I have Robin, my husband would have reason to be concerned.

I am excited already about what’s next to come. I have just finished the first book in a new series. Finding the Dead follows PC Lucy Halliday, a police dog handler to her specialist search dog, Moss, as she comes to terms with the disappearance of her husband, eighteen months previously. But when they find a body in the woods, the subsequent murder investigation, under the watchful eye of DI Jack Ellis, gives Lucy pause. All this time, Lucy has suspected her husband is dead. A renowned journalist, he was investigating something new when he went missing. Could this woodland hold the answer?

There are dead bodies, dirty cops, dogs and deception. And a little romance – but not where you might expect it.

As for Butler and West, I still have plans. An idea is growing. So, who knows, they may yet return…

In the meantime, you have Lucy, Jack and Moss to keep you company. I hope you love them as much as I do.

Out of the Ashes by Louisa Scarr (Canelo Press) Out Now.

Stalking. Arson. Murder.Butler and West are back together... and the stakes have never been higher.When an old friend tells DS Freya West that she's being stalked by someone she met online, Freya promises to help. But there are no leads, and the dating site refuses to give up their data. To make matters more complicated, DI Robin Butler is back in town. He's investigating a string of arson attacks that have escalated to murder, and the cases seem to be connected somehow. They're going to need their wits about them... Because this is a killer more devious than any they've hunted before, and he wants to obliterate everything they hold dear.

You can find Louisa Scarr on X @paperclipgirl. And on Instagram @louisascarrwriter and on Facebook.

The Darker Side of a Blonde by Linda Regan

 

The Burning Question will be my ninth, published, novel. 

I always wanted to write, but being born into a show business family meant my career as an actress kicked in at an early age, consequently writing books took a back seat. However, I always kept a diary, and to day I am very grateful I did. I would highly recommend any budding author to do the same.

Mine was a kind of journal at a young age, methodical I’d say (ie: marmalade and toast for breakfast. Daddy learning to play Beatle songs on his guitar)! However, my diary scribbling changed when I was seventeen, and worked with Diana Dors.

I only had one line in a television show with her, and she was a Hollywood legend. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I was determined to make no mistakes and be professional. However, it wasn’t to be and on the day in question things went from bad to worse, with the consequence I arrived an hour late at the studio. The complete unit had been kept waiting for little me, who was a mere one-line actress. Diana too, had been kept waiting, sitting in her Winnebago for the whole hour that I was late. As I arrived the director was standing at the gates, and quite rightly shrieked at me, calling me unprofessional and extremely rude and threatened that I would never work again. I immediately burst into tears, making matters much worse, as my perfectly made-up face was now streaking black mascara down the cream foundation blended onto my face and making me look like Crewe Railway Station.

The make-up department then started yelling at me. That was the point that Diana Dors came out of her trailer, with hands raised and palms facing my angry employers, she told them all to, ‘Pipe down and stop yelling.’ She put her arm around me and took me to her trailer. There, she dried my eyes with a tissue, listened to my understandable reason for my lateness, and handed me a hand mirror telling me to redo my face while she made me a cup of sweet tea. That’s when she told me I should keep a diary, ‘As, when you are young and blonde and dolly, (her words), you got picked on a lot in this industry. She said she kept a diary because one day she intended to write her autobiography from it, (which she did, and I can highly recommend all volumes). 

I took her advice and when I read back my diary input from that day, I notice my writing style changed. Diana had, unknowingly, taught me to pour out my fears, emotions and feelings onto the blank page.

So that was my first lesson in crime writing. As an actress I have faced the terrors of many a first night in a play, the fear of forgetting lines, the fear of finding a theatre and a town when you are on the road, touring, alone. And then, finding your way back after a show, again, alone in the dark, in a strange town, to where you are living for the week your show is performing there. 

I now write about those stomach-churning moments, in the guise of my victims as I write my books.

I love creating characters (something I have done for many years as an actress, creating characters from larger than life, to timid, or quirky etc), and here’s where my police come in. They have colourful, hopefully, in some cases comedic and entertaining, personalities. They can bring the lightness and the dark to a tale, something I strongly believe every story needs. And again, who doesn’t love a bit of romance, there’s always a bit somewhere in my books. I think we all need that, too.

My latest crime novel – The Burning Question, is about arson. Personally, I have never been in a fire, and have no idea how it found its way into my mind, I did read arson attacks have increased greatly in London, where my book is set. But, the arson is only part of it. The puzzle comes in the question of who are the victims and what is their connection. The crimes are taking place miles apart, but the signs are the same. So, there is a serial arsonist who needs to be stopped. But with no clues to who or why, most of the murder team are baffled. However, a new, and very young police recruit has worked it out. If she offers this information, she will put her own life in a perilous situation, but if she doesn’t, how many more young victims will meet that terrible end?

Enter an unexpected clue, or person, that sets the whole force watching their backs.

The Burning Question by Linda Regan (Headline Accent) Out Now

When an arson attack strikes in south London, leaving three people dead, it quickly becomes clear that the youngest victim, Danielle Low, was the intended target. With no clear motive, and the killer at large, DCI Banham must act fast. But working with his partner, DI Alison Grainger, has its own challenges that threaten to stall the investigation. Then another body is found in similar circumstances and he knows that there is someone far more sinister at work. As they begin to unravel a dark web of secrets, the case unexpectedly leads close to home and with time of the essence, and the killer always one step ahead, can DCI Banham and his team work together to put a stop to the depravity before another life is lost?

More information about her work can be found on her website. You can also follow her on Twitter @Linda_Regan