Plenty of real-life things cross into the books. I saw a man walking his dog and his rooster. So it went into the story. Characters get named after my friends’ new babies. Most of my story ideas come from seeds of things that fascinate me in real life.
For example, there are people all over the world who swear they were taught to spell dilemma with an N, as dilemna. Clearly this is proof that people from another, nearly-identical universe must have crossed over into our universe with their wrong spelling. The more likely explanation is a typo in some textbooks, but that doesn’t make this subject any less fascinating to me. Other people share this fascination — there’s even a website about the “dilemna dilemma.”
That spelling issue was just a short mention in this book, but other things become the basis for plots. I didn’t have a dollhouse growing up, but I always found them fascinating and a bit creepy. Perhaps if I’d had my own, I would have only fond feelings about dollhouses. When I first began writing about the Riddle family, I had an image in my head that Zoey might find a dollhouse in the attic. But then, a year ago (Wisteria Warned has been over a year in the planning), I came across an article about Frances Glessner Lee, a woman who, in the 1930s and 40s, created crime scene dioramas called the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. Several of her nutshells are still being used, to this day, to train crime scene investigators. Her attention to detail was incredible. Well!! Suddenly two ideas collided and I had the beginning of Wisteria Warned. Here’s my hat tip to Ms. Lee, who was an incredible woman who made remarkable contributions to modern forensics.
On the other hand, sometimes I hold back my favorite things. For example, I love the word “jaunty.” I just did a search on my file that has all of the Wisteria books, and the word jaunty doesn’t appear even once. I’m sure it’s in plenty of my other books, unless I delete it whenever I see it out of fear of overusing it? (The word appears only two times in my five-book Stormy Day series.)
FYI, in case you’re wondering, there are now 780,000 words in the Wisteria universe, across these last 9 books. Not counting any author’s notes! For comparison, the Harry Potter series is just over a million words. So, if I want to write something longer than Harry Potter, it will take a few more books! And yes, I do want to surpass a million words. I don’t know how many Wisteria Witches books there will be, or how long between releases, but as long as you keep reading, I’ll keep writing. Six of the books are available in audiobook form, with more on the way, so I’m excited to be reaching a new audience of audiophiles. And, in case you haven’t heard any of them, the audiobooks are so much fun. Hearing the narrators bring the characters to life is not the same as having them in your head, but it’s sort of like seeing the movie version, except better, because nothing’s left out. Once my narrators have caught up to my writing, you will have the option of getting future books in either ebook, print, or audiobook on release day.
I will begin writing book ten now. I have very few notes for book ten and beyond, unlike the previous two, which had been in the outline stage for a year by the time I wrote them. Actually, the last two books were planned as three books, but some big events got moved around and combined.
Book ten, WISHFUL WISTERIA, will be Zara's point of view.
There will be more from the other characters in future stories. I’ll try to label the blurbs clearly so you can understand which character the books focus on, and where things fit in the timeline. My plan is to keep moving forward in time from now on without jumping back too much. I’ve been writing this series for a few years, and yet less than six months of story time has passed between the first and ninth book. Now things will move forward more rapidly. I mean... I say this now, but who knows? Things happen. Creativity strikes.
You may have noticed Wisteria Warned had a feeling of things being wrapped up. We found out Corvin’s a hell hound (that was a long time coming!), Kathy revealed herself to her coworkers as a sprite (she’s Karl Kormac’s cousin), Chessa got closure, Zoey now has a relationship with her dad, Zara has met the final local coven member and can be a part of that group (careful what you wish for, Zara!), and it turns out Dr. Ankh’s vampire serum is good for repairing Grampa Don’s brainweevil damage. Plus now we know why it seemed that Winona Vander Zalm tried to kill Zara via sleeptoasting back in book one. It was Mahra, messing with the timeline all along! And now that’s all wrapped up. (For now.) If Wisteria were a TV series, book 9 would represent the second-to-last episode of Season One. Having the Moore family move away does make it feel like an ending of sorts. It made me sad, but also happy for them. They will have a great time in London without us. London is fun for supernaturals.
Book 10 will be a season closer, but also the start of new things. That’s all I can say for now, other than there will be at least one new family member getting involved. If you've just read chapter 37 of this book (I can safely assume you have!), you already know who it is.
No spoilers about Bentley and Zara. But that’s going to be fun, too.
The end of this book finds me on a positive page in the story of my own life. So positive that when I reviewed the author’s note from the previous book, I was confused about which bothersome relationship issue I was making reference to. Then I remembered what the kerfuffle had been, and I had to laugh. Time really does wash away the details of those minor heartbreaks. These things need not linger as pain (or ghosts) for us to hold onto the lessons we’ve learned. I’m happy to say things in my life are currently harmonious. My only source of distress is that I’m painting the bricks surrounding my wood stove, and the gritty mortar sucks up so much paint. I’ve done three coats of primer—good quality primer!—and I’m still not ready for the final paint color. Ah, to have such good fortune for this to be my current source of frustration.
I am grateful for my troubles, for I’d rather have them than anyone else’s.
And I’m grateful for the opportunity to tell these fun stories. Thanks for your support, and I wish you well!
Love, Angela
Angela Pepper Series Reading Order
Wisteria Witches - available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook!
Wisteria Witches Mysteries (Zara Riddle)
#1 - Wisteria Witches
#2 - Wicked Wisteria
#3 - Wisteria Wonders
#4 - Watchful Wisteria
#5 - Wisteria Wyverns
Wisteria Witches Mysteries - City Hall (Zinnia Riddle) #1 - Wolves of Wisteria
#2 - Wisteria Wrinkle
Wisteria Witches Mysteries - Daybreak (Zara Riddle) #1 - Wardens of Wisteria
#2 - Wisteria Warned
#3 - Wishful Wisteria - coming SUMMER 2019
...and more to come!
Completed Series:
Stormy Day Mysteries - available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook!
#1 - Death of a Dapper Snowman #2 - Death of a Crafty Knitter #3 - Death of a Batty Genius #4 - Death of a Modern King #5 - Death of a Double Dipper
Restless Spirits of the Southwest - available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook!
#1 - Date with a Ghost
#2 - Interview with a Ghost #3 - Dancing with a Ghost
Eli Carter & the Ghost Hackers - available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook!
#1 - The Cat Who Went Bump in the Night #2 - The Ghost Who Wasn't There #3 - The Dog Who Barked Fire
For Angela's news, visit www.angelapepper.com
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