It all began with a notebook. A beautiful and hardcover notebook. Black cover with a red spine. "Black n Red" printed on the cover. When I held it, I knew it was meant to be. At that moment, I could tell you nothing more than Black and Red were a dynamic duo solving crimes. So the notebook sat on my desk while I pondered away. Soon after, the Sherlock Holmes movie came out and I was busy rereading all my favorite Victorian mysteries. I only knew I wanted to write something Victorian myself, but I still wasn't sure.
That cold winter, our house lost power for days. No electric! No internet! No TV! Instead, I sat with my notebook and began writing by candlelight. I pictured a young woman, set against the strict Victorian culture while occupied with finding her father's killer. While I wanted Victorian England, I wanted something different than foggy London. I was tempted by Oxford, but it didn't feel right to me. Soon after, I was rereading my favorite Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey. Bath! The scandalous city rumored to cater to every whim of Lord Byron. While the inspiration wasn't Victorian, I finally had a home for Scarlet and Colby.
My darling duo essentially wrote themselves. Which seems to be author speak for the characterization happening very smoothly. I love independent Scarlet and rascal Colby. I could go on and on about their little nuances, but this is the origin story of the series. I'll ramble about them later...
After writing several chapters, I had started to picture the future of the series. I came up with a series of unique crimes and criminals, but something was missing. Black And Redd Mysteries was an easy name for the series itself, but what about the books? Our Fathers struck me because Scarlet kept saying it every other page. After scribbling out random names and a series of religious discussions with my parents, an idea struck me. I scribbled out The Lord's Prayer and began circling phrases. Into Temptation. From Evil. Our Daily Bread. Book titles! It seemed like an obvious answer, yet I was extremely proud of myself.
At the same time, I was trying to give this series its own unique twist. I was starting to get into steampunk at the time, so I naturally combined the two. Those ideas did not end well. Robots randomly filled pages with no purpose other than to make it steampunk. It bothered me, so I reverted back to the original and historical draft. I'd make my grand entry into steampunk eventually, but I didn't want it to hinder Scarlet and Colby.
As I said before, the first book is currently with a publisher and I'm slowly working on the rest of the series. I know how I want it all to end, but then again I don't want it to. I know that Scarlet would happily spend the rest of her life solving mysteries. Colby is not decided on the matter, and I agree with him there. We all will just have to wait and see.
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