I’m now at the 60% mark in my third book, The Earl and the Artificer. I’ve already had my mid-book panic/meltdown and have overcome it through outlining and trying to maintain a level head since. Trying is the key word here since that involved dowsing myself in coffee, walking in circles until nearly wearing out the floor, and probably a bit of incoherent babbling.
Between freak-outs, I have decided that after this book is finished, the “direction” of the Ingenious Mechanical Devices series will change slightly. I don’t know if the books will alternate between Eilian-and-Hadley and Immanuel-Emmeline-Adam anymore because I have a lot more stories in my head for Adam-Immanuel-Emmeline. Book four is definitely going to be for the trio, and book five more than likely will too.
The reason for this is that I really want to move toward the dark, paranormal side of the steampunk/historical-fantasy world. I’m drawn toward ghosts, mythical creatures, and paranormal entities lurking in the London fog.
Does this mean there won’t be more adventures for Eilian and Hadley after The Earl and the Artificer?
No, I am definitely leaving the possibility open for future stories with them. I love them dearly, but their relatives are calling to me more than they are. For now, they will be on hiatus after book three.
For the past few days, I toyed with whether or not to start a whole new series devoted to Adam-Immanuel-Emmeline. Honestly, it doesn’t make sense to. Readers would end up coming to the world in the new series not knowing who the characters are or what the world they live in is like. I don’t really feel like doing that with a new series even if the characters are pre-existing. It makes more sense to go on with the series and simply shift the focus. Who knows if Eilian and Hadley will be the focus for book five or six.
Either way, I feel this is the right decision for me, and I just wanted to make my readers aware of the change.
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Kara Jorgensen 
Great post! I think you have to go where the stories take you and I really liked The Winter Garden with Immanuel, Emmeline, and Adam as the main characters. Although, I’m looking forward to book three, the tempting posts and descriptions of the book are intriguing, a real mystery! 🙂
Thanks 🙂 Hopefully you will enjoy book three. I just love Adam, Immanuel, and Emmeline and find my mind trailing to them more often. I hope to have book three out by the end of this year or early next year at the latest.
You’ll definitely make it!! You’re speeding along, and I’m anticipating a great book!! Some characters stick in your mind and you just have to write their story/stories! 🙂