I have a clear, well fairly clear, mental outline of where "Winter's Wonderland" will go. But oddly, this makes me a little uncomfortable. I'll tell you why.
Some of my characters and plot lines are based on books I've read by authors I admire. But other characters, the important ones anyway, are lightly disguised portraits of people I love.
So, seeing the end of this story - - and I know how silly this seems - - is sort of like seeing the ends of our lives.
Is this irrational? Of course it is. But somehow I've boxed myself into where I'm identifying so closely with Walker, Vanessa and Daddy, that I'm a little scared to let them go.
Very unprofessional.
Maybe that's the point. I'm far from a professional writer.
I was pleased that Robert Coover has written a new novel, "Huck Out West." If a professional author can 'steal' one of America's most iconic characters, Huckleberry Finn, I don't feel too bad about 'borrowing' from my favorite mystery writers!
Some e-mailers who wait until a story is finished before taking it up, have asked me for an estimate. My guess … "Winter's Wonderland" will come to an end this month or early in April.
Paige