When someone writes and says they love your story you hope that there are lots of others out there who enjoyed it, but just haven't written. If a couple of people write and say they're upset then you know there are a lot more out there who are also upset.
I'm talking about killing off Millie, which has not been well received, and it seems that some people think Jake has a poison penis! There are several reasons as to why I did that, some of which I can't talk about because they are part of the ongoing story. Let me say first that Amelia will be fine and will reappear at a later date.
Now, in Victorian times, and up to within living memory, childbirth was a very dangerous affair, and the chances of losing either mother, child, or both were very good. So poor Caroline, who had already been sidelined was destined for the chop which created quite a lot of drama for the story.
Millie was never going to be exciting character, pretty girl, enthusiastic in bed, good mother, what more could you want? Characters who can create more drama like Victoria, Mary and Hermione that's what. So from the story point of view she had to go. I didn't do it lightly and I was upset. As to how she went, at that time city traffic was building, there was little control and despite the fact that maximum speeds were only a little in excess of 20mph (and mainly much slower) there were nevertheless a lot of casualties. People bounce off cars at that speed, they go under horses, and carriage wheels have a much higher loading per square whatever.
So, there we are, I could be like the Queen, who told the King of Spain when he opjected to Charles and Diana landing in Gibraltar, 'It's my son, my naval base, and my protectorate', but I'd rather say sorry, it's just the way the story goes. Remember, it isn't always the baddies who bite the dust!
Martin