Mabel and the Muse

This month I promised to talk about issues that pop up as I write book two of the Dream Stalker series. These issues fall into two categories: day-to-day issues that come up as I write, like how do I introduce a new character; and how I find those invisible issues I’m too close to the manuscript to see.

Recently, I arrived at the middle of the book and decided it was time to identify some of those invisible issues. This is where I have an ace up my sleeve, a beta reader named Samantha Murphy (https://www.samanthamurphy.net) who agreed to read the first twenty chapters. For those who don’t know, a beta reader is an early reader who helps a writer identify problems they’ve missed before publication.

One problem identified by Samantha intrigued me. She asked how Lily Scott runs her herbal studio, Healing Thyme, and still has time to run off and solve mysteries. Now that my blindfold was off, I used one of my favorite problem-solving methods for day-to-day issues: I went for a walk in a nearby park.

During that walk, a character I’d discarded a few years back popped into my head—her name is Mabel Adams. So, this month, please meet Mabel Adams. She’d be happy to answer any questions in the comment section of this post.

Mabel Adams

Hello, love. My name is Mabel Adams and, blimey, do I have a problem—Roger’s family, the bloody toffs. They’re scheming to put me in a nursing home because they want Roger’s estate. They’ve even hired a barrister to prove I’ve gone nutters.

Well, I’ve got a barrister of my own, and he says as long as I’ve got a job at Healing Thyme, he can prove Roger’s family is wrong.

The Adams family never thought me good enough for the dear boy when he brought a London Eastender home to Salem as his bride. From the moment we met in 1970, we knew we were meant for each other. He’d be gutted if he knew what they were after doing to me.

Actually, I also have another problem. I can’t decide if I should tell my governor I know her secret. Lily doesn’t even know I knew her grandmother, Sadie. Or that Sadie told me about Lily and dream-walking. Sadie and I were mates right until the poor woman died. She was only sixty-three, ten years younger than I am now. A heart attack after saving Lily from that Stalker monster.

She’d be proud to know Lily’s become a smashing herbalist, maybe even better than Sadie, maybe even better than my ma, who grew medicinal herbs during World War II for the British government.

I’d love to talk to Lily about her grandmother, but what if she fired me because I knew the truth? Probably not. But you never know what folks will do. Roger never guessed his family would go against his wishes. So, for now, I’ll keep Sadie’s secret, and continue to do the work that I love.

Nice to meet you, love, but now I fancy it’s time for tea and biscuits. I’m knackered and need to be full of beans for work tomorrow. I don’t usually work on Thursdays, but Lily asked me to come in. She seemed to be worried I’d say no. What she doesn’t know is I’d work eight days a week if that’s what it took to outwit Roger’s bloody family.