Alyssa Maxwell
We plan, and the
gods laugh.
It’s a saying
most of us are familiar with and have come up against at various times in our
lives. Usually, it’s over minor inconveniences. But for writers, or anyone who
works according to their own terms and schedules, it’s a particularly vital concept.
It’s not just about getting the work done. When considering a deadline, writers
have to factor in time spent plotting and researching, marketing and promoting,
but also things like illnesses, emergencies, and other unforeseen events.
At those times,
writing can be both a blessing and a burden. When life spun out of control for
me and my family last summer, I spent weeks afterward numb and in a kind of
suspended animation. Writing was out of the question. The words on the page
didn’t even make sense to me. I had not one but two deadlines approaching, but
the drive, creativity, and, most of all, the self-discipline to sit down and
write were simply gone. There were times I didn’t think they could ever come
back. And there were times when it just didn’t seem important to me anymore. But
I needed that time away. It was necessary.
Luckily for me,
my publisher was extremely understanding and accommodating. One deadline was
simply put off for another year, and the other extended by a few months. Yet
the thought of going back to work loomed over me like impending doom. How would
I ever find the concentration to string words together the way I wanted them—needed
them—to be for the book I had initially intended to write?
It was Murder at
The Elms, the 11th book in my Gilded Newport series, a series I
started over ten years ago and which has become part of who I am, as a writer
and an individual. Anyone who knows me understands the importance Newport has
in my life. It was never just a setting, but has always run so much deeper,
even long before I knew I would become a writer. So there could be no
half-hearted attempt to finish this book, no spouting of words just to fill
pages. I had to find a way to be present in the process—to care, to be both
subjective and objective, and to be able to put into it the thing I had lost—my
heart.
I’ll tell you how
I did it.
First, I had to seriously
ask myself if I wanted to continue to be a writer. Some days, I didn’t have an
answer. But on the days when I did, I began, slowly, to turn my mind to the
story I had started several months earlier. I allowed it back into my
headspace, which also meant shoving aside, even for short periods of time, all
those other thoughts that had come to crowd my brain. And I realized that, for
those moments, it felt good to be back with my characters. I’m not talking
about actively writing. That came a bit later, but just thinking about Emma
Cross and the others, and about being in Newport, became a comfort.
It was not
without trepidation that I finally opened the file. At first I only read,
starting on page one, to put myself back in the story. Then, finally, I’d write
a paragraph or two, and then a page or two. That little bit felt like a
breakthrough and an accomplishment. Gradually, and I can’t emphasize that word
enough, I worked up to my normal output per day—at least, most days. Some days,
I still have to put it aside. That’s ok. Because I had learned that it was still
there—the creativity, the drive, and even the self-discipline. And finding that
all still alive inside me gave me back a part of my life I could control. I
could still lose myself in characters, settings, and plotlines, where justice
prevails and good people triumph. Life might and probably will interfere again
someday, but now I know unequivocally that writing, being a writer, IS
important to me, and that no matter what happens, I’ll always be able to find
my way back.
Bio:
Alyssa Maxwell,
a former nonfiction and fiction editor, knew from an early age that she
wanted to be a writer. Growing up in New England and traveling to Great Britain
fueled a passion for history, while a love of puzzles and atmospheric
literature drew her to the mystery genre. She is the author of The Gilded Newport Mysteries and A Lady and Lady’s Maid Mysteries. She
and her husband live in Florida, where she is a member of the Florida Chapter
of the Mystery Writers of America and the South Florida Fiction Writers. You
can learn more about Alyssa and her books at www.alyssamaxwell.com and connect with her on social media at these links:
https://www.facebook.com/gildednewport
https://www.facebook.com/AlyssaMaxwellauthor/
https://twitter.com/Alyssa__Maxwell
https://www.instagram.com/alyssamaxwellauthor/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7163135.Alyssa_Maxwell
Book Blurb:
Murder at The Elms, A Gilded Newport
Mystery #11
Coming August 22, 2023
As the nineteenth century comes to a
close, the illustrious Vanderbilt family dominates Newport, Rhode Island, high
society. But when murder arrives, reporter Emma Cross learns that sometimes the
actions of the cream of society can curdle one’s blood in the latest
installment of this bestselling cozy historical mystery series . . .
1901: Back from their honeymoon in Italy, Emma and Derrick are adapting to
married life as they return to their duties at their jointly owned newspaper,
the Newport Messenger. The Elms, coal baron Edward Berwind’s newly
completed Bellevue Avenue estate, is newsworthy for two reasons: A modern
mansion for the new century, it is one of the first homes in America to be
wired for electricity with no backup power system, generated by coal from
Berwind’s own mines. And their servants—with a single exception—have all gone
on strike to protest their working conditions. Summarily dismissing and
replacing his staff with cool and callous efficiency, Berwind throws a grand
party to showcase the marvels of his new “cottage.”
Emma and Derrick are invited to the fete, which culminates not only in a
fabulous musicale but an unforeseen tragedy—a chambermaid is found dead in the
coal tunnel. In short order, it is also discovered that a guest’s diamond
necklace is missing and a laborer has disappeared.
Detective Jesse Whyte entreats Emma and Derrick to help with the investigation
and determine whether the murdered maid and stolen necklace are connected. As
the dark deeds cast a shadow over the blazing mansion, it’s up to Emma to shine
a light on the culprit . . .
