You can get book ideas from anywhere and everywhere…
But usually the book that ends up being written is nothing like the original idea! I’m currently writing a 6-8 book series that now has two spin-off series of its own… and it all started with Mary Linton…
But some of you may be asking: Who in the hell is Mary Linton!?!?
Well, I’m glad you asked!
Mary Linton is a side character in the videogame Red Dead Redemption 2. Matter of fact, Mary Linton is the former lover of Arthur Morgan, the player character, in Red Dead Redemption 2.
As you may or may not know about me, depending on whether or not you follow my exploits on my various social channels (Instagram and Facebook being the mainstays), I very, very much love this game.
In fact, it was playing this game, and realizing how very much I loved it, that made me finally consciously realize how much I love the western genre in general! And which led to me entertaining the idea of writing a western-flavored book to begin with!
It’s an absolutely gorgeous game, with a great and ultimately heart-wrenching story. I was ugly crying by the end of it, I kid you not.
But as a huge fan of that “hurts so good” feeling you sometimes get from stories (I generally refer to that as “angst”), I loved Arthur and Mary’s relationship in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Let’s just say it’s … complicated.
If you want to know more, highlight the blank box below for the details. If, on the other hand, you’d rather remain spoiler-free, just skip on down to where the text resumes!
I loved the implications of their fling when they were younger…
How Mary got married to someone else, but then he died…
How she and Arthur reconnected and could have had something…
But he just couldn’t bring himself to change before it was too late…
AGH, my HEART!
So I thought… wouldn’t it be fun to explore that concept more? Dig a little deeper into that kind of relationship than what was done in the game?
Wouldn’t it be fun to see what might happen when an outlaw fell in love with a law-abiding woman, and had to choose between his love for her or his loyalty to the gang who had raised him?
So my brain starting ticking… thinking… what elements would make this a really hard choice for him? How could I dial up the angst to 11? (Which, I admit, is my very favorite thing to do…)
And even though the story has now hugely changed from that initial brainstorming, that, ladies and gentlemen, is how The Legacy of Lucky Logan series was born…
Book 1, Bargain at Bravebank, releases in (late) February! (But still, that’s next month!) WHOA! And I have some very big news to share relating to this book, too, coming up shortly!
Stay tuned… and if you’d like to follow my Red Dead Redemption 2 obsession and also some fun book-related stuff, you can always find me at the above-mentioned places: Instagram or Facebook, or join my mailing list here to hear all the news first, and get a free book for your trouble, too!
Until next time…
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