Writing Collective Obsessions
The following "Author's Note" is included at the end of the Collective Obsessions Saga by Deidre Dalton, which details the years-long writing process of ten serial novels.
And so it begins...
I've always been partial to lengthy book reads. Quick "airport novels" are not my style. I prefer abundant, well-written stories which carry the reader through several days rather than just a few hours. What's the point of settling down with a good book if you can't enjoy it for a period of time?
The Collective Obsessions Saga was originally hatched from my first novel titled "Larkin" (now book three in the saga, known as The Twain Shall Meet). I wrote the story in its initial form in 1984. Over the ensuing years, the tale took many different directions.
More than a decade after the book was finished I had the seemingly impossible notion to continue the family saga. Some of the characters cried out for more - closure if you will - so I went back and created the beginning.
Evolution of the
"Collective Obsessions Saga"
In
essence, more than half the
Collective Obsessions Saga was already
written with the likes of The Advent,
The Twain Shall Meet and
The Keeper's Journal. These books turned
into "parts" in the saga with their corresponding time periods in the
storyline. However, since I was never too thrilled with the book titles (one
of which was out of my control), they were changed for their appearance in
the saga. The "missing years" also have new scenes and characters, most of
which were created as I went along.
The
saga begins with Hearts
in Sorrow, which is considered a prequel and is still in the writing
process (est. 2025). It covers the time period between 1854-1855, when John
Larkin was still residing in his native Ireland. He falls hopelessly in love
the Maeve O'Quinn, the red-haired and green-eyed younger daughter of Bantry
blacksmith Dary O'Quinn. Although frail, Maeve returns the future Larkin
patriarch's love in full measure, envisioning a rosy life with him. Yet
their love was not to be.
The
series continues with The Advent (also known
as "Passion Forsaken"), which runs from 1865 to 1920. Since there was a
forty-one year gap between The Advent and the
next story (The Twain Shall Meet), I wrote a
new second part for "Collective Obsessions" titled
Quixotic Crossings, which takes place
between 1926 and 1958 and involves more about the characters of Claude
Mondoux, Phoebe McGarren and Colm Sullivan. Molly Larkin also makes several
ghostly appearances in Quixotic Crossings.
"Larkin"
was renamed
The Twain Shall Meet
(running from 1961 to 1975). The book was actually the first story I wrote
in the saga, which mainly focuses on Shannon Larkin and her relationships
with Mike Sullivan and Scott Page. Mike almost didn't make his debut as
planned. I was inches away from a major character re-write before the final
draft of book was settled, much to my alarm. I had to zealously pitch the
character of Mike Sullivan to my editor, who was of the initial opinion he
was far too young to have feelings of intense love and incapable of the
emotional temerity to methodically stalk Shannon Larkin. I managed to
convince my editor otherwise, so Mike's character remains unchanged in
The Twain Shall Meet.
As he is an integral part of the story, especially in the beginning of the
book, I'm relieved the artistic hurdle was overcome. And yes, I did base
Mike's character on a "real" person. This particular fellow was someone I
knew many years ago, and we did have a romance of sorts. However, the "real"
Mike was not a demented stalker and we remained friends long after our
summer fling. He read bits and pieces of
The Twain Shall Meet
and was tickled by the embellishments I chose to weave into his character.
Book
four Enthrallment (1980-1992) brings to
light the origins of Carly O'Reilly and her relationship with the unknowing
Liam Larkin. The late-in-life reunion between George Sullivan (aka Ben
Webb) and Susan O'Reilly is revealed, and the gentle romance between
Sean Larkin and Dana Maitland is explored. Jack Sansovino makes his debut in
Enthrallment, the fiendish character
becoming a dramatic part of the saga finale.
"Fall
of the Curtain" comes next (renamed
The Keeper's Journal),
which takes place between the years 1994-1995. Shannon Larkin's daughter
Angie Page discovers Colm Sullivan's old journal in the lighthouse keeper's
cottage. The diary sheds light on the history between the Larkin and
Sullivan families, but may be too late to stop Carly and Sara - the sisters
of Mike Sullivan - from wreaking vengeance on the Larkin family for sins of
the past.
Hearts
Desires (1996-2000) follows, interweaving the next generation of
Sullivan and Larkin families, as well as the lives of Brose Larkin, Jamie
Page and Angie Cimarelli. Jack Sansovino also resurfaces, his influence
heavily felt by Jamie. Hearts Desires is the
first and only of my books to be classified in the LGBT genre. Throughout
all eight books in the
Collective Obsessions Saga,
there are two central gay characters in relation to the Larkin family (Jean-Claude
Sullivan in
Quixotic Crossings
and Jamie Page in Hearts Desires). This
wasn't something I did on purpose, but rather the characters just happened
to blend into the storyline with their lives already written in my
imagination. In other words, the two specific characters simply - and
inadvertently - worked out that way. They are also related by blood (second
cousins twice removed), but never actually meet as they appear in
different time periods.
The
Twilight is part seven of "Collective Obsessions," covering the years
between 2001 through 2004 and detailing the surprising death of a long-time
character. Let me qualify that The Twilight
(named such about sixteen years ago), has absolutely nothing to do
with vampires and the like, but rather the sunset years of a long
relationship. It was a difficult part to write because I killed off one of
the main characters, much beloved by his fellow fictional counterparts
despite some ugly facts that came to light after his death. A much-needed
dash of humor appears as the brash and grumbling Kevin Larkin finally
marries his long-suffering girlfriend Mariko Woods.
The
last part of the book became Megan's Legacy.
The idea to include a serial killer in the storyline came to me like a
lightning bolt one winter evening as I wrote the final book. The direction
became an integral element of the saga's conclusion. Megan Larkin - daughter
of Carly O'Reilly (Enthrallment and
The Keeper's Journal) and Liam Larkin -
is forced to discover the truth and to set herself free from a legacy of
family secrets and obsessions. Megan's Legacy
ends in 2008 fictional time, signaling the coda for
Collective Obsessions.
Or so I thought.
Titled Limb of Iniquity, the 9th book in the saga will revolve around the deadly antics of Alexandra St. John, who first made an appearance in Book #7, The Twilight. Time frame for the story is 2020-2022. In many ways, Alex's character begs for a continuation. The book is tentatively scheduled for release in 2025, along with the prequel, Hearts in Sorrow.
Honorable Mention:
Characters in the Kitchen
Many of the fictional characters in the Collective Obsessions Saga are exceptional cooks. It begins with first family chef Claude Mondoux, and carries on with the ill-fated Nicholas Bertrand, the much-beloved Mae Jensen, and the drunken Cora Ann Hogan.
The
diabolical Amber Whale executive chef Jack Sansovino is also a dab hand in
the kitchen, where he brews more than just seafood specialties.
Various members of the Larkin family have culinary talent as well, including Shannon, Derek and Dana, who prepare mouth-watering dishes for family and friends. Derek even becomes a professional chef and opens his own elegant restaurant in Larkin City, known as the Silver Tassel.
Before her grisly demise, Carly O'Reilly whips up imitative dishes for her highly successful Harbor View Catering Company, where she also sells homemade foodstuffs.
Bad seed Alexandra Cimarelli (Limb of Iniquity) is also surprisingly talented in the kitchen, where she prepares Baked Macaroni & Cheese, Chicken Cordon Bleu and Homemade Soft Pretzels.
The characters and their recipes provided the inspiration for the Larkin Community Cookbook.
Writing Process
Part of the long writing process with the Collective Obsessions Saga involved killing off some of my favorite characters in the storyline. It's only natural as people age with each additional story. They cannot live forever. It might have been easier to leave the "Larkin Saga" at four books, with some of the characters remaining immortal because I hadn't written proper endings for them. In creating the new book parts, I was forced to look at existing characters that were obviously aging. Some of them were "killed off" while others died naturally. I did away with some of them kindly and gently, while others met insidious endings.
(Above): Screenshot from the Fam-Tree program, where the Larkin-Sullivan Family Tree was built. Click on image to view larger size in a new window.
I mapped out a detailed family tree so as to avoid inconsistencies throughout "Collective Obsessions" and created spreadsheets for every part of the book to track character quirks and descriptions. The books became one enormous project which involved more than twenty years of writing and research, with several pit-stops in between as I carried out my own life.
(Above): Sample of the 43-page spreadsheet used to track characters in all eight books of the Collective Obsessions Saga. Click on image to view larger size in a new window.
Since I'm a writer often inspired by images, my character spreadsheet for "Collective Obsessions" became naturally larger as time progressed, but also included thumbnail pictures of people I felt represented my fictional characterizations. The images were not indicative of true personality traits of real people by a long shot, but rather a general idea of what I envisioned as the "outer shell" of each character. For instance, I based John Larkin's appearance on actor David Selby, who portrayed Quentin Collins in the Dark Shadows television serial. The physical aspects of Mayor David Azoulay, who appears in Hearts Desires, The Twilight and Megan's Legacy, was inspired by Mark Feuerstein, star of the USA Network series Royal Pains. Colm and Mike Sullivan, who are described as closely resembling one another in the various storylines, are based on Jason Connery as he appeared in Robin of Sherwood.
Each major character had their own snapshot. That being said, I would like to emphasize that all books in the Collective Obsessions Saga are works of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Larkin City, Maine is entirely my own creation, although in my mind it exists between the real cities of Searsport and Stockton Springs. People assume I chose the locale because of Stephen King's predilection for the place, but the selection was actually a result of my childhood fascination with the TV serial Dark Shadows, which was set in the fictional town of Collinwood, Maine.
For a writer, fictional characters come alive and take on characteristics of their own. I can't claim to hear my characters actually speaking to me, but they do develop faces and personas of their own in my sometimes unpredictable imagination.
The completion of the Collective Obsessions Saga is bittersweet. While elated the story is finished I'm also a bit reluctant to let my characters go. They have frolicked in my imagination for so long, as if a part of my very being, that it was hard to turn that final page over, once and for all.
The writing process may have left me threadbare on a personal level, but it has been deeply satisfying in all the ways that truly matter to me.
Writing
the Collective Obsessions Saga
(PDF, 13 pages, 1.7 MB)
