After months (closer to a year or more) of struggling to write anything, recently it seems like I’ve been almost daily thinking of new characters or story ideas. Most of them don’t go further than the musing stage—I think about it for a few minutes and then dismiss it.

There are a few, though, that I’ve actually worked on a little bit and even done a little writing. But I know something is more than just an inkling when I start not only writing the character backstory(ies), but also when I take the time to do character casting. And this week, I’ve had one of those ideas.

Meet Kennedy Kelley and Jack Everett

Don’t recognize these templates? Well, that would be because for the first time ever, neither one is based off of an actor or actress or other well-known public figure. Each of these templates is a model—I found her in the plus-size section of Nordstrom’s website, and he’s an L.L. Bean guy.

I’m not sure exactly where this story is going (um, obviously toward a happy ending, but that should go without saying). I know that Kennedy has worked for the last 18 years in the publishing industry out West and has just moved to Nashville to take a position teaching creative writing and editing at James Robertson University. Recognize that fictional school? No? It’s where Kennedy’s friend Caylor Evans is a professor of English. (Kennedy was Caylor’s editor after Caylor switched to her new—clean—genre until Kennedy became the Marketing Director at the publishing house.) I know that Jack is an Associate Dean of Theater, Film, and Media at JRU—or he could be the head of either facilities maintenance or groundskeeping/landscaping at the school—but whichever he is, they meet when Kennedy is all gross and sweaty from moving into her new office in the middle of August in Nashville when it’s 100+ degrees outside and the AC in the building is on the blitz. Other than that, I have no idea what their story is.

So now, I have prequel/sequel story ideas going for three of my four published series—I’m actually into Chapter 2 of a prequel-novella for Ransome’s Honor featuring Susan and Collin’s romance (which will feature a lot more of what leads up to William and Julia’s interaction in the RH prologue); a sequel novella/novel for Jenn Guidry of Bonneterre fame; and now this one that’s connected to characters from the Matchmakers series.

Now I just need to make myself buckle down and finish one of them!