Twists and Turns

Plotting, what a mystery!
It's where the imagination first starts to tick. Since I write tight plots, I need an outline before I start. But sometimes, it just won't come. It took a long time for the plot to resolve itself for ETERNAL BEAUTY, ETERNAL DARKNESS, for example, and now it's taking a long time for the third Department 57 book.
It's my second vampire book, after THE HAUNTING, and writing vampires is a bit daunting, after the great books put out by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Christine Feehan. But like those ladies, I have my own take on the legend, and my vampires are less superhero, more secret agent.
Oh yes, my vampire is a CIA agent, and in this book he's working deep undercover. Of course, when he meets the woman he's meant for, it's at the least convenient time, and place.
This time the characters came quite easily. Andreas features in the last two Department 57 books, so I already know him a bit. And his lady had to be strong enough for him, so she was a joy to write.
But I couldn't make all the little threads I wanted to write about tuck away, until I realised that Andreas was his own man, and I had to let him find his own way out out of the situation, not force him to do something he didn't want to do.
Just to add to the tension, I understand that the first book is doing really well, so I need to keep it up!
But I have to say this is the best job I've ever had, if not the best paying!