The weeks tick by and we draw ever closer to the release of Marvellous Adventure’s fourth issue. Only two more months to go before The Adventures of Emily Monroe resume! In the meantime, I’m highlighting past issues on this blog to give you the chance of remembering the story thus far, of bringing in new readers, and giving some after-reading insights into just what the heck I was thinking when I wrote that. So without further ado, let me take you back to the sophomore outing of this little periodical…
Marvellous Adventure No. 2 — “Riddles, Mysteries, And Enigmas”
Commentary: I have to make a confession: if I had to start over again, I would probably not write this story. Not because I’m ashamed or don’t enjoy it, but because of a plot overhaul I gave to the entire series. Though it may not look it, this first set of Emily Monroe tales was meant to have a different narrative arc to it than the one it’s currently heading down — and this story was designed to introduce that original arc. Now that the focus has shifted this story does feel a little bit out of place, at least to me and for the time being. The things it foreshadows won’t come to pass for awhile yet. But this is definitely a story to keep in mind for the future.
There’s a lot I could say about this story…but as you’ve already guessed, it would be easy to tread into spoiler territory. One thing I can mention, however, is probably the story’s biggest weakness: how easy it is to escape from the bad guys.
I’m certainly not used to writing this kind of fiction. I enjoy watching and reading it a great deal, but writing it has proven to be more challenging than I thought it would. And the biggest challenge of all is that my heroes need to use their brilliant wits and cunning to get themselves out of tight spots — and I am not that brilliant, witty, or cunning. Coming up with schemes to defeat the bad guys is a lot harder for me than it needs to look for them. This is only the second adventure story I’ve written, and I fear escaping the clutches of the villain’s lair seems a bit too easy here. They are helped along the way by incredible strokes of luck rather than any boldness or daring on their part. As I type this, I’m plotting out the fifth Emily Monroe story…and another brilliant scheme is needed. While I finally found one, I’m now going to need a way to deal with the necessary complications that make for exciting suspense. Here’s hoping.
By the way, I may as well mention here (since it isn’t really mentioned in any of the stories) that Emily’s car is intended to be a 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II, very much like the one pictured here. I know practically nothing about cars; just a matter of looking around for an era-appropriate vehicle that I liked, and this one is beautiful.
Remember to spread the word about Marvellous Adventure. Tell your friends they can download previous issues here, or like the official Facebook page for the absolute latest updates. The next new issue will be out by April 30.
And remember the motto: Adventure With A Capital A!
Marginalia 