I published All Hallows at Eyre Hall, my very first novel, twelve years ago, I had read hundreds of novels, taught literature to undergraduate students and secondary school English teachers, but I later realised, I had no idea how to write a novel.

I had a protagonist, Jane Eyre, a place, Eyre Hall (rebuilt on the site of Thornfield), A time, twenty-two years after she became Mrs Rochester, and an antagonist, Richard Mason, and I started writing…

29th October, 1865

Chapter 1- Mr Mason

I stepped out of the carriage onto the soggy gravel, adjusted my cloak and hat, and looked up to the rebuilt mansion for the first time.

Twenty-three years had passed since my last visit to another house in this same spot, when I was bitten by a raging lioness fighting to preserve her offspring and her reason. My bones shivered. My sister had been wronged, my niece had been wronged, and my mission was to settle the injustice before the funeral.

The sharp smell of burning coal reminded me that there were fireplaces in this gloomy, damp climate, in which I could not envisage my ancestors ever having lived.

My eyes travelled up to the top floor and tower, wrapped in a vaporous cloud, and down again to the ground floor casements, which rose from the ground, symmetrically sliced into squares, stood out like prison bars. I could sense the witch was there watching me. I fancied her slight shadow floating over the curtains, and imagined curious fingers pulling back the heavy dark fabric in an effort to catch a glimpse of my arrival. I had received no answer to my message requesting an encounter, but I prayed she would be curious enough to converse with me.

I took an instant dislike to the sturdy valet who announced my visit. He had no business staring at me as if he were my equal when I told him my name and the purpose of my visit. His eyes bore into my back as I entered, instead of leaving at once.

The woman who was waiting for me looked exactly the same as the last time I had seen her, slight and ethereal, a trembling debutante underneath her pathetic white veil.

She slid towards me as if she were floating over the dark, Persian carpet, held out her hand limply and spoke.

“What brings you here, Mr. Mason?” She asked coolly.

******************

That is the final polished version of the first paragraphs I first wrote in the summer of 2013. I had no plan, so I became a ‘pantser’, for the first and only time. It was a wonderful experience, but it was also frustrating because it led to a great deal of rewriting. I’m no longer a ‘pantser’, but I’m not a strict plotter either. I’ve written seven novels since then, six in English and one in Spanish, and I still start my novels with only four things on my mind: a character, a place, a specific time, and an antagonist, which can be a person or a circumstance, or the best of both worlds, a person who brings a problem, and the bigger the better! I love reading and writing drama. It keeps me both turning and writing pages! And that’s as far as I plot, at least at the beginning.

Once I reach the end of Act I, for me that’s about 30-40,000 words, when I can see my story becoming a full length novel. At that point, I start thinking of possible complications and solutions, plot points, twists and turns, more characters and places, backstories, etc…

I plot as I go, one step at a time, until I ‘see’ the final scene, or end, and then I get serious about making sure it all flows smoothly and coherently, based on my characters wants and needs. I ask them what I need to know and listen to their answers carefully, because they drive my story. I write as honestly as I can. For me that means I let them grow and change their minds, but I never betray them.

And so we come to the next part of the first scene, when Richard Mason, who narrates this chapter, replies to Jane’s question:

***********************

It took me a few seconds to reply, taken aback by her unprecedented assertiveness and waiting for the defiant-looking servant to leave. I glanced his way and coughed, but he stood unmoved, like a guard dog, waiting for a sign from his mistress.

“I have some urgent business with Mr. Rochester.”

“He is not receiving any visitors at the moment.”

“Yet, I must speak to him.”

“That will not be possible. In any case, I cannot imagine what business you should have with my husband.”

She had been suitably lured and was eager to discover the reason for my visit. “I would not wish to bother you with certain unpleasant matters, madam.”

“I am afraid you will have to deal with me from now on, Mr. Mason, so proceed.”

‘They are private matters,’ I added, glancing once again at her sentinel, who was still ready to pounce.

I wondered how much she had already discovered about her husband’s finances and offences. He was a dark horse, if ever there was one.

‘Thank you, Michael,’ she smiled at her watchdog, who unclenched his fists and took a step backwards. ‘Could you ask Beth to bring us some tea, please?’

He nodded and left, not without shooting me a threatening stare. How dare he? Who did he think he was? I would be dealing with his insolence shortly. Little did he suspect his days at Eyre Hall were numbered.

“Please sit down, Mr. Mason.”

**********

And that was when the magic happened and the fictional love of my life was born.

At first, her valet, Michael Kirkpatrick, was just an ally Jane needed in that first scene. But over the six-book series he has gradually become the second main character, and in the final book in the series, which I am currently writing, he is the main protagonist.

That’s the magic of part-time-pantsing; for a while, the writer has no idea what might happen…

Although I wrote All Hallows at Eyre Hall, in 2013, I later revised the whole series, and in 2020, All Hallows became book two. I wrote ‘Blood Moon at Eyre Hall‘, the prequel to All Hallows, and the series, because I realised that many readers hadn’t actually read Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and they needed some more back story.

However, if you are one of the lucky readers who knows all about Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, All Hallows at Eyre Hall is a great place to start reading the series, and today, Both Blood Moon and All Hallows are on offer as free e-books, and if you’re still reading this post, I’m positive you’ll love the Eyre Hall Series. And if you do download and read it, I’d appreciate a review, or even better, let me know what you think by replying to this comment.

Happy Halloween and happy reading!

Lucy xx