Rhonda Stock continues to be impressed with the support shown for her seven-novel Dust and Devils series.
And the enjoyment that people have for the novels keeps her writing.
The Estevan author released her latest book, Ghosts and Grifters, at the end of June. It picks up where the last novel, Sin and Salvation, left off, with the protagonist, Jake, continuing his journey in 1930s Canada.
“In the third one, he sets out in search of his father again, because he thinks that his father may be able to help him with all of the enemies that he has been gathering,” said Stock.
Jake later finds out there has been a bounty placed on his head, which puts a twist on his travels.
“He does a fair bit of travelling, which takes him across Canada,” said Stock. “Eventually he winds up hooking up with a former acquaintance, which further complicates his life.”
The response for the third book has been really good, she said. A lot of people were waiting for it, and she sold a lot of copies after it was released.
Ghosts and Grifters marks the first book she has released in the series in about 18 months. Stock had her first child since Sin and Salvation was released, and so she has had less time to write.
“I’m getting into more of a routine, so I’m able to do more writing again, and I’m working on the fourth book,” said Stock.
She found it to be very encouraging that people are still eager to read her novels after an 18-month break.
“It’s hard to sometimes maintain that excitement … when you do have a series,” said Stock. “It’s good to see that I’m able to keep everybody’s attention.”
Stock has been promoting the novels at farmers’ markets and at the Red Barn in Kenosee. She hopes it will soon be available at Henders Drugs in Estevan.
The characters and the story have evolved since she started working on the series. When she released Dust and Devils in 2014, she had an idea of what the story arc would be.
“The characters have been writing their own story over the last two books here,” said Stock. “The first one kind of went the way I had it pretty much planned, and then after that, they started writing their own story. It’s still following the general story arc, but a lot of the little details and new characters that have come in are ones that I didn’t envision at the beginning, but have become very important.”
The enjoyment of writing hasn’t diminished since she started working on the project.
“It always keeps it interesting when the characters want to tell their own story,” said Stock. “It never gets boring.”
Stock is now working on the fourth novel. The first draft is about three-quarters complete, and she hopes to finish it early in the fall. Then she will revise it a couple of times before sending it to her editor.
She hopes it will be released next year.
