Let's Talk with Maggie Toussaint

With summer upon us, there are many who bask in the summer heat. One of my favorite summer activities is going to the beach. The offshore breeze makes the air cooler, and for me, the beauty and natural sounds of the beach fill me up on the inside, restoring and recharging my soul.

Is it any wonder then that my Magic Candle Shop Mystery Shop (which I write as Valona Jones) twins also go to the beach to recharge? Tabby and Sage are psychics who can wield energy. This is by its very nature a talent that can do great good…or great harm. The trick for these sisters is to pace themselves so they don’t get caught short with dangerously low energy levels.

Tabby is all about pacing herself, but when life intervenes, she can plunge to an unhealthy low of energy. Sage, on the other hand, can never have enough energy. Her body doesn’t naturally recharge at night like her sister’s does, so she’s always asking Tabby to “top her off.” Tabby generous complies. When Tabby isn’t around, Sage takes what she needs from others.While Sage is a secondary character, her choices affect my sleuth, Tabby, and create natural tension as Tabby sorts out the mystery, hidden aspects of her talent, and her personal life with Quig.

The series begins with the general theme of Tabby being the “good” twin and Sage being the “bad” twin. Each sister has their role down pat, or do they? As the series rolls out, each faces challenges that force them to examine who and what they are. How they respond to story elements shapes their true character, and it becomes less about the role they’ve always played in the family and more about who they really are.

Many of us balk at change. We often fight it, ignore it, or even run from it. Because the status quo is who we are, what we are.
During this five-book series, Tabby and Sage’s character arcs explore their family roles. I have often wondered why some people are perceived as good and others as bad. Have you considered that optimists haven’t been tempered by life the same way pessimists have been? In a nutshell, that’s the question I undertook to explore with these characters.

Do circumstances justify actions and attitudes?

On the TV show Dateline, people are often surprised, appalled, and never the same once something terrible happens to someone they love and/or the bad guy is revealed. There’s a loss of innocence, a wariness that comes into a victim’s family post-trauma. A brokenness.

With that in mind, consider the twins in this “darker” cozy series. In book one, SNUFFED OUT, we learn they’ve lost their mother recently (father abandoned the family when they were five), inherited the family Book and Candle Shop, and know diddlysquat about their psychic talent. Thanks to their mother overprotecting them and hiding them from the paranormal community, they have no one to guide their magical development. They must learn everything through trial and error.

By book two, IN THE WICK OF TIME, it is apparent they have found a way to keep the shop afloat, have fraught relationships with love interests, and have figured out a few things about what they can and cannot do energetically.

In TALLOWED GROUND, a September 10, 2024 release, their character arcs undergo another shift and their paradigm of good and bad is put to the test. (cover shown is a mock up. Cover reveal will occur later this month)

Circling back, what does character growth have to do with it being too hot? Authors are expected to put characters in harm’s way to test their limits so that they must grow to overcome the obstacles they face.

When the twins feel the heat of life, they rush to the beach. They love the seashore in all seasons, even though they have to share it with more people in the summer. But, they have each other, and they know when to take a step back from the “heat” they find themselves in, and that creates turning points to drive the series.

TALLOWED GROUND will be on preorder next month. In the meantime, for a chance at a copy of IN THE WICK OF TIME, share one way you “beat the heat.” The winner will be announced next Tuesday. Print books are available for US residents only; digital copies have no restriction.

While you’re here, check out our June giveaway, with two books going to one winner. The contest runs from June 1-22 with multiple ways to enter. CLICK HERE for the contest.

Want to learn more about author Maggie Toussaint? Visit her WEBSITE.