How Do You End a Mystery Series?

 I'm delighted to introduce you to one of my favorite mystery writers, Naomi Hirahara, Edgar Award winning author of the Mas Arai and Officer Ellie Rush bicycle cop series. Put both her series in your TBR pile. You'll thank me. Elaine Viets

By Naomi Hirahara, Guest Blogger for the Femmes Fatales.

When I completed my debut mystery after 15 years of writing, marinating and rewriting, I didn’t imagine my amateur sleuth, an aging L.A. gardener and Hiroshima survivor, would have a tale that would span over seven novels.

Yet, knock on wood, that seems like what will be happening as I prepare to write the final installment of the Mas Arai mystery series.

As I recently watched the final episode of “Inspector Lewis” on PBS, I couldn’t help but to think, is this the best way to end a mystery series? Was it a satisfying coda to a character that first appeared in another series, “Inspector Morse”? And is there anything I can take away and apply to my own writing journey?

The arc of my Mas Arai series has been developed through both artistic prerogative as well as commercial interests. The second one, GASA-GASA GIRL, would not have been produced so quickly or perhaps not at all if it had not been for my contract with my first publisher, Random House. They wanted a third, SNAKESKIN SHAMISEN, which would go on to win an Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.

Because of various corporate shake-ups, editorial changes and my own need to try something different (a middle-grade novel), I decided that I needed a break from the once-a-year mystery series schedule. But when my agent was shopping around a standalone novel, another publisher wanted to continue Mas instead. At that point I realized that I couldn’t let outside interests determine the fate of my beloved sleuth, whose creation was inspired by my father’s life. I needed a plan.

A minor criticism of my second mystery printed in a San Francisco newspaper still stayed in my mind. What was I doing to poor Mas? Was I heaping misfortune after misfortune upon him for no reason other than to continue the series? There had to be a reason for each book, and it couldn’t be just a monetary reward.

Up to that point, each one of my books carried some kind of theme. Survivors’ guilt, diaspora of family and community, and the effects of colonial rule – all aspects of a past generation’s struggles. The next three, I decided, would take on my generation’s issues: addiction, technology, and the cult of celebrity. It would end with Mas revisiting Hiroshima, the theme of the first.

Since I made that literary decision, all sorts of things have happened. The fourth Mas was published without its acquiring editor and only in hardback during the depths of the Great Recession. This was the death of Mas, I thought, as I shared my publishing woes with my local mystery bookseller, a friend.

She then told a local L.A.-based publisher that I might be interested in being part of her effort to expand her fiction titles. We met in person over drinks and the deal was sealed. Mas would get a new life with Prospect Park Books (PPB).

Since that initial meeting, the fifth and sixth Mas Arai mysteries, along with a paperback reissue of the fourth, have been published with PPB. During this period of time, Mas’s inspiration, my father, was diagnosed with stomach cancer and after my family cared for him at home in hospice, he passed away.

Through these life journeys, I’ve come to understand that writing about Mas is not only about the mystery, but also about the man and others like him. It’s for readers who have lost their elders and struggle to remember their idiosyncratic behavior. It’s for our layers of history that have been either forgotten or never been told.

I recently returned from a three-week research trip to Japan, mostly financed through a foundation that support cross-cultural activities. I spent most of that time in Hiroshima, my roots, but a place that I’ve known only through my relatives. Through this summer’s journey, I got to know the city through my own lens, but also with Mas right beside me. The photo of hand-drawn lanterns was taken there August 6. Seeds of the finale have been sown and I look forward to see what grows by the time I complete my manuscript by next May.

And in terms of  “Inspector Lewis” – yes, I think that it was a perfect end to the story of a devoted family man and journeyman police officer. The episode delivered the same kind of twisty plot (although this time I did figure who did it about halfway in) that it always had done. I’m celebrating the end by going to the beginning: watching “Inspector Morse” on Netflix when Inspector Lewis was a young man. That’s the way that a series should end, I think. It should be a continuum, a completion of a full circle.

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Naomi Hirahara is the Edgar Award-winning author of two mystery series set in Los Angeles. Her Mas Arai series, which features a Hiroshima survivor and gardener, has been translated into Japanese, Korean and French. The first, SUMMER OF THE BIG BACHI, is being developed into an independent film. Her Officer Ellie Rush bicycle cop series received the 2014 T. Jefferson Parker Mystery Award. She has also published noir short stories, middle-grade fiction and nonfiction books. She will be one of the guests of honor at Left Coast Crime Reno in 2018. For more information, go to www.naomihirahara.com.

Comments

[Naomi Hirahara]

Thanks, Femmes, for having me!

[Elaine Viets]

You're welcome, Naomi. Congratulations on your film option. And I have a question. I've heard "Hiroshima" pronounced two ways:
Is it Hero-SHE-ma or He-ROE-shima?

[Linda Rodriguez]

I love this post, Naomi! Thanks for taking us inside your process of working through your series arc and your character.

[Naomi Hirahara]

Elaine: The Japanese pronounce it more like He-Roe-shima. The emphasis is on "roe" but it's not that pronounced. Shima means island.

[Naomi Hirahara]

Thanks, Linda! I've enjoyed your series character.

[Elaine Viets]

Got it. Thanks. I promise not to hit the ROE too hard in the future.

[Mark]

Interesting look at things. It's always hard for me when a beloved series ends, and I can only imagine how hard it would be for an author to make sure she or he did it right.

[Julie Hennrikus]

I love the thoughtfulness of this post, and the idea of ending a series on your note, rather than a publisher's. I am a huge fan of well ended series. I agree about Lewis, though there seemed to be a window...

[Naomi Hirahara]

Julie, there's always a window, right? Of course, I'm sure they are preparing a spin-off, which would be just fine with me. I'm actually very enthusiastic about the small and medium presses out there. Some of them are quite invested in authors, which makes the writing and publishing experience much more enjoyable!

[Storyteller Mary]

Endings are hard, knowing when is even harder, but new doors and windows are priceless. Thanks for interesting works.

[Ellie Enos]

Your guest blog allowed me to discover your Ellie Rush series. I am half way through the 2nd book. I suspect I will begin the Mas Ari series next.

[Naomi Hirahara]

Thanks, Ellie! Wow, you are a fast reader. I have to admit that the Ellie Rush series is an easier read than the Mas books. But I hope that you give Mas a try, too! :-)

[Dana]

Welcome, Naomi! Can't wait to see The Big Bachi on the screen!

[Naomi Hirahara]

Me, either, Dana! I haven't read the screenplay but an early draft is being considered for Sundance's Screenwriters Lab, so I have my fingers crossed. Our colleagues have mixed experiences, right, so I hope this will be one of the good ones. :-)

[Cath Hoffner]

Naomi - I remember when we first met at Bcon and The Big Bachi came out. Was so excited for you then and have been a fan throughout your writing career! Loved your Japan posts too! Great blog!

[Naomi Hirahara]

Thanks, Cath, for your support over the years. I can't believe it's been 12 years! I truly adore the mystery genre and book community. There's none better, really.

[Jody]

I have loved your Mas series. Thanks for the good stories you've produced.

[Leslie Budewitz]

What a lovely, thoughtful way to think about the end of a series -- and I admire your determination to find a workable arc for the 2d three, which I think is harder to do than for the earlier books. And congrats on film prospect for The Big Bachi!

[Triss Stein]

This all makes sense, but I will miss Mas and his world. As I will miss Lewis and his!

[Naomi Hirahara]

Leslie: The arc for the second three wasn't that hard, but I'm amazed I got through it. I just finished posting something on Carolyn Hart -- she's written 59 books -- so amazing. For me, writing six books in a series is an accomplishment. (I give myself a LOT of grace.)

And Triss, I will miss Mas, too, but in a way I feel he and his world will never be extinguished because he's there in print (and e-books, of course). No matter how diminished the readership gets over time, there may be one person (probably a scholar) who may pick it decades from now.

[Ellie Enos]

Naomi: I have now read the first two Mas books. I loved both of them, but I have a Gasa-Gasa girl of my own so the 2nd is my favorite so far. Mari (as a girl) reminded me so much of my daughter, Maile.

I lived in Hawaii for two years and always had friends from Hawaii so I'm familiar with a lot of the expressions and food, etc. in the book. My husband was from Kona and his family still lives there. We travelled around the states and Taiwan during his 20 years in the Air Force.

I read The Good Earth as a teenager and I have a passion for well written books about Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the various cultures. Thanks for providing me with you excellent books.

[Naomi Hirahara]

Thank you, Ellie! You are such a fast reader.

[Susan O.]

NO!! Please don't stop writing Mas stories!! He is most of the most real characters I've even enjoyed. I sometimes think I see him on BART trains up here in the SF bay area. PLEASE don't say never. How about "maybe one day"??

[Naomi Hirahara]

How lovely that you see Mas on BART trains! After the last novel, I may definitely continue to write some Mas short stories. And he will live on in readers' lives like yours. xoxo