He nodded. “I do. I have an outline of all my ideas, but ideally, I’d like this next book to be the introduction to a series. UnlikeCold Blue Murder, which is really a standalone, I’d like to do a series next. I think it makes sense.”
Mitch approved of that. “It does. Series are great. Readers love them and they can give you great sell-through once you build up your backlist.”
“I think I understand all that,” Harper said jokingly.
Kyle chuckled. “We’ve talked about the publishing business so much in this house, all my life really, that it’s become like a second language. I guess we take that for granted.”
“Fortunately,” Harper said. “I’m a quick study. So a series, huh? Are you thinking about a detective series?”
“A series, yes. I don’t know about the detective part.” He hesitated. “That’s really what I need to figure out.” He glanced at Mitch. “I’d love to replicate the success of someone like Lee Child, but obviously, I am not going to copy another author. Not only would that be unethical, but readers would see right through it.”
“You want to stay in the thriller genre?” Harper asked.
“I do,” Kyle answered. “And I’d like to break some of the standard rules. There’s a certain kind of a formula for a lot of thrillers, there is for most genre books, really. I don’t mind coloring inside those lines, but I want to make it interesting.”
“You definitely did that with your first book,” Harper said.
Mitch leaned back, curious to see what his son was thinking about. “Do you have an idea for a main character?”
Kyle chewed his bottom lip. “I sort of do, but it might not be great. Or people might hate the whole idea. I don’t know.Ilike it, but I’m not sure if that matters.”
Harper, in true fashion, didn’t react negatively. “Why don’t you tell us who the character is, and we’ll see if we can shape them into something that makes you feel more confident. Or maybe they’re already great and you just don’t realize it.”
Kyle blew out a breath like he was getting rid of nerves. “Okay. The character is not your typical retired police officer. He’s autistic, on the spectrum anyway, and he sees things in a really analytical way. Almost with a sort of computer logic.”
“Robby,” Mitch breathed out, the image of Kyle’s childhood friend instantly appearing in his head.
Kyle looked up and nodded. “Yeah. Just like Robby.”
“I’m lost,” Harper said.
“You explain,” Mitch said to his son.
Kyle shifted in her direction. “Robby was my best friend growing up. We went through middle school and high school together. He didn’t have a lot of friends, but we connected.” He laughed. “Mostly through Legos. But as we got older, we stayed friends.”
“He was autistic?” Harper asked.
“Yes. Fully functional, but not big on eye contact or touching,” Kyle answered. “He got a little better about that as the years went on. He worked with someone on that. He was incredibly smart.”
“Computer-like,” Mitch offered. “Had a brain like Google. He knew all kinds of obscure facts and figures, could rattle off statistics on just about any subject at the slightest mention. It was really something.”
“Wow.” Harper looked at Kyle again. “So he’s your inspiration?”
“Yes. What do you think?”
“I think it’s interesting,” she answered. “I like that you have a real person to base this character on. What happened to Robby? Are you still in touch with him?”
Kyle shook his head. “Not as much as I should be. He had a ton of scholarships when he graduated and ended up going to MIT, where he got into artificial intelligence. Last I heard he works for Owen Monk.”
Harper’s eyebrows shot up. “The billionaire?”
“Yep,” Kyle said. “Robby did all right for himself.”
“I’d say so.” Harper crossed her legs under her. “So what else is this series going to have?”
“I feel like the main character needs a sidekick. Probably someone who hasn’t got his genius IQ but is street smart.”
“The Watson to his Sherlock.”
