Hi Nan, and welcome back! Your Dagger series is my favorite series, and I’ve read it more than once. I’m really excited that you are continuing this series. I loved your introduction to this sequel. Since it’s been awhile, it did take me a while to remember or figure out the details of Linda and Ally. All I remembered about Linda was she was CJ’s girlfriend, and I wasn’t sure about Ally until you mentioned Ben.
My initial thoughts about how to address this are, have you considered a prequel to the story? Possibilities could include a flashback, reminiscence, or even a discussion. The need for more costumes could trigger the discussion. Martha could be thinking about the similarities and differences in making a costume for adults and teens, and even male and female costumes. Would Linda and her mom and others need help in designing and making costumes?
With Martha and Linda making costumes, I wondered if maybe Martha, Lois, Linda’s mom, with or without CJ, Marta, Linda, and other parents or the children have a discussion about the children they know about and who they are. Maybe even how they came into the super secret and family. And that could lead to concerns about helping what—if any—children may be out there but not yet found, e.g. Eduardo.
Possibilities could include Martha wanting to share her experiences about discovering what works and what doesn’t. She certainly seems to be the type that would want to share that, not only to make their lives easier but also to help them have their dream costume brought to life the first try. Then I flashed to Martha showing the costumes Clark didn’t choose, and the group's reactions.
There could even be concerns with Martha aging, who will make the costumes in the future—even if it’s not in the next few years—if she can’t? I can see her wanting to share her knowledge with those making the costumes. Maybe Martha writes a manual and/or holds classes? I can see her doing both, and the manual being printed by home computer.
Anyway, I hope these ideas help, even if you don’t use any of them. Looking forward to what you come up with next.
Last edited by cuidadora; 09/26/26 09:41 AM. Reason: typo
