Starting a New Series

I'm starting a new cozy mystery series and it's an exciting and nerve wracking time for the writing side of my life. It's has been a few years since I've started a book with characters that are new to me. I've done two short stories with new to me heroines, but my book length projects for the last few years have been with Faith Hunter. I've dabbled here and there with a story line for my ghost detective Callous. Callous is a ghost who helps the recently murderer solve their own cases, so far there is only one in the series, Dying for Redemption, and I've worked a bit on the plot for book 2 but have been focusing on the Scrap This series for the last few years.

Faith and I are taking a bit of a break for each other. I never thought this would happen but as I'm in a different stage in my life, empty nester and my husband and I are going to be celebrating our 27th anniversary in November, I've found it hard to connect to Faith. I'm not sure why I am at this time when I hadn't before now. I've tried but I can't get a story started with her. 

And that's when Merry popped into my head. The heroine in my new series is older than my previous heroines, mid-forties and her youngest child has moved out (right before the start of the book). Her life is similar, but not quite mine. It's nice getting to know a heroine my age. I'm learning about her her quirks, her strengths, her flaws, what are her weakness. And what are the hot button issues that will flare up her temper if someone pushes it. Not to mention, the bits and pieces of her history that has made her who she is now and got her to place in life where I'm starting to document her adventures in sleuthing.