Another story series question..

The earlier death of the first love and that death's effect upon the protagonist (who was a very young teenager at the time) is backstory and therefore it seems to me it properly belongs later in the story when it is revealed or discovered to be the reason the main character is hesitant about 'falling in love' again.

The point of change -and the possible beginning of the story- for the character seems to be when she meets No 2 (who presumably stirs feelings in the main character) because that will be when the past love's death begins to affect the main character's actions/reactions.

Revealing the background death in the beginning is surely sucking all the mystery out of the story.

Don't follow how the question relates to a 'series'. I can't see how that sort of 'reason' for not falling in love again can be concealed or dragged out through a series.

Careful with the construction of your sentences - This one -

My MC meets someone in her 20's, but because her first love died, and is still haunted by that fact and scared to let herself fall in love again.

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is not as clear as it could be and I hope I interpreted it correctly.

Does the death of her first love affect the events of the novel or does it only affect your MC? If it's the source of one of your MC's inner conflicts but has no other direct, tangible link to the story, I'd say leave it in the past and allude to it in the present.

I agree with those above me: I think that using it as backstory would probably work better. Maybe you could incorporate flashbacks as dreams or something so we can get a feel for the depth of this loss on her?

Start it where the story starts, not where it explains the backstory. Your MC is facing a major problem in the book, so what's the first moment that problem connects/conflicts/affects her? If her problem is learning to trust and fall in love, perhaps start just before she meets that person. Early enough to maybe show she has this problem (maybe she's talking with friends about the date that she blew off or whatever you want to use to show her issue) and then set her on the plot path the novel will follow.

Let her past affect her and her decisions, but it can unfold slowly as we learn more about her and start to wonder why she's this way. Maybe it's the love interest who finally draws the truth out of her.

stitchingirl said:

I know most tips advise against backflashes and that, but should I just insert backflashes when it's needed to explain the reasoning for the first MC's reaction and behavior?

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This can work well. I use mini-flashbacks like that in The Shifter to have my protag remember stuff from her past that's relevant to the present. One or two lines usually, though I've had some longer. Nothing ever longer than one or two paragraphs.

For example, my protag is asked to do something that she promised her mother she never would, and she has a brief flashback memory of her mother telling her to swear she'd never do it. This is what I did:

"Yes, you can. You healed me, twice."
No, just once. The other was a shift I never should have done. Mama's terrified face flashed across my mind. Don't ever put pain into someone again, Nya. It's bad, very bad. Promise me you won't do it. I'd tried so hard to keep that promise.

Small bits, very relevant to the situation and the problem my protag is facing. They also usually shed light on her past.

As long as it's done in a way that moves the story and doesn't stop to explain in a told fashion, (like, "I'd put pain into someone once and promised Mama I'd never shift again.") they can be very effective.

I would recommend writing one full story that can stand alone on its own legs and then writing your sequels. A lot of new writers are so in awe of their favorite writers' series that they think they can just jump into getting a series deal. Doesn't always work like that. By all means keep writing what you love. I'm just saying it would be a better use of your time to complete one story that can STAND ALONE, and then work on your sequels to it. When the magical day comes that your standalone catches an agent's eye, you can explain you have sequels in mind and that you're already working on them.

stitchingirl said:

So, like you couldn't have a whole page being a flashback?

Just a paragraph or two. I'll have to remember that.

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You could do a whole page, but keep in mind that flashbacks stop the story. You're halting the narrative to explain or show something that's already happened. Unless the reader is really dying to know that past, they don't care. They want to see what happens next in the story unfolding in present day.

You can make a longer flashback work if the flashback is exciting in its own right, has a goal or question readers want to see resolved, and hooks and captures the reader same as any other chapter of your book. It has to answer something they've been dying to know. It's not as easy to do this as it sounds, which is why most folks will say "no flashbacks." And one of the reasons I stick to short ones.