More difficult than I thought (lost post found)

Til the Moon Fails is proving to be a little troublesome. Questions are popping up in unexpected places. My first draft of the first chapter felt more like an extension of In Search of the Moon than a new book. I want to start with action, but I still have to introduce the characters and bring the reader into the world. I can't assume they have read the first two novels and I want each book to stand well on its own feet, as well as working as a trilogy. Problems are cropping up like how much do I tell of what has gone before? Does it slow down the action? How do I get past the difficult bog of character exposition? Where do I start the story? Maybe it was easier writing In Search of the Moon because it is set two years after the first book, maybe I had the same problems when I started, I don't remember. All I remember were blissful days in France when the words tripped off my fingers like honey and I started each writing day thinking "Where are my characters going to take me today?"
Not so much with this one, but I guess every birth is different.
Here's to another three months of labour pains!