I'm not a series junkie. In fact, I get miffed sometimes when there's a book I want to read which is part of a series. Why? Because I don't want to be drawn into a large, unending spiral of stories which will nag me to be read.
There are also the times when I pick up a book, read the blurb and think: "Wow, this one sounds great. I HAVE to read it." Only to find out it's number three or four in the series and to get the full affect, it's recommended I read the preceding ones, which don't interest me in the least. I almost always put that book back.
Now, here's the hypocritical part. I write in series. The Marriage Series wasn't intended to be one because of the above reasoning. I only meant to write Marriage Mart but my critique group and publishers insisted that the secondary characters have a story. Because I loved them too, I submitted to that request. I thought for sure it would be my only one.
I backed out of six more books for the Marriage series. There were supposed to be three off-shoot books for the peripheral females in the three books, those characters with cameos were to get a story and it would have been called the Companion Series. The peripheral males, particularly the men the Ester hung around in Marriage Mart, were supposed to receive stories in a Corinthian Series. But alas, Kelly Kirch is disappearing and I revoked the books before contracts occurred. I'm not sorry though I do wonder what I would have written for them.
As it turns out, I'm making headway into the inspirational market. And what comes out? Another series. I don't have a name for this one yet, but the first book is titled FOR MURDER, BY OWNER and will be written by my new pen name, Kelly Marstad. The series will follow four women, sisters, who still live with their mother and slowly move out, finding what life and faith have to offer them. It's been fun and instead of it being a romance strictly between woman and man, it is also a romance of the family. I want the reader to fall completely in love with the Hickerty family. Accomplishing that will be my primary concern.
Now if anyone can explain why I hate to read and commit to a series but seem drawn to write them, I'd love to hear it!
Dunno, Kelly. But you do it well.
ReplyDeleteI think series is a natural way of writing. We follow our characters and get to know them.
ReplyDeleteIt's that love/hate thing...You love to write them, but hate to read them?
ReplyDeleteJust a thought!
Can you work Puck into one of your new stories??
It's because you know and love your characters so much. Other people's series don't use your babies--you're not invested in them.
ReplyDeleteIt's just like going to all your girls' sporting events or concerts or whatever, but you'd never go to someone else's kid's concert.
I had a similar experience with a book I've recently finished. Turned out it was book six in a series. The book was great and worked as a stand alone, but there were enough references to the previous books, I felt like I might be missing the bigger picture...
ReplyDeleteExactly James! And Molly, you have it. I don't mind writing them, I hate to read them. As to Puck, he had his story already. I might figure out a way to do a Puck type character again. I loved him. BUT Marriage Proposal is coming out in Nov. Printing in Dec soooooo that's all I'm gunna say. ;)
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