So what do you think about series?

*Contest Info is at the bottom of this post!*

Series can encompass a variety of different things.  As a kid growing up, I loved the teenage mystery series—Trixie Belden, Donna Parker, the Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, heck, even the horribly dated Bobbsey Twins.  Nancy Drew was the one exception. Never could stand her. These books followed the same characters through a variety of adventures, hopefully learning a little something with each episode.  I graduated to Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and the Mrs. Pollifax books when I was a little older, and those are much the same, except with adult characters and situations.  Then I discovered fantasy and science fiction. The Narnia books, Lord of the Rings, Robert Aspirin’s Myth Adventures, and so many more. Still the same concept though—same main characters, different stories.

But in romance, series usually don’t work that way. For a romance to be a romance, you have to take two (or sometimes more) characters from not being together, to their happily-ever-after. That’s pretty final. Although I have read a few great books where the romance continues to grow and evolve in a second book, (Jayne Ann Krentz has a couple good examples of this) that’s about the limit if each story is really a romance. So a series takes a different turn. Usually it’s a common world, town, family, or group (a Navy Seals team, perhaps) that have overlapping stories. Each book of the series features a different character finding that HEA.  So each book as a unique hero and a unique heroine. One of the great features of this kind of series is that you get to peek at the HEA of earlier couples. It can be kind of like catching up with old friends.

 

From a reader’s standpoint, I love series.  I love seeing that couple A is still together a few years later, maybe with children, or still helping to save the world.  I still have the first romance series I ever collected, Roberta Gellis’ fabulous Roselynde Chronicles.  She broke a rule in this series, too. The first two books had the same heroine. Yep. Her first HEA wasn’t so ever-after. Husband number one was much older and died while she was still in her 30’s, leaving her to remarry a man much closer to her own age.  I’m not sure you could get away with that in today’s market, but as Ms. Gellis was one of the founders of the historical romance genre as we know it, she did. I had the chance to meet her at last year’s RT convention, and practically genuflected at her feet.

Series have problems though. They can go on way too long. Then they run the risk of being repetitive or jumping the shark. There are a couple of very big names that I used to run right out and buy on release day. Now I get them from the library if I bother at all.  I totally respect author Linda Howard who said she wasn’t writing any more books in her MacKenzie (sp?) family series, because she didn’t want to have to kill off the parents.  Sometimes, you just have to let go.  And who knows? If she hadn’t, we might not have had all the NEW wonderfulness she’s written since.

As an author, I am still learning about the pitfalls of series. Writing the last of any series is hard. There’s always a lot I’d written in that can’t be changed, so I have to write around things I might have changed if they hadn’t been set in stone by previous books.  I have to really work to make the final heroine different from the others—can’t have them all blending together.  Even names are a bigger challenge. But sales-wise, there’s a definite plus. When a new book comes out, sales do spike again for previous books in the series. And when you’ve written a character who’s just too cool to say goodbye to, it’s nice to be able to give them their own HEA. Today I’m here celebrating the last (planned) book in my Urban Arcana  series from Carina Press, the first of which, Motor City Fae, introduced a whole new world, with elves and werewolves and wizards in Detroit. Motor City Witch was number two, and book 3 Motor City Wolf, came out last October. Motor City Mage, out March 12 wraps up the story arc. It is hard to say goodbye to old friends.

So yes, I’d have to say I’m in favor of the series concept, both as an author and as a reader. But if I ever drag one out to the point of absurdity, will somebody please let me know?

* * * * *

Motor City Mage

Urban Arcana Book 3

By Cindy Spencer Pape

Coming to Carina Press, August 29, 2011

Preorder link: http://bit.ly/w8KpVR

As a cop who keeps paranormals in line, Des has a hard time trusting them. So why does he want the beautiful werewolf Lana more than his next breath? She's mouthy, flamboyant and distractingly sexy—not the type of woman for a reserved mage like him. Lana admires Des, but she can't be with someone who won't take her seriously, no matter how much she'd love to rip off his dress shirt.

When a dangerous new drug shows up in Detroit, Des must locate the source, and Lana is determined to help. But their plan goes awry, trapping them in a demon dimension. To return home, Lana and Des must flee through a series of unpredictable alternate realities, fighting enemies while trying to shut down the drug trade. But if they're going to survive, they'll have to rely on each other, even though getting closer will add fuel to a fire that's already burning out of control...

 

* * * * *

Contest Info: Comment on this or any of my posts from today and be entered to win a download of your choice of any of the Urban Arcana books. Up to one entry per person, per post.