The Series and the Stand-Alone

Series versus the stand-alone. A recent trend among romance novels has seen the slow decline of the stand-alone. Almost every ebook or print novel I read anymore has a host of characters in the mix, with follow on books forthcoming. Why? Because a lot of publishers don’t want to invest in a one-hit wonder. They want books, plural, from an author.

Now in the electronic world, we’re more flexible about plotlines and writing stories outside the box. So why so many series books? As an author, I spend so much time investing in creating a world and the characters in it, that sometimes I want to expand upon those characters. For some reason, when writing about one hero, his best friend or relative nudges me to remember him for another book. Characters who don’t exist at the onset of the book suddenly leap out and grab me by the throat, shouting, “I’m next.”

I drafted many of my stories as stand-alone titles, where secondary characters developed into follow-on books. In Tied and True, my hero’s absent business partner became the hero for Reaper’s Reward. And the owner of the resort in Reaper’s Reward became one of the main characters in Satyr’s Myst.

As a reader, when I read a great story that I don’t want to end, I look forward to reading more from the author about characters I met in that particular story. It gives me that warm and fuzzy to know I’ll get to find out what happened to Tom, Dick and Harry.

In my newest project for Loose Id, I intentionally drafted a story arc to be told over four books. And then, in the middle of book two, BAM. A minor character reared his head. Now, I’m not sure if his story will ever see the light of day, but he’s a guy who won’t leave my mind. So in the meantime, I’m working on building Circe’s Recruits into an entertaining world where the surprises keep coming.

In Circe’s Recruits: Roane, you meet all five Circs. There’s Roane, the tough leader, Hale, the relaxed second in command, Ace, the hot-head, Zack, the flexible team player, and Derrick, the loyal comrade who’s learned the hard way not to trust easily. Doc takes care of his men, those he helped create through his research for Project Dawn. And there’s Kelly, who takes care of the domestic logistics in running a compound for an absentminded scientist and the giants who live with him.

Each story is its own, read by itself. They go together to create one large story arc, but in and of themselves they can be enjoyed in or out of order. Another part of series writing that I both love and hate. Finding a book by an author and reading it out of order should be okay. It might make me want to pick up book one, but if it confuses me, I might just toss it aside. As an author, making sure the books flow can be a real challenge, but it’s one I’m excited to take on.

To read more about Circe’s Recruits, take a look at this link. The first book comes out Nov 18^th, and the ball starts rolling...

Marie

www.marieharte.com