There are many many times I read a book and wish it didn't end. I just wanted to keep reading about these characters that I came to love!!
Many authors write books with a series in mind. When I write A Bitch Named Karma, I had no plan other than what I was doing at that exact moment. But after a while, some ideas for a sequel did pop into my head....but I wouldn't allow myself to really give them much though until I found a home for the book. No point wasting time thinking about a sequel if I couldn't even sell the first. And there was no way I was going to write one when I could have used that time to write something else that had the possibility of selling. But after i signed the contract...the ideas swirled again. I took notes and wrote the manuscript last summer int he few months after A Bitch Named Karma's release. Karma Kameleon will release in January 2012!
As far as a 3rd.....who knows. Maybe someday! ;)
But one thing I have issues with in a series is books that are just filler and feel like the author only wrote it to hook you and make you want to buy the next. (I find this often with book #2) I hate feeling like I read an unfinished story just so the author could profit on selling the next book...they have you hooked and wanting more. In my opinion, every book in a series needs to stand alone. Not cool to leave me hanging at the end with no real ending.
One of my favorite series books is The Queen of Babble series by Meg Cabot! SUCH an awesome series. And I can't write a post on series books without mentioning The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Fantastic!!
What is your favorite series??
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I have two series I love and that have stayed with me long after I put them down - The Hunger Games Trilogy and the Outlander series.
ReplyDeleteI hear what you're saying about some sequels being filled with fluff, but that certainly doesn't stop me from reading! LOL!
The next book I'll be working on over the summer is part of a series, though I'm not yet sure if it will be one book or two. If I can condense it into two books, great! I don't want to write three (or more) just because that seems to be the trend . . .
I agree about books that aren't complete. And I hate the new trend toward serials. If I know a book is a serial, I pass on it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't necessarily think that all the conflict has to be resolved. In my mind, there is a difference between a cliff hanger ending and an incomplete book. For example, Karen Marie Moning's Fever series all end on cliffhangers, but I was never left unsatisfied. Frusterated while I waited for the next book...yes. Cheated because I didn't get a good story? Never. Same thing with Terry Brooks' Heritage of Shannara. Both of which are two of my favorite series.
Many of the series I read follow a different set of characters in each book, like another favorite of mine The Pride series by Shelly Laurenston. But I also love when an author continues with a character I've already fallen in love with. Speaking of, I'm very much looking forward to Karma Kameleon!
I like the Mercedes Lackey Valdemar trilogies - in some cases, one could argue they are sets of six (or more.) Each can stand alone, and IMO, she does a good enough job "bringing the reader up to speed" that the faithful readers isn't gnashing her teeth with impatience. Each book in the series plants seeds/characters that are further developed in the next book, but none of them end in some horrible cliff-hanger.
ReplyDeleteThen there's my old fav, the Anne of Green Gables series, which is all about the character. Writing in Flow
I agree...it does seem to be a trend lately!! :) I like a "spin off" kind of book too...where the author take a secondary character and makes them the main character. I adored Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed...but when i picked up the sequel, Something Blue, and realized the main character was the character I hated in book 1....it really took me a while to like it. But eventually I did :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sondrae!! I can't wait to share the next chapter of Lexi's life with everyone!! I don;t think all has to be solved but when the entire book is just filler, I'm not happy. I guess I like a little bit of a cliffhanger, but I've read some that are just huge...not real fond of that. I don't feel like I got a complete story.
Beverly, that sounds likes a great way to have a series!!
Thanks everyone for stopping by!!