Not long ago, in my Facebook group, The Posse, a reader asked me this question:
“When do you begin planning a new series? What is that process like?”
Unlike some authors who have a constant fount of ideas bubbling through their creative centers, I tend to have tunnel vision. I focus on one idea at a time. So I always feel a bit anxious when a current series is coming to a close and I’m faced with the prospect of coming up with a new idea. Which happens to be where I am right now. I’ve turned in the last Horseman book, and I’ve starting writing the first book in what will be a new three-book series.
My goal is to keep my stories and series ideas as fresh as possible. So I start by deciding which basic element will connect my stories. The idea behind Hanger’s Horsemen was the A-Team meets the Magnificent Seven. The four Horsemen are former cavalry officers who are bonded by war and their desire for redemption.
The Archer Brothers series had a family connection. The Ladies of Harper’s Station series had books that were all set in the same geographic place, the women’s colony of Harper’s Station. My Patchwork Family series was linked through a group of orphans who bonded after surviving a traumatic experience.
Once I know what core bond the series will be built upon, I can start brainstorming the individual characters and stories. And since my books don’t release in rapid succession, I steer away from writing series that utilize cliffhangers at the end of each book. All of my series books can be read as stand-alone novels, each complete with an adventure, romance, and happily ever after. However, I do have fun bringing characters back from previous books for cameo appearances in subsequent stories for readers to enjoy.
As I brainstormed ideas for my next series, I decided to create a bond based on a theme instead of a particular group of characters. I proposed a series of Twisted Texas Tales, that take classic fairy tales and give them a 19th century, Texas twist. I’m about 25% into Book 1, with heroine Penelope Snow and hero Titus Kingsley. Oh, and there happen to be seven retired drovers at a ranch known as the Diamond D who get in on the action as well. Can you guess which fairy tale I’m tackling first? 🙂
What kind of series do you like best?
What connection elements are your favorite?
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I like series where there is no connection between each book. I like series where the characters grow and new ones are added. I like series where the town grows. I like series where the Christian theme grows and touches the people more and more. Aw heck I love series. lOL
That’s awesome, Lori. We love readers who are easy to please with a good story. 🙂
I love the idea of the new series! Can’t wait! I am so in awe of people who can do a series. 🙂
Thanks, D’Ann! I’m having fun reliving my childhood Disney infatuation with this new one.
I do like to read books in a series. Mostly it’s the familiar characters that draw me back. There’s a familiar setting which feels like home.
Susan May Warren did a series with 6 titles–and I started somewhere in the middle, then I HAD to go back to the first title! I literally devoured the entire series! It was the characters, the main plot & the subplots, that kept me reading. What would happen next? Would Character A, B, C, or D get his or her happily ever after?
I listened to the audio of Love on the Line, then HAD to go back to the first title in the series! I loved Harper’s Station–and the aunts!
Thanks for writing several series of great books!
Great thought, Martha. Those characters really do make the difference, don’t they?
What a fabulous idea for your new series, Karen! You (and readers) are going to have so much fun with that. I love it when writers take a tried-and-true idea/trope and give it a fresh twist.
Thanks, Becky. I’m certainly having fun writing it. I hope readers enjoy it as well. 🙂
Book series are definitely a favourite of mine, but they become so much more when the books following in a series do bring back characters from the previous book(s). It makes it so much more fun when the characters you (supposedly) fell in love with come back and make the next story special with their appearance. At least, that’s what I think… my siblings would say otherwise, lol.
I do love those cameo appearances. In my 3rd Horsemen book, there will be a significant visit from the h/h of book 1 early in the story, then at the end, the full cast comes back for a reunion. 🙂
That sounds like so much fun! I’m already excited for the next book in Hanger’s Horsemen. =)
Love series! I digging into a family dynamic, or exploring the different lives and points of view of characters who bond during some shared experience. Series also tend to give you great little clues regarding a loved character’s “future story.” For example, I loved how nervous Travis was over Meredith’s pregnancy in “Stealing the Preacher.”
Yes! It’s kind of like extending the epilogue into a new story. I love that, too, Janice!
Family or close friends are my favorite connection in a series
Those do make wonderful character connections, Jcp.
I love this idea! Fairy tale retellings are always fun because there is a thread of familiarity with the story, but it’s fun to see how the author weaves this thread through the story.
I’m glad you like the idea, Ruby. And I like how you put it – A thread of familiarity running through the story. That’s what I’m hoping to achieve. A fresh story with new twists that still harkens back to the classic story we all know and love.
I love it when authors bring in characters from their other books (even those otherwise hardly related) and give them a cameo appearance. Even if it’s just a slight reference. It can be fun to have that connection, I think. 🙂