Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Book Series


BOOK SERIES

 Hello friends, Karen Kirst here.  I don’t know about you, but I truly enjoy reading romance series, successive books either by a single author or multiple authors that are linked in some way.  Sometimes the connection is family.  I remember well my first time reading the O’Malley series by Dee Henderson.  The books, which revolve around adoptive siblings, hooked me with the first chapter.  Other times, the connection is a career or workplace.  Love Inspired does a number of continuity series, and one of my favorites is the suspense series Texas Ranger Justice, featuring brave men and women in pursuit of justice.  A series can also be tied together simply by a town or business venture, such as in the Love Inspired Historical series, The Women of Swan’s Nest, by Victoria Bylin. Or Kathryn Springer’s Love Inspired Mirror Lake.  
Why do these appeal to readers?  Perhaps it’s because the characters become familiar to us, almost like family, and it’s a treat to revisit them in later books.  Or because we’re introduced to interesting secondary characters and are eager to get that next installment featuring their stories.  When I began writing what would become my first sale, I knew I wanted to do a series.  So I planned it around the O’Malley cousins, two families living in 1880’s Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  As a writer, I’ve had a blast creating their world, especially as I’m a native East Tennessean and grew up near the Smoky Mountains.  I’m half-way through, yet I already know I’m gonna miss it.

What about you?  What do you like/dislike about series?  And for writers, what do you find most challenging about them?  (I have trouble keeping up with their ages as time passes!)

 Here’s a description of my April 2013 book, His Mountain Miss, third installment of my Smoky Mountain Matches series. 

A Battle of Wills

New Orleans aristocrat Lucian Beaumont wants only to sell his estranged grandfather's property and escape the backwoods of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. But a stipulation in the will brings him head-to-head with a local beauty. Megan O'Malley and the town must have access to the house. For the first time in his life the commanding Lucian finds himself at an impasse.
Clearly the worldly gentleman doesn't fit in Megan's quaint Smoky Mountain town. But as she glimpses the man beneath the hardened veneer, she believes Lucian is here for a purpose. To heal his soul. And maybe, with Megan's help, to heal his heart.
 

11 comments:

  1. I love series. I read them as they are published and I love learning more about characters and their locale.

    Continuities are different. I tend to buy all the books and then read them one after the other.

    Peace and New Year blessings, Julie

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    1. Happy New Year, Julie! I like your idea of waiting for all the continuity books. It's hard to wait between releases!

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  2. I do think series are fun because you feel like a part of the family! :)

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  3. I love series! You become addicted to the characters and certainly feel connected to them, like you really know them. I feel so sad when it's over! I always say, "no, please, just ONE more book to tell me what they are all doing now"! Unrealistic but I don't want to let them go! It's hard to wait in between the books too! When you mentioned Dee Henderson's O'Malley books, I just had to say that they are one of my all time favorite books! I just finished her new book! WOW!

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    1. I feel the same way, Valri! I bought Dee's latest book but haven't read it yet. Looking forward to it!

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  4. Great cover. I've just gotten back into historicals and am devouring them. I love the Smokey Mountains.

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    1. Thanks, Pamela! I was so happy they got the hero's hair right. Lol I'm lucky, I can see the mountains from my window. :)

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  5. I love series you get to continue to read about your favorite characters.

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  6. Im all typed out but i do love series and revisting friends.

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  7. I try to ensure each book in my Military Investigations series can stand alone. Some of the folks and the setting remain constant, but the stories can be read in any order. That's probably because I often don't start reading a series at book one. Hate when I don't know who's who.

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