Madison Scott for Writers Gone Wild.
I've always been fond of reading series. I love the chance to see characters from a previous book or to continue their story throughout multiple books. It's like I get a second chance to re-visit old friends. I get to check in and see how their life is going. That may sound funny, but one of the signs of a really good book to me is one where I feel like the heroine is or could be my friend. Even if we're different, if by the end of the book, I've bonded like that with her, then I'm sold.
When I started writing I knew I also wanted to write a series. The first book I ever sold, Getting Lucky with Luciano was the first in a series. Well, now I'm working on the last book. As you can probably tell from my series of "why the heck can't I finish this book" posts lately that I'm really struggling with it. I think part of the reason is because I know I will never "see" these girls again. I wanted this series to really center on the relationship between the three girlfriends. Of course they're all romance, and each book tells one girls story but they all play important rolls in each book. These girls are sisters. They would do anything for each other. They laugh, they cry, they'd give each other an earful of need be but it would always be out of love.
I think I'm having a hard time leaving that behind. I know I have to. I know it's time. Their stories are all being told and they will all have their HEA, but I feel like I'm losing three girlfriends. I'm going to miss my girls nights out that they share every Friday. I will miss Bri's smart aleck attitude and Tabby's heart on her sleeve. I'll miss Kaylee's seriousness and responsible nature. She's the one who reigns in the girls when need be and the most like me. It's sad to know that their stories will all be told and we'll have no more Friday's at Luciano's so I'm procrastinating and I really, really need to stop. LOL.
The really bad part is right after this I will be working on my final book in the Malone Brother's series so I'm probably going to start the process all over again....
Do you have a hard time letting go of a series you're writing? As a reader, is it hard when one of your favorite series comes to an end?
5 comments:
As a reader, I find it very hard to let go of a series. I went through this with Christine Feehan's Drake Sisters series last summer. I was happy to see all of the conflict solved. I was even more happy to find that all of the sisters found true love. However, the happy ending was bittersweet because I knew we wouldn't see them again. You get attached to the characters.
On the other hand, it's good to come to a series end. I know several authors who have series going that should have ended books ago. I think they keep them going because they don't want to give up the characters they love, and they want to keep their popular series going. It results in books that are "so-so" and readers getting bored. So, an end isn't always a bad thing.
As a reader, I do miss certain series when they're done. As an author, I'm just now finishing out my first series, and I'm going to be very glad to be done with it. :) While I love the stories, the heat levels were more than I'm comfortable with, so I'll be glad to have it done and move into a more mainstream direction with my work.
Mary, I agree with you on some series going to far. Even know I'm sad to see mine end, I know it needs to :)
Hi :)
Thanks for a great post.
Some series do dry up and just go through the motions and I stop reading them.
Some series lose their way.
And some series I am terribly sad to have end.
Worse is when the author dies before finishing a series (ROBERT JORDAN).
Thank you for sharing,
All the best,
@RKCharron
xoxo
I am crazy about reading series. If the first book is good, then I just have to read them all. When the series comes to an end, I feel like I am losing some really good friends.
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