Monday, October 31, 2011

My Series

Good Morning.  As a writer, we've all wondered when we finish the first book if we have "enough" to turn it into a series.  As soon as I found Penny and William (from THE LADY'S MASQUERADE) I wanted to do one.  I had a broad scheme and fleshed out the story lines from the other three books I was going to write.  (Back then it was only three.)

However, I found doing research one day, my storylines were not going to work.  The months I had planned to use in my storyline for the THE CAPTAIN'S LADY and THE LADY'S FATE were all wrong.  Parliament was not in session, and that played a key role in how my men were going to be in London.  So I had to scrap the idea and come up with another plan.

There was also the problem of the Prince Regent.  His ascendency to the throne did not take place until February 1811.  Also, his sister, Princess Amelia passed away in November of 1810, which also played a part because the country went into national mourning. 

Hmm...what was a writer to do?  So I decided that I would do what I like to call, a "wrap-around" or "over-lap" series.  All my books overlap each other, and wrap around.  The characters, the plots, and storylines mesh and blend, so all the stories intertwine.

To break it all down in simpler terms.

THE LADY'S MASQUERADE  March 1810 -- September 1811
THE LADY'S FATE                    May 1810 -- June 1811
THE CAPTAIN'S LADY            September 1810 -- February 1811
THE DUKE'S DIVORCE            March 1811 -- July 1811 
THE EARL'S ENIGMA               June 1811 -- October 1811


This overlap solved several problems at once; allowed me to combine characters and storylines from one book into another, kept me from having to do uncessary research (and therefore allowed me to write more), and kept all the characters fresh in my mind.  They're all friends and friends lives do tend to overlap.

Tell me, have you ever read a series such as this -- when all the books continue during the same time frame.

17 comments:

  1. I can't say that I have Anne and your solution sounds perfect. I am absolutely in LOVE with your covers and can't wait to get my Kindle. I mean for The Lady's Fate to be my first buy and download!

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  2. Bish -- Thanks. You know if you don't want to wait, I'll send you the ms. free of charge!

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  3. Ooo, smart! I must say, however, that I've never had a desire to write a series. Ever. Maybe companion books like in Bonded, but never a continuing series. I'm not much into reading them, either, but I do make some exceptions depending on the book. You're overlapping is seriously brilliant. :)

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  4. Thanks Michelle. I wouldn't say brilliant but it does serve the purpose.

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  5. I had intended my WIP to be a standalone but the characters keep talking to me so now it's a trilogy. But there are several years in between each book and it's more about the family than a single person. I think each one could be a stand alone too.

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  6. I don't believe I've read an overlapping series before - but I love the concept. And it's great to know we'll get to know these characters even better and from a different angle.

    P.S. I'll send you interview questions soon - bunny unexpectedly died last Friday :( and threw things around here into a tizzy.

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  7. I love this idea and have had such fun when the characters I am familiar with have appeared in your other works. It's a great idea! The only similarity I can think of is Anita Shreve, who writes about the same place and a certain house/building pops up in most of her books.

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  8. S.P. Mine were intended to be stand alone's, and I guess they still are. I've written them with enough information to follow along, but I think once they're all finished, it would be fun to read one after the other.

    Nicki -- So sorry to hear about bunny. That's so sad. No worries on the questions. I found the song.

    It's the different angle, most of them are minor players in other books (but their own) so by the time the series is finished, they're very well developed. They grow with each book.

    Liza -- I love Anita Shreve. I also love the theme of familiar characters appearing from other books. It's like comfort food with old friends. You already what you're getting.

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  9. Yep! I'm actually re-reading all of Anne McCaffrey's Dragons of Pern series (OMG, i still love them as much as ever, if not more. LOVE THEM!!!!), and there are huge amounts of overlap between some of the books.

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  10. Anne, I like reading stories like yours where I meet old characters in a new setting and they become like old friends. I've written my books like that too, where characters in one book get their story in another.

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  11. Hi,

    It's lovely when sub-characters reappear as main characters in a sequel book or series. Funnily enough, in My English Civil War novel the very handsome young Cavalier captain who is secretly in love with the heroine, of course doesn't win her hand in marriage. But in book two he's the hero, and although he has a heroine, a lovely heroine, still a flame burns for the heroine of previous novel. She features, of course, so does the hero of previous novel inclusive their children. All in all it will be a trilogy covering the years of the civil war, the Monmouth rebellion and the restoration of Charles II as the children take precedence.

    I am so going to enjoy your books, because I thoroughly enjoyed Violet's story! Will do a review as soon as possible. ;)

    best
    F

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  12. I love having characters pop up in cameo appearances, especially if it's a scene I've read before, in a previous book, from someone else's pov. I remember reading something like that a long time ago but, for the life of me, I can't remember what book it was!

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  13. I enjoyed reading how your series began and then how it evolved! Oh, and I LOVE series. I get attached to secondary characters and always want to know their stories.

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  14. I love looking at timelines like that. Mine seem to all be progressing linearly at the moment - I'm certain of dates, but I have to find out for once and for all where Cem Sultan lived in 1493. I keep writing [Venice] in...

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  15. I can't say that I have read a book series like this. It sounds interesting.

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