Wow. It didn't take me long to fall off the wagon on posts. Sorry. Have family visiting and I've been distracted. Not to mention I've been knee-deep in edits and the beginning of a whopper story, my last installment of the Storm Lords. This one is going to be big, a stand-alone if you've never read the others, while also tying up all the loose ends in the other stories. Whew. I'm tired thinking about it.
So my question for you out there....how do you feel about series stories? How do you feel about the lag time between books in a series, and what makes you decide to try them out?
I've been glad to read about characters I fell in love with in a novel having their own stories told, and also disappointed when an author failed to make good on a series by not finishing that final book. (I promise, I'm writing book 5 of the Storm Lords.) And sometimes it's hard since lag time between books in a series might make you forget details. But if you're like me, and keep a lot of your books, that's not much a problem.
Your thoughts?
Marie
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
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13 comments:
I am a serious series reader - I hate when I find an author late and have ti back track. except for Dara Joy, I have been able to track down all books that I seek. I am like a dog with a bone until I have all my books in a row ready to read in succession.
I love series, lets me get to know more characters and hopefully revisit old ones.
Series are great to read! They're a pain to write. LOL
I, too, love reading about previous characters and seeing where they are after their HEA. I pick and choose my series, though, because I have limited time to read. So if there's 10's of books in a series, unless I really REALLY like the author, I probably won't pick it up. But a trilogy I can do.
They're a pain to write because you have to remember every detail. I have a few series myself and I frequently find myself re-reading older books just to find out the correct color of a car I mentioned previously. It's hard in that way, with all the minute details.
But it's also rewarding for the author, because they, too, get to re-visit the characters they've created and have some fun. :)
~~Becka
I like series, but only for so long. I like to be done after 5 books or so, but a lot of them carry on. And on. And on. For long after they've jumped the shark.
I'm waffling mightily on The Dark Hunters although I loved the first several. The nice thing about Christine Feehan's books is that they can usually be read out of order or stand alone. I'm crushing hard on JR Ward right now. She hasn't missed a step yet for me.
I'm a series ho! I love to read series because I can get to know more about a world than with just one book. Keri Arthur, Carrie Vaughn, Kim Harrison, etc - love it.
It's also fun to write them but I have a limit. Most of the time I stick to four books because I don't want to just throw stuff together to make another book in a series. I'd rather end with people wanting more than have people think, "gah she needed to end this thing three books ago"
I to am a series reader ho...The one thing I hate is that I buy a book on discount, but find out that it's part of a series. Then I go on the author's website, to find the names of the whole series,and then I go buy the rest of the books. If I can't find the books,I either order them, or wait and see if I find them later. All and all when I start a new series,I don't like the wait in between books. Lisa kleypas,Angela Knight,Lauren Dane,Sherrilyn Kenyon,Cathy Maxwell, are my most favorites. There are more authors I collect, but haven't had a chance yet to read.
Love series, but have to agree with everyone else, they are a pain to write, but can be an even bigger pain to read if the author doesn't follow through. I've also found some that sort of ran out of characters to write about and pulled some really minute ones to give their own book too. In that case it seemed the author had run out of steam and really should have concentrated on something else in order to stay fresh.
-Kat
Yeps, I am a series fan too. Love to revisit characters that I love, but totally hate the wait for the next book to come out!!
I too have come across writers who I felt have let their stories down by not giving them the time they deserve and can't follow thru with the next in the series by not knowing where to go next with them, it is sad, but I feel, like maybe others that you miss something if you don't read it. Everyone has their slumps but it doesn't mean the next book won't be the one that makes the whole series for the reader!
Stephanie
Good comments! I'm always excited to find a new author I like and find she's got a series of books I can purchase. But yeah, it's frustrating when there's an author you love and you have to wait...ahem, JR WARD??? I'm dying to read that next book. ack.
Marie
I love series! I don't like it when I come in the middle of one and have missed some. My favorite new series is the Black Dagger Brotherhood. J.R. Ward totally rocks!
I like to read series as well as stand alone books. My tolerance for time between new books in the series has grown smaller as I grow older - maybe it has something to do with memory?!?! If the books are genuinely memorable, it's not such an issue, but many of the paranormal series I am reading/ have read have similarities, so sometimes I get confused after a long gap and confuse the entire series, or character set!
Another problem with series: I have such a huge TBR (pile/shelving/bins/list) that I sometimes will have 3 or 4 books in a series backed up unread. At that point, I feel I have invested a lot of money without knowing if I'm even going to enjoy book 1! So I never know whether to keep purchasing and adding to the series TBR, so that if I don't like it, I have a complete series to sell on eBay, or to stop until I can read one or two to see if I am willing to keep gambling on further volumes! And of course, inevitably, because I have not updated my excel spreadsheets of what I have vs. what I want, I'll have 2 copies of one volume and none of another. Sigh. I need a keeper. Or at least a personal librarian.
Joy, which of Dara Joy's books are you looking for?
I too am an avid reader of series!! Getting to revisit old characters as well as seeing stories on secondary characters. I also have a hard time when I see a book and realize that it is part of a series - but the hunt is fun to get the previous books!! LOL.
If the author is an autobuy, I don't mind having to wait. If it's a new author that I just discovered and liked, and I find out he/she has a series, I go and buy everything I can find from the author and go on a binge.
Speaking of series, any chance that the Talson's stories will be published somewhere else? I purchased the original versions but lost them when my system crashed earlier this year and they are no longer available. Say yes, please pretty please! I love the Talson brothers.
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