Thanks for joining us today. I’m stoked about today’s post. In my ongoing discussion on constructing a book series, I asked a group of writers, who are in the process of, have written, a book series, to provide some insight into their process and books.

My panel includes V.S. Nelson, Camelia Miron Skiba, Shanyn Hosier, Mary Buckham, and Gina Conkle. I’m very excited to have this incredibly talented panel of authors bringing varied knowledge and experiences, some traditionally published and some self-published, writing different genres that include romance (including a LGBT ménage romance!), paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and historical. Next to their pictures below, I included a brief description of their book series. At the end of the post, please find a brief bio on each along with a picture of their latest release or cover to one of their series!

Mary Buckham: I’m writing two series. One in fiction, one in non-fiction. The fiction one is an Urban Fantasy series focused on a group of five human women with unique gifts recruited to fight growing agitation from the preternatural world that exists side-by-side with the human world, though unknown to most.  They do this via a new agency called the INVISIBLE RECRUITS, which echoes the theme of women in the shadows, fighting their own fears and limitations as well as battling threats unknown to most humans. The initial books in the series focus on Alex Noziak, part/witch, part/shaman, who must learn to embrace her gifts to help her team and others or die in the process. The non-fiction series is called WRITING ACTIVE SETTINGS, which explores different elements of utilizing setting on the page as a dynamic, powerful craft tool in several distinct ways.

Shanyn Hosier: Desert Menage is comprised of three books. It follows three characters—Beth, Paul, and John—and their triadic relationship from its comically tenuous beginning in Nine Dates, through its evolution into a strong and equitable bond in Tri Me, culminating with the threesome facing unique and politically charged challenges in Wholly Trinity as they strive to live more openly and begin a family together.  Amanda Ryder (series) never asked for her special gifts—she’d been born with the ability to see, hear, and sense things around her no one else could. But her family never believed her innocence and accused her of witchcraft. Her father threw her out of the house on her eighteenth birthday, when an exorcism went horribly wrong. The series follows Amanda as she makes her way in the world, meeting others with paranormal talents, struggling to find her place. It’s not always easy, especially when “good” guys don’t always make “good” choices.

V. S. Nelson: Long ago, seven stepped forward and volunteered for a mission to protect Earth from an evil that escaped their world. Today they are known as those that run Guardians Inc., a world renowned protection agency. Although the books in the series are multi-plotted, each book centers on one of these heroes and their quest for true love.

Camelia Miron Skiba: My series is a 5-story historical romance series called Dacian Legends (Born In Vengeance and Born In Sin already released; Born In Darkness will come out 2015). Each book follows the story of one of the members of a Dacian brotherhood in their quest for revenge, honor and love.

Gina Conkle: Midnight Meetings, a 3 book series with Sourcebooks, tells of men and women entwined with the once golden Sanford family. The Industrial Revolution looms ahead and each character must adapt.  A pivotal “midnight meeting” changes lives in each book.

All the series sound great and some I’ve had the pleasure of starting to read! I’d like to observe something here, which I find very interesting. The book titles are connected in some way (all very creative and intriguing), and we definitely see this with many book series.

We have V.S. Nelson’s two published books in her Sekhmet’s Guardians: Eternal Lovers and Eternal Nights. The eternal already clues you in to the immortal aspect.

Cami’s Born In Vengeance, Born in Sin, etc…touching upon each hero’s conflict/story.

Shanyn’s Nine Dates, Tri Me, and Wholly Trinity which all play into the ménage theme.

Mary’s Invisible Recruits, Invisible Magic, Invisible Power. Automatically I wonder, why invisible? Mary explains the invisible relates to internal and external conflicts.

Gina’s Midnight Meetings, which I find a fantastic idea., and the series title immediately clues you in.

My Necromancer Series: Necromancer’s Seduction, Necromancer’s Betrayal, and tentative third title of Necromancer’s Redemption. Each title reflects a specific theme for the heroine’s arc (and other characters as well).

If you visit these authors’ websites and look at the book covers, you see a design theme as well. All this helps the reader connect immediately to the series, and also shows the author put a lot of thought into the look of their series, etc.

One of the challenging aspects for me in writing my series has been filling the reader in on what happened in the previous book. I’ve seen authors do this in various ways, and I think the method used depends on the type of book series. How have you approached filling the reader in? Continue reading →