Virginia Kantra chats up Carr, Shalvis, James about ongoing series
Virginia Kantra, author of Carolina Blues, chats up her fellow authors about writing ongoing series.
Virginia: When I first planned to write a series, I had the story of a particular family in mind — the three Fletcher siblings, each with his or her own romance, all bound by love and family ties, all living on North Carolina's Dare Island. But when I finished their story, I discovered I wasn't ready to leave. I had created a place, like the Outer Banks themselves, that I wanted to return to again and again.
Other writers and readers can get hooked on a place, too. Our settings, real or imagined, can become favorite vacation destinations, a place to recharge our energies to deal with the daily grind. Thunder Point. Shelter Bay. Lucky Harbor. Blue Heron. You already know the best places to eat. It's fun to discover a new, secluded make-out spot. And it can be wonderful to revisit old friends!
Following a series gives readers the chance to see favorite couples living out their happily-ever-after. In Carolina Blues, the Fletchers still have roles to play. There's even a Fletcher family wedding.
"It's a great and familiar comfort to return to the roots of a successful series and expand on it," Robyn Carr (The Homecoming) says. "It allows me to watch original characters grow and change as they create relationships with new characters." Because while readers who glom on to series enjoy dropping in on previous couples, they're also eager to read about new characters.
Carolina Blues focuses on characters whom readers have met — or at least caught glimpses of — before. Sexy island police chief Jack Rossi plays a pivotal role in the previous book, Carolina Man. And "Hostage Girl" Lauren Patterson gets a mention in Carolina Girl as a client of Meg Fletcher. As JoAnn Ross (Briarwood Cottage) says, "Those of us writing series spend a LOT of time building our worlds — communities populated with all sorts of people of all ages. The bookseller seen washing the window, who has one scene in River's Bend, will eventually have her own story. Just like in real life."
Meeting a new character through the eyes of a familiar narrator is like being introduced to someone by an old and trusted friend. You can learn about them gradually, through multiple books and deepening levels of intimacy, the way you would get to know someone in real life. People aren't always who they appear to be on first meeting. It's exciting to get to know characters from that first enticing glance to a full understanding of their fears and feelings, hopes and dreams.
Eloisa James (Three Weeks With Lady X) recently extended her Desperate Duchesses series to the next generation. "The pleasure of returning to characters you created years ago is the lovely span of time that passed between: It allows characters to have so much more depth if you think about them, on and off, for years rather than weeks." Which makes me think I'll be returning to Dare Island to tell Josh Fletcher's story one day!
In the meantime, exploring Dare Island through the eyes of newcomers Jack and Lauren gave me a fresh perspective on the place and the people. The hero of the next book (Carolina Dreaming, out next year) is an outsider as well, a Marine buddy of Luke Fletcher's. Jill Shalvis (He's So Fine) says she tends to write romances set in series "for the simple reason that I love creating bromances, and once I put it on the page, I can't let it go. I have to carry the guys' relationship through several books at least."
Our lives are all about making connections. So it's no surprise our reading is, too! And of course the most important connection we make as writers is with our readers. Writing a series lets us deepen that connection as we invite our readers back to the worlds we've shared before.
So I'll keep returning to Dare Island. And I hope you'll make the trip with me!
For more about my books and to read an excerpt of Carolina Blues — out today! — visit www.virginiakantra.com.