CHALLENGES OF WRITING A SERIES
Do you read a series in order from book one, or do you begin with later
books? As a reader, I always start with the first book and read them in order.
I’m curious to know what kind of reader you are.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with my books, I write the Celtic Wolves
series, which begins with
Celtic Moon and is followed by
Summer Moon.
Autumn
Moon, book three, will be available at midnight. The stories are inspired by
Celtic folklore and are a mixture of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Set
in modern day, it’s a world where warriors are also wolves and reality isn’t
always what it seems. Each installment features a new couple’s love story,
while the fantasy elements span the series. The books are written for adults
and contain graphic love scenes and battle scenes—and a few shocking scenes as
well. It’s those graphic scenes that may have landed my books on the urban
fantasy side of things instead of paranormal romance.
Now that I’ve released three novels, I can no longer claim to be a debut
author. But this is the first series I’ve written, and I did run into some
challenges. The main one, for me at least, was how much information from
earlier books should be included in later installments. It’s a precarious
balance, because there needs to be enough information for new readers to grasp
the world and couple’s backstory without being lost, and yet there shouldn’t be
so much that it’s a retelling.
Another challenge is that early review copies are sent to reviewers who
haven’t read previous books, and they need to be able to jump right in and
understand what’s going on.
For readers who are starting the series at this point, I’ve worked very hard
to include brief reminders of past events and the history of the characters’
origin and world, and I’ve tried to do this in new ways using fresh
perspectives. But, again, it is a series. Important events have happened in
previous books that motivate later actions, and I am respectful of readers who
have read this series from the beginning and don’t want earlier events retold at
length in each installment.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that Elen and Cormack have been secondary
but significant characters throughout the series, and
Autumn Moon is the story
where these two
finally get together. Of all the emails I get from readers,
this is the couple I’m asked most about. Cormack and Elen are both outcasts for
different reasons, and drawn together as friends because of it. Elen is feared
for her magical abilities, and Cormack has been trapped in wolf form for
centuries. They’ve lived together as friends for hundreds of years, bound by an
emotional connection—but not a physical one because of their unique
circumstances.
Everything changes at the end of
Celtic Moon, book one, when Elen frees
Cormack from his curse. Cormack is now a man. He wants more than friendship,
but first he must learn his new human form before he can claim the woman he
loves. Instead of adding more magic to the mix, I took a realistic approach
with his character. Cormack doesn’t instantly begin to walk on two feet or
speak. He has to learn, which is frustrating for him because he’s always had
the intelligence of a man while trapped in wolf form. But understanding a
language and speaking it with an unfamiliar tongue is a difficult challenge for
a proud man. He doesn’t want Elen witnessing his learning process, and so he
leaves with Luc, her brother and the hero of book two, until he can return to
her as a worthy mate. This process takes time. In
Summer Moon, readers get to
watch Cormack’s progress as a secondary character—and Elen’s heartbreak as he
avoids her. His pride becomes the conflict here, and I had so much fun with
this couple!
From Autumn Moon:
Cormack formed an intimidating figure as he marched
beside her with graceful strides. His sword swung from his side, the belted
scabbard hanging low off his hip, with his eyes sharp and searching for
potential threats.
He’d left her as a gentle friend but returned to her as a warrior. And why
did that make her stomach flutter as if a thousand butterflies danced to his
song?
If you begin this series with
Autumn Moon, you will meet Cormack the warrior
and not the tortured wolf from earlier books. Cormack’s separation from Elen
during his training created some wonderful conflicts to overcome; all the while
they are learning each other for the first time with hearts that are already
bound. Their journey was truly magical to write.
I will leave you with an excerpt from
Autumn Moon when Elen confronts him
about why he’s stayed away, but I am also interested in my earlier question.
What kind of series reader are you? Will you start a series midway through?
Or do you start at the beginning?
As always, I hope you’re reading something just for fun!
Jan
An excerpt from Autumn Moon:
Elen’s gaze returned to meet his, filled with
uncertainty. “Then why?” She lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “Why
haven’t you told me this sooner? Why have you stayed away? Why have you avoided
me?” The questions flowed like rivers in spring. “I thought we were friends.”
Her last insult saved Cormack from babbling like an idiot. She wasn’t ready
to hear what desires haunted his soul. Like boiling blood through his veins, he
wanted her with a fierceness that would frighten her. “I needed to learn how to
be human.”
“But I would have helped you.”
“I know.” He cringed at the thought. “But there are some things a man needs
to learn on his own. Private things.”
“But we’re Celts.” She scoffed as if he’d made a tasteless joke. “Since when
do you value privacy?”
Since I’ve been given a chance to have you. Needing to put an end to her
questions, he provided a reason she couldn’t refute. “Yes, I am a Celt, which is
why I deserve to have my will respected.”
And, more importantly, his pride.
That first week in an unfamiliar body was not a story for her ears, or the
months that followed. Accounts of him dripping soup down his chin or fumbling
with buttons and shoelaces. Forming his first words and bumbling the sounds. Or
slicing his leg while learning how to swing a sword. Having his face
crisscrossed with cuts like an adolescent teen after shaving.
Or enthusiastic body parts that arose every morning without fail. And, yes,
their race was known to openly love without shame, and not to judge, as it
should be, but Celts also respected each individual’s journey and preference.
And his was, and always would be, Elen. He’d waited centuries for her. Was it
too much to ask that she wait a few months for him to be worthy of her?
Autumn Moon
Celtic Wolves #3
Amazon
BN
The heart of a warrior, the soul of a wolf, and the desires of a man…
For
centuries, Cormack has lived between worlds—a man trapped in the body
of a wolf, shunned by humans and shifters alike. Only one person has
ever welcomed his company: Elen, a kindred outcast who is feared by
others of her ancient Celtic race for her strange healing abilities.
Cormack
has always valued Elen’s kindness and understanding, but after a
desperate act of friendship causes Elen to free him from his curse, he
realizes he wants more. He wants all of her—completely and
forever.Except before Cormack can win Elen’s heart, Pendaran, the evil
leader of the Guardians, captures her, determined to manipulate her
incredible power to aid him in his twisted war against the shapeshifting
tribes.
Now Cormack must use all of his skills as a warrior and
a wolf to save the woman he loves—before Pendaran’s vile schemes
destroy them all…
Excerpt
Too wired to sleep, Elen opened the wine and poured a glass, sipping quietly as she walked over to the bed. Cormack slept above the coverlet and on his back, with one arm raised over his head, while the other rested by his side. His hair was still damp from his shower, and he wore jeans but no shirt, as if he’d just rested his head and sleep claimed him first.
His chest rose and fell with even breaths. She was not one to marvel over physical attributes, but this was Cormack, and his body was meant for pleasure, like a goddess had molded him for her personal divine gratification. His frame was large, and toned, with wide shoulders and a firm chest that tapered down to his hips. His hardened stomach would provide the perfect friction were she to ride him just like this.
And as that image flooded her mind, another, more wicked one, followed. It was greedy, and selfish, but all her niceness had been used up for the day. He looked peaceful, and innocent, but the man was practically immortal after all. Their kind did not die from lack of sleep. They might go mad, of course, but that took a few weeks. And had he not said, do with me as you will?
She needed to touch him. That was all. Well, no, she wanted more, but for now that would do. Taking a sip of her wine, she gently set the glass on an end table by the bed, and gave into temptation. Starting by his heart, she brushed lightly across his chest, tracing down the indent between, and lingering on the valleys and curves of his muscles. Flattening her hand over his stomach, she felt the soft hair that began just above the waistband of his jeans and disappeared below. She had never seen him in this restful state, at least not in his human form, and took in her ravenous fill.
Her hand lingered over the button of his jeans. She swallowed, wanting… Oh, how she wanted. It burned like molten earth, fed by a need that had been denied for too long. Even now she felt her body moisten and swell just from imagining what waited beyond that closure, and how it would feel inside her.
Or how it would taste.
She thumbed the button. A quick flick was all it would take.
A sound made her jolt, an intake of breath perhaps, followed by a sudden rise under her hands. She snapped her eyes to his face.
Cormack was awake.
And watching her.
A fire raged within his cerulean gaze. “Kill me now if you stop, Elen, because then I’ll know I’m well and truly cursed and I cannot be tortured anymore.”
Prequel for Autumn Moon:
http://jandelima.com/ms-hafwen-excerpt/
First chapter for Autumn Moon:
http://jandelima.com/autumn-moon-first-chapter/
__________________________________
Tour Wide
Trinity: The False Prince
