Sunday 23 June 2013

Why More? The Allure of Sequels - guest post by Lindsay Townsend


This week I'm delighted to welcome Lindsay to my blog.  Go ahead, Lindsay, please tell us why you love to write a sequel.


Why more? The allure of sequels by Lindsay Townsend


Recently, Siren-Bookstrand accepted my historical romance 'A Summer Bewitchment'. This is a sequel to my historical romance 'The Snow Bride'.

I loved writing it. But why did I?


'The Snow Bride' is a complete romance in itself and can be read as a stand-alone title. Even so, when I had finished that story, I found the characters hard to let go. Magnus and Elfrida still had things to share with me and tales to tell me. Their differences in rank continued to intrigue me, also Magnus' battle scars and wounds begged the question, how deep did they go? I found myself thinking of them within their new home, in a summer landscape, and soon I had the first scene in my mind.

I was also drawn to write a sequel because I liked these people. I liked Magnus, his laconic, dry wit and rock-like dependability. I enjoyed the fact that he's the kind of Alpha male who doesn't have to yell about his masculinity all the time. I liked Elfrida with her fierce sympathy and deft skills, her courage and her self-doubt. They were challenging, interesting characters.

In 'A Summer Bewitchment,' the romantic conflict had to be different to that in 'The Snow Bride,' when the pair were learning each other and falling in love. Just as in real-life, Magnus and Elfrida have flash points in their relationship and I explored those. There were also new tensions I could build in. With 'The Snow Bride' I used the fairy story of Beauty and the Beast as an inspiration. 'A Summer Bewitchment' draws on the old, terrifying legend of the Pied Piper, who seduces youngsters away.


I am pleased with the resulting story, which takes Magnus and Elfrida to different places and different points in their relationship and marriage. I hope you will be too.

As a reader, do you enjoy sequels and series stories? If so, why?


As a writer, have you ever written a sequel to a story?

Links:




Lindsay Townsend website : http://www.lindsaytownsend.net


That was an interesting post -thank you Lindsay. Next week I am thrilled to have Anna Jacobs here answering questions about her writing.
Fenella J Miller

14 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for having me on your super blog Fenella. I'm looking forward to answering any questions people may have.

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  2. For me, a 30-second 'snippet' of a half-remembered dream grew into my first published book. Like Topsy, it continued to grow, and has now become a Trilogy (Book 2 is nearing completion).
    As you said, the Characters continued to develop and speak to me as I wrote, and I realised I simply HAD to make their thoughts known...
    Also: I wrote a childrens' book, and had PARENTS asking me to write more because their children had enjoyed the first one ... who can argue with THAT sort of incentive?

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  3. That's wonderful, Paul! What a wonderful reaction from your readers. Good luck with your Trilogy. As you say, the characters are crucial and have to evolve and develop.

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  4. Interesting, Lindsay. Thanks for sharing. I had no intention of writing a sequel to, Ripper, My Love, but a few emails from readers made me realise they loved Kitty, and wanted to know more. The reaction was wonderful when I released the sequel, and it sparked an idea to maybe turn it into a trilogy. Just need to finish novel four before five! :)

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  5. I enjoy series both as a reader and a writer. As a reader I do like each book to stand alone but I still prefer to read them in order. I am waitng for Jeffrey Archer's third book in his new series and I love Marcia Willett's family stories. Now I must try Lindsay's. As a writer saying good bye to charcters is like leaving old friends. The 5th and last in my Home series has just been published but mostly I write either 3 or 4 following the same family with different branches or generations. The problem comes if readers cannot access them in order and this should not be so much of a problem now we have digital books. Good luck Lindsay.

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  6. I love Lee Child's books -can't wait for another installment of Jack Reacher's life. Bernard Cornwall also writes an excellent series. I'm about to start the second part of Barbara's War - I'll let you know how I get on as this will be the first sequel I've written.

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  7. I agree with you, Fenella, Bernard Cornwall writes excellent series, and introduced me to the concept of fast-flowing historical series. I'd never thought of writing follow-ups because, when I was with them, mainstream publishers looked upon the idea with horror.

    Now I'm indie I'm halfway through the second in a trilogy where the past reaches forward into the present, utilizing a 3 by 3 by 3 concept endemic in Celtic and early English folklore - something I couldn't have even considered previously.

    So good for you, Lindsay. I hope both series do well for you.

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  8. Hi Fenella, I'm with you with Lee Child! I like Jack Reacher as a character very much.I also enjoy Norah Roberts as JD Robb and that series.

    Thanks so much, LindaA and Gwen for your good wishes. I wish you well with your trilogy, Linda, and with your Home series, Gwen. (I hope you enjoy my little series, too.)

    Hi Glynis. Reader feedback and interest is always super!Good luck with your further adventures of Kitty.

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  9. I enjoy series, and many crime novels are written as series, with some of the same characters appearing in the next book, but they each have their separate endings. Bit more difficult to do with romance, I find, because the point of a romance is getting the characters together in the end, and that's kind of that. However, giving minor characters in the first book a story of their own in Book 2 works really well.

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  10. Hi Henriette, I agree with you re romance. I needed to find different areas of tension for my Magnus and Elfrida. I also enjoy novels that take 'secondary' characters and give them a full story. I found the science-fiction/fantasy author Anne McCaffrey was really good at that. It made her worlds very rich.

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  11. Loved The Snow Bride, Lindsay. What I liked most about it was its literacy and unusual setting and time frame.

    Yes, some books almost beg to have sequels; others not so much. I often think that if an author has done a good job, the reader won't want to let the characters go.

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  12. Thank you, Vonnie! I agree with you, again, about the characters. If they have other journeys to make they are certainly interesting and hard to let go of.

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  13. Hi Lindsay,

    I enjoyed The Snow Bride, so I'm looking forward to this one as well. I've written sequels, most of the time because I like working within a familiar story world. Sometimes, as is the case with Hot Water, the story came about at the urging of fans - they wanted more from the characters for my fictional town of Mossy Bog. I'm humbled that folks think of my town as a character!

    Maggie

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  14. Hi Maggie,
    I love your Mossy Bog books! I agree with your other readers - I love them because of the characters and the settings and the adventure.

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