NOTE: Patricia will be giving away a copy of Unfinished Business. Just leave a comment and you're entered to win.
Patricia Gligor is my guest today. My friend is discussing standalone books vs. a series, and in this case I believe she made the wisest choice. I've enjoyed reading this series and look forward to more. Welcome, Pat!
Patricia Gligor is my guest today. My friend is discussing standalone books vs. a series, and in this case I believe she made the wisest choice. I've enjoyed reading this series and look forward to more. Welcome, Pat!
The Rest of the Story
Do
you remember these words? “You know what the news is. In a minute, you’re going
to hear the rest of the story.”
That’s a quote from the famous radio announcer, Paul Harvey, and it’s the lead-in
for what I’d like to talk about today: the rest of my story.
Sometimes
in writing, as in life, things don’t work out the way we’d planned. When I first
got the idea for Mixed Messages, I intended
to write a standalone novel. I had no idea it would end up being the first book
in a series. But I’m a plotter and, as I plotted the story and began to write
the first draft, it became clear to me that the story I wanted to tell couldn’t
possibly end with one book. You see, I’d gotten to know my characters, they’d
become “real” to me and they refused to let me go. They had more they wanted to
say and do and they had lessons to learn. I wanted to show their personal
growth as they learned them and, to be honest, I was curious to see what they’d
be up to next.
I’ve
been an avid mystery reader for as long as I can remember and I realized that it’s
crucial to a series to have each book stand on its own. After all, there are no
guarantees that a reader will have read the first book in a series before
reading the second or the third. That’s happened to me several times and, if I
really enjoyed the book I’d read, I’ve been known to go back and start at the
beginning of the series. With that in mind, I’ve written each Malone Mystery
with enough background information to satisfy a new reader. I hope you’ll read
my Malone Mysteries, no matter which book you decide to read first. Happy Reading!
The Westwood Strangler is dead. Or so everyone believes.
Ann Kern is busy preparing for her favorite holiday.
She’s especially looking forward to her sister’s annual Christmas visit. But,
several things threaten to ruin her festive mood.
The National
Weather Service issues a severe winter storm warning for the Cincinnati area,
predicting blizzard conditions, and Ann worries that her sister and her new
boyfriend won’t be able to make the drive from South Carolina.
Then, a woman is found strangled in Ann’s neighborhood
and everyone, including the police, assumes it’s the work of a copycat killer.
However, when two more women are murdered in their homes, the police announce
their conviction that the Westwood Strangler is responsible.
When Ann hears the news, the sense of safety and security
she’s worked so hard to recapture since her attack on Halloween night,
shatters. If the intruder who died in her apartment wasn’t the Westwood
Strangler, who is? And, who will be the next victim?
Amazon link for Unfinished Business:
Patricia
Gligor is a Cincinnati native. She enjoys reading mystery/suspense novels,
touring and photographing old houses and she loves to travel. She has worked as
an administrative assistant, the sole proprietor of a resume writing service
and the manager of a sporting goods department but her passion has always been
writing fiction.
You
can visit Patricia and learn more about her books at:
Amazon
Author Page:
Facebook
page: https://www.facebook.com/patricia.gligor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatriciaGligor
~ * ~
CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw's website
CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com
A Well-Kept Family Secret (A Sandi Webster Mystery) is now available in audio book format.
Marja,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for inviting me to be here today.
I'm glad you could be here, Pat! It's a good post.
DeleteYour message today is very timely for me, Patricia. Years ago I wrote three standalone romance novels for Wings ePress. In one of them, the heroine mentioned she had a brother whose nickname was Tag. That was all it was--a mention. But a reader said she loved the name and wondered if I would write about him also. I told her no but now 7 years later, I am writing about Tag and characters mentioned in the other two novels, weaving them all together.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting story.
DeleteSomething similar happened to me. In "Unfinished Business," Ann, my main character, was watching the news and she saw that a little girl had gone missing in her neighborhood. When I wrote that scene, I had no intention of going any further with it. But, in my third Malone mystery, "Desperate Deeds," it became a crucial factor.
That's one of the things I love about writing a mystery series; so many surprises for the reader - and the writer.
Yes, definitely surprises for the writer also. Instead of just romance, I may make the new stories romantic suspense. Sometimes I have no idea in what direction a story make take me.
DeleteThat sounds like a great idea!
DeleteWriting may be hard work and often frustrating but it's also so much fun! I can't imagine doing anything else.
I love Christmas, and mysteries. Series are so much fun.
ReplyDeleteI do too, Jennifer. I enjoy "holiday" books. The first book in my series takes place at Halloween, this one at Christmas and the third at Easter. "Mistaken Identity," my WIP, will be set in South Carolina the week of July 4th.
DeleteEnjoy your series and looking forward to reading more. Stand alone or series? Well sometimes as reader I really want to follow characters I find interesting & here comes the kicker some folks should stop with the first because characters are losers after first book. Fortunately neither you nor Marja have such characters.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jake! The thing I like most about writing a series is watching my characters change and grow.
DeleteGreat post! I agree that it's great when each book in a series can also stand on its own. Flexibility is a plus for the reader :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deborah! It can be a challenge to write each book in a series so it can be read as a standalone. I try not to repeat too much from previous books but a certain amount is necessary so the reader doesn't feel as if she "came late to the party."
DeleteExcellent post, and Unfinished Business is an excellent book, thoroughly enjoyed! I recommend! Funny about series and standalones. I love reading series, but so far pretty much have written standalones. Life is so full of interesting contradictions, what ifs, etc.-- the stuff stories are made of...
ReplyDeleteYou're sure right about that, Madeline. Life gives us so many great ideas for stories - and characters. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteYour blur really draws me it! I, too have a stand-alone that readers. okay, at least one, want to know what happened next.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Norma. Writing a blurb for a book can be a challenge. You want to tempt the reader but you have to be careful not to give away too much.
DeleteSounds like maybe you'll decide to write a series too?