An Author’s Experience Writing a Series
Today I am pleased to
welcome, author Lily Bishop. Lily’s new
release, Breaking
Even, continues her City Lights series. I asked her tell us about her decision to be a
series author. Her experience might be helpful to others contemplating stories
that continue beyond the first book.
Lily, why did you
decide to launch a series rather than single titles, and what advantages/problems
occurred during planning?
No Strings Attached, Book One in the City Lights series, tells the story of
Fox and Laura. They have a whirlwind romance in Las Vegas, but then learn they
have to work together. Fox is investigating embezzlement where Laura works, and
she is the prime suspect.
At the end of this
book, my husband said he could see the underlying embezzlement plot line
continuing, although in my mind it was wrapped up. So I began thinking how I
could revisit the embezzlement plot line and so I began, Book Two, Under His Protection. In Book Two, the
leading lady is an attorney running
for attorney general. She hires Fox’s brother Lee to provide bodyguard services
after she receives death threats.
So one of main
characters led the way for a new plot. Did you continue the story of other
characters from your first book?
Yes, Fox and Laura
feature in several scenes in all four books, and Lindsey and Ric appear in all
four as well. Lee appears in books one, two and three.
Laura’s sister
Lindsey became the driving force behind the rest of the series. I wanted
Lindsey to end up with Ric, and they were both featured prominently in the
first book. Unfortunately, she was young, only 22, and she had some growing up
to do. I didn't feel like I could write her story next.
I see the importance
of considering the age and maturity of characters as you develop them in future
books. Does Breaking Even tell the sister’s story?
Yes. Lindsey’s romance
has been problematic. There's an age difference, and readers know they weren't
together during Under His Protection, the
second book in the series. So we've
ended up with an on-again, off-again romance, with some suspense thrown in.
That may be more like real life, except we have super-yachts, private islands,
and a horse farm. I started their story in book 3, a novella called For the Win. Since Lindsey featured
prominently in book one, and she was missing for a good part of that book, I
decided to tell what actually happened while she was on the island with Ric.
Essentially I retold many of the events that happened in book one, but from
Lindsey and Ric’s perspective. Since Laura didn’t know everything that happened
to Lindsey on the island, we get to know Lindsey better.
Breaking Even (4) deals with the year
between No Strings Attached (1) and Under His Protection (2). I won’t say
that it ends with a cliffhanger, but there are unanswered questions about what
will come next for Ric and Lindsey. We know they aren’t together in Under His Protection (2). Their story
will finish at the end of book 5, which I plan to release early next year. I
still have a big overarching plot to wrap up. In addition, a secondary
character named Chloe was kidnapped near the end of book 2, and we need to see
what happened to her. She will feature heavily in the fifth book, almost a
romance within a romance. Chronologically, the books occur 1, 3, 4, 2, and 5.
From your responses, I
see the importance of keeping track of each of your character’s characteristics,
journeys, and connections. Also, a series author needs to reflect on the
changes in each character as he or she appears in each of the book. It’s
interesting that you have an overarching theme that carries through all the
books as well. So much to keep track of
as you write!
With so much to think
about, would you write another series?
The good thing about
series romances is that the readers get to know connected characters and their
families. I love these characters, and I'll be sad to see them go. I’m
planning a spinoff series with two FBI agents who feature in the second and
fifth books, but I don’t have that fleshed out yet.
Originally, I planned
for the books to be standalone but connected, so that they could be read in any
order. Unfortunately, that's not the way the books came to me. Sometimes as a
writer you have to go with the way the story is leading. Because Ric and
Lindsey’s story spans a year and a half and three distinct periods, I decided
to break it into three books. The final book has a working title of Winner Take All (5), and we will check
in with all of the couples. Readers should expect more than one viewpoint
couple in Book Five.
All four books are
currently available on Amazon, and books one through three are available at
other vendors. No Strings Attached (1) is currently on sale for 99 cents at all
vendors. You can find all of the buy links here: http://lilybishop.com/no-strings-attached/
In your newest book of the series,
Breaking Even, tell us about your hero. What do you like most about him? Does
he have a weakness?
Ric Salzana is from
Venezuela, although he attended college in the United States. He owns a resort
on a fictional private island in the Bahamas name Calliope. We first meet him
in book one, when he disables the main character with a stun gun. There are
criminal elements in his family, but he works hard to stay on the right side of
the law. I like that when he meets Lindsey, he falls hard, but he’s patient
with her, and he waits for her to catch up with him. His weakness is that
sometimes he acts without thinking.
Tell us about your heroine. What do you
like most about her? Does she have a weakness?
Lindsey Todd has just
returned from a weekend at The Castle, a resort on the private island of
Calliope. (These events are covered in For
the Win) When I first created Lindsey, a long time ago, she had started out
as a ditzy character, but I decided to flip it. What if she were at the other
end of the spectrum? What if she were a mathematical genius who struggled to
fit in and feel accepted? Now she is starting graduate school, and she and Ric
are attempting a long distance relationship. I like that Lindsey isn’t waiting
on a man to start her life. Her weakness is that she’s naive and tends to trust
too easily.
Please
tell my readers more about Lindsey and
Ric’s story.
Their stories that build their romance are bigger than one
book. For the Win is a prequel, followed by Breaking Even.
For the Win: When blackjack turns to blackmail...
Lindsey Todd is on fire...at the blackjack
table. She can't lose. After perfecting a system that helps her win big at
every hand, Vaughn Bruce learns her secret and blackmails her into entering a high
roller blackjack tournament in the Bahamas.
When Ric Salzana spots Lindsey Todd and the
shady man who enters his casino, something doesn't add up. Once he realizes
that Lindsey and Vaughn have been playing with counterfeit chips, Ric has the
man arrested. But, Ric has other plans for Lindsey. Can he convince her to
confess that she was cheating or will Lindsey beat him at his own game?
Breaking
Even: Everyone
wants to be a winner. Nobody wants to be a loser.
But for Lindsey Todd, all she wants is to break
even and get back to the real world, focusing on graduate school in South
Carolina. However, with her heart still in Caribbean with the sexy Ric Salzana,
Lindsey's mind is miles away.
When Ric Salzana realizes that old enemies have
resurfaced and that Lindsey is in danger, he'll do anything to save her--even
if it means jeopardizing everything they've worked so hard to build. Can Ric
keep Lindsey safe before all the cards start crumbing down or is their downfall
just the bad luck of the draw?
Thank
you, Lily, for telling us more about your City Lights series and your newest
release, Breaking Even. I wish you much success as you go forward with Book
Five.
Short Bio:
Lily
Bishop is a transplanted Georgian who lives in the upstate of South Carolina
with her husband and two children. By day, she works full-time as a data
analyst. She writes about strong women and the men who love them. She writes
linked books with connected couples and an overarching storyline. She loves the
Caribbean, although she’s only been via cruise ship, not yacht or private plane
like her characters.
Questions and comments are welcome!
