Do Characters a Series Make?

My Book/Series Review ...

While waiting for my trade paperback of Beka, Bloodhound (or whatever the title is) to arrive, I decided to read Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small Series.  The series features Keladry of Mindelan, a young girl who decides to become a Lady Knight of Tortall after another girl [Alanna] opened up the possibilities of a female becoming a knight by masquerading as a boy.  The "powers-that-be" aren't any more accepting for Kel than Alanna, and Kel finds herself fighting the system after being put on probabation.  [Page]  To complicate things, she's a revolutionary -- championing the weak from the "entitled" nobility.

From what I've read, Pierce follows the series pattern of putting different characters into the same fantasy world.  Then, she writes short series about those main characters.  Above I give the bones (structure) of the story.  Pierce like any good writer puts the flesh on the bones.

Pierce limits this series to four middle-grade books about Kel's fight to be considered an equal.  Through the four books, the girl collects a group of friends -- human and animal -- who eventually help her defend Tortall against a necromancer who launches new semi-mechanical weapons [krakans] using the souls of peasant children.  Of course, Kel wins, but the books are a nice read.  I found the first two books a little slow (simplistic?) when Kel was a youngster ... but the "teenaged" books present real moral problems that Kel must solve.

[For those who wonder about the content differences between middle grade and young adult, the "teen" books feature a fair amount of kissing -- with a doomed romance when the realities of the adult world intrude.  The swearing is "Tortall-specific" and not much of it.]

So, what kept me reading?  A well-defined, sympathetic main character, even if she's a little too "goodie-two-shoes", who faces each challenge stoically.  Stubbornness is a two-edged fault at worst.  ...  Okay, I sat here for a couple minutes by the clock and can't think of another meaningful fault.  I should also note that Pierce surrounds with villains suitable for the age Kel is when she faces them ... and a host (if you count the sparrows) of secondary helpers.

So, my question on your "fan" books:  Do your remember the author more than the characters?  An example:  I'm always saying Harry Dresden instead of Jim Butcher.  [Something Butcher probably hates.]  On the other hand, I say Hamilton's vampires instead of Anita Blake.  [Yeah, I remember she has weres, fairies, and zombies as well as humans.]  I don't particularly care for their other series.  Then, there's Charlaine Harris, most of whose characters I enjoy reading about.

Web Notes ...

Rushed through my site-cleaning:  the email, comics, and other web stuff I check every morning.  It's the AM and almost time to do the lunch thing and bill-paying ... and I found myself rushing through the AW Water Cooler.  I'm reminded that this is probably a big mistake.  As an example of the extra-value on this writer's forum site,  AW is is featuring a Q&A with Kathleen Ortiz of  Lowenstein Associates.  The forum/feature lets members ask real agents question -- and get a real answer I hope.

I asked about agents for different types of manuscripts.  Ortiz said it was simplest when you query agencies with agents who handle all the genres you write in.

Writing Progress ...

I read four books over the week-end ... and added a couple agents/agencies to my agent list.

Trivia ...

Went to the bank Friday and discovered my driver's license had expired.  I guess I'm trying to ignore my age.

Uber Series of Many Books

The Read ...

Still on  Witch World by Andre Norton, the beginning of the many-booked Witch World series.  May seem presumptuous of me, but I sometimes wonder if any of my book manuscripts would a series make.  My middle grade stuff is written as stand-a-lones.  I really can't see them as fitting into a series though they are vaguely in the same world.  [My never-never California, as I think of it.]

Basically, Witch World lives!  Don't know how many books I've read in the Witch World series of the more than 30.   I know there's a stack of them on my bookshelves, but I do know there's an active fan base out there on the web --  Andre Norton sites -- complete with maps.

Outside of the fantasy genre, I don't know whether Norton is considered young adult or adult.  Given the short shrift the romance of Koris/Loyse  and Simon/Jaelithe got in Witch World, I'd say young adult, even though Simon and Jaelithe wake up in bed with each other in the next book in the series [Web of the Witch World].  --  Frankly, I don't think it matters.  People of all ages read the same fantasy books -- as long the world feels real.

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Care to search for a science fiction/fantasy series or explore series that are similar to ones you have enjoyed in the past?  You might try SciFan  This compiled site has loads of info, even places where you might buy titles.  Their stated goal:
"For each writer, you'll find book listings in their reading order and books that belong to a common universe.  When available you'll also find links to dedicated sites, both official and made by fans.
We carefully keep track of new series releases. We also listed the biggest and most popular series"

[I found the site on one of the AW Water Cooler forums.  Can remember where or who mentioned it.  When I searched the forum I got a thread from 2005.]

Progress ...

Finally finished the editing/revising of There Be Demons ... the second time this month ... and I've the feeling I'll be revising it yet again.  Guess I'm loopy about given my characters a chance at their place in the sun ... rather than shoving them in a "trunk".

Dare I think I'll get some new material into Voices next week?  Or, will I try to outline subsequent books featuring Britt and Cahal?  Makes me wonder what other writers think/do about their characters?

 Trivia ... 

Killed time at the Farmer's Market where I met a writer friend standing in line for real ice cream.  Old man ate most of the scoop [pistachio nut] since I was saving room for lunch -- hot sour soup and Chinese egg rolls.  Yummm, one of my favorites which I can't make because we'd eat it for a month.

Sorry, didn't get this posted yesterday.  I was finishing my Demons revision and running around.  Like the fridge was empty of "good" stuff. 

Book Series Start-Ups

The Read ...

Book series are nothing new in fiction.  Mystery writers have been doing them for decades -- have even tried to kill off their characters ala Conan Doyle.  Other writers, especially fantasy writers, often do serial stories set in the same world but with different characters though series can be based on single characters or set of buddies.  Whatever, that's the background thinking when I pulled Andre Norton's Witch World off my shelves.  Imagine my surprise that my Ace paperback was copyrighted in 1963, one of those shortie ones that cost 60 cents.

 Witch World is about Simon Tregarth's escape from our world to one more suitable to his warrior sentiments via the Siege Perilous from King Arthur's court.  He lands in Estcarp, a matriarchy of mages (Witches is too weak a term for me.) who are beseiged by three different enemies -- two presenting in-sync cultural menaces and the mechanical Kolder, who offer a different kind of danger.  I'm about 2/3s the way through the book, and Tregarth is still gathering allies for the end-fight with the Kolder.

So what does a 1963 book read like?  I don't know if the opening paragraph would hack it today.  "The rain was a slantwise curtain across the dingy street, washing soot from city walls, the taste of it metallic on the lips of the tall, thin man who walked with a loping stride close to the buildings, watching the mouths of doorways, the gaps of alleys with a narrow-eyed intentness."

The paragraph hooked me.  What's a guy doing out in the rain watching the alleys?  The problem is the reading level.  That's one sentence there with a "to-be" verb.  I realize you guys are readers ... but how easy did you find the sentence to follow.  Do you think the average high school kid would read it comfortably?

The book itself is organized in a series of interlocking novellas (novellettes?), introducing new characters and involving old ones and making me wonder if the stories first appeared in magazines.  While Norton is telling a story slightly more than showing the characters in action, each of the characters are presented facing a clear and present danger which ends with them facing a new problem/difficulty.  --  Nothing like being led by the nose past your bedtime reading a book you know the ending of.

 

Progress ...

Revising away, high ho ... and still wondering about submitting to editors.  (Britt)  Groaning to myself about all the research needed -- even after you get the darn thing written.  Then, you hit an agent who wants a 250 word synopsis????  (We won't talk about agents who like a personlized query.)

Conclusion:  You better darn well know what your book is about.  It's something like using your pitch to focus your book -- before you market it.  If you can't write a sentence and two-paragraph summary of your story, you may not have a story.  Just a bunch of words.  I wonder if that's what I'm afraid of and not admitting it to myself.

Trivia ...

Errands, errands, and more errands.  Can't even go out to lunch because we're still eating the onion soup.  Hopefully, it'll be gone today.

An Easier Contest

See Contest Information Below:

My Book Review ...   

Found Glass Houses by  Rachel Caine, the first book in the Morganville vampire series, in a used book store, it's face pointed out to entice potential buyers.  Since I'd seen it on the New York Times best seller lists ... and I've been exploring series, I thought I'd pick it up.  The Morganville vampire series is up to 9 volumes if I remember right ... I may misremember sin I got caught up reading the sample chapters on the Rachel Caine site.  [It's almost midnight, and I'm not going back to the site to check.]   

At first, I thought the writing was somewhat unfocused and wishie-washie ... but after a chapter, I decided the tentative narrative style fit the viewpoint character.  Even with an unsure MC, Caine lays on the action until the tension's tight. Lots happens in each chapter, and the information is parceled out so you hardly realize it's being given to you.  In case you missed it, no info dumps or tons of back story.

The book starts off with nasty college hazing/bullying scenes and the danger tightens for the first third of the book until the main character (MC) learns the town is run by vampires.  The second third gives more character and danger details plus the info the vampires are searching for a book which the MC, then, searches for and finds.  The last third starts off with the underage MC parent's giving her an ultimatum to return home -- but the real conflict comes from a vampire attack to retrieve the book.  The ending comes in true series form by posing more questions than it answers.

Verdict:  Still debating on whether to put it on the trade pile or read more in the series.

Web Comments ...    

Kevin Hearne talks about alpha readers, beta readers, and editors -- both agent and publishers -- on his blog.  He presents the process his books take, a process that underlines that writing isn't the isolated activity of the garret artist stereotype.

In his words:  "Nobody writes perfect, golden prose on their first draft. Or even their second or third. I could be wrong...but I doubt it."  His position:  they get help, lots of it.

Progress ...  

I don't think Voices wants an ending, aka none. 

I keep revising Britt ... Worse thing I've been finding is redundancies ... where I say the same thing twice.  You know the bit, first a tell the reader "it" ... and then, show "it".  Or, vice versa.  --  And, yes, I do make other goof-ups.  Just talk to my critiquer.

Queries:  I think I'm revving up and sending queries for Emma again.  The three queries that are still outstanding come "due" in June.  Since I'll be gone a good share of July, I better get some queries out ... in case any agents reject me fast. ... How's that for a positive attitude?

Choosing agents to query is always a major research project.  Trying to find an agent who's inclinations fit the territory you like to write in is the problem.  At the moment, I'm researching agents who represent ... adult, young adult, and middle grade (though Emma is basically a tween).  While the list is shorter than for YA and/or MG, there are quite a few of them.  [Believe it or not.]

Why all three?  Well, now that I'm revising Britt ... I think I'll go back and see what Mariah looks like when I'm finished. ...  Then, there are the other 2 plus 2-halves-possible- novels drafted, a total of five books if I could whip them into shape.  Guess most writers would lock them in a trunk and throw away the key.  My reading on series ... with more in line ... is making me rethink.

Hey, I spent months of my life writing the pieces and I like the characters.  Even more, I like the world I created where I explore the issues of genetic drift and technological change.  It's a challenge to try to turn them into books -- even unpublished ones.

I'm sure I'll be looking at Emma again if she gets rejected enough.

No, I don't know what I'd do if an agent actually offered me a contract ... beside go into shock. 

The New Contest:

Went to three bookstores over the weekend.  Traded away about four feet of paperbacks.  Brought back about a foot of new stuff ... including a vampire series of all things.  [Not the Morganville vampires.]  How long will it take me to read them at a rate of two books a week?   

Prize:  Will draw from the best quess-timents for a boxed set of Philip Pullman's Compass series -- His Dark Materials. (lightly used)  Would make a nice gift even if you aren't interested in reading it.  Think of summer reading programs for kids interested in fantasy.

Only three requirements for entrants:

1)  Have to live in US.

2)  Have to mention on your blog that I'm running the contest.  (Tweeting would be nice but not required.)

3)  Leave a comment here with your guess on how long it'd take me to read the foot high pile of books I just bought ... and have sitting on my dining room table.

I'll draw from the closest mathematical guesses on June 1st for the prize..