I am currently working on the third Courtly book. I have Courtly Pleasures, Courtly Scandals, and now Courtly Abandon. The books tell the stories of three ladies, Frances, Mary, and Jane, and are set in 1572-1573 England. Each of my main character's deals with personal issues that are specific to their story, but all of them involve a character arc where they realize they are worthy of love, that they deserve happiness. I was worried that this commonality made the books too similar in theme. Out of a fear of falling into a rut and repeating myself, I made a point to make the characters, passion, setting, and plot distinctly different (as different as is possible within the genre guidelines). Still the theme remains the same.
Jane Lebak at QueryTracker posted an article about sequels that made me feel better. While her article specifically addressed recurring characters and their consistent growth/changes in a story not designed to stand alone, it helped me see that the common themes tie my stories together and make them stronger as a whole. Each book individually or all three together, they remind us that every woman is lovable, no matter what came before.
So remember, you're good enough, smart enough, and, doggone it, people like you.
3 comments:
Yes, doggone it. And you are beyond that, you are darn wonderful. Good post.
I ABSOLUTELY love recurring characters. If I at all like one book, I'm sure to buy all the related books. It's sad if I'm at a bookstore and have to grab a new author when I know nothing about any of the characters. I don't have to read the stories in order, either. I think an author is very smart to introduce recurring characters. And you are, as you know, very smart!
Post a Comment