The 1st book vs. the sequel

I recently read a blog post in which the author said that the first book in a series is always better. I'm inclined to disagree. I enjoyed Lover Eternal better than Dark Lover, and The Laughing Corpse more than Guilty Pleasures.

However, compared to Pillars of the Earth, World Without End (though still an awesome novel) fell flat. Kitty and the Midnight Hour was a teensy bit better than Kitty Goes to Washington. And The Drawing of the Three was so different from The Gunslinger that one can't make a comparison.

What makes a first book superior to its sequel, or vice-versa?

I have a few theories for each circumstance:

1st book is better because:

1.) The book was intended as a stand-alone, but publishers or maybe readers demanded a sequel.

2.) The book was hoped to be part of a series, but the author was afraid things wouldn't pan out, so twisted it into stand-alone status so much that series world/character building was shunted aside too much for subsequent books to have a good impact.

2nd book is better because:

1.) The author was so focused on world-building that the 1st book was an info dump.

2.) Author was still a virgin-writer for the 1st book and his/her story telling skills have improved.

What are your thoughts?

Writing a Series

Many of my favorite novels are part of a series, and I'm willing to bet that is the case with many people. A lot of naturally want to write a series of our own because we love to read them, and because one's characters keep having adventures. Writing a series, however is a whole new animal compared to a stand-alone project. Especially with a romance series, since there must be a stand-alone love story in every installment.

One of the biggest issues, in my opinion is blending the stand-alone story with the continuing story of the series. In my first novel, I botched this badly. However, I still think that the story and characters are awesome, so I have passed it on to my Saintly beta readers in a bid to fix it. In the meantime I am composing an outline of the series itself, and then I will write mini outlines of the individual books in hopes of discovering which key points can be emphasized in which books.

One of the leading geniuses of blending individual love stories with a continuing saga is J.R. Ward with her Black Dagger Brotherhood novels. The romance unfolds naturally amidst the backdrop of the brutal war the Brotherhood fights. Future characters are introduced to the reader smoothly, and often teasingly.

Another team of authors, not as well known, that do a great job with a series are Stella and Audra Price. Their Eververse series is like the ultimate guilty pleasure soap opera. The reader eavesdrops on multiple characters with multiple plots that build and unfold throughout each consecutive novel.

What are some of your favorite series? What do the authors do that "Works," in your opinion.

Agents and Conferences

As an aspiring author, I am constantly researching agents and the publishing industry. I check an agent's credentials and the genres they represent before I query. Then when I get a request I also check out the "buzz" on that agent and their response times. One thing I learned very quickly is that there are a ton of impatient people out there. It seems that many believe that an agent who doesn't reply to their query within a week is somehow doing something wrong. I once saw a post somewhere where the person was thinking of disregarding an agent because it had been 2 whole days!

I see people complaining if an agent tweets or blogs too much...or not enough. But one pattern of complaints has me baffled because it's illogical and silly.

I've seen a lot of aspiring authors complaining about an agent attending conferences.

What is their logic in this? From what I've seen most of the reasons are:

1.) "The agents are yet again too busy to read their query." Reading queries is not an agent's primary job. Selling books and protecting their clients' rights is. Why do people keep forgetting this?

2.) "They are worried that the authors attending the conference will get preference over the slush pile. " I can understand this one a little. The nearest conferences that happen in my area are 400 miles or more away. Still, one must understand that good writing is what the agent cares about, not the fun time they had with you sipping cocktails.

3.) "Agents who attend conferences all the time are somehow 'shady.'" I don't remember where I read this, but I found that post to be excessively silly. Many of the best agents in the business attend conferences regularly.

So far, I've never heard any complaints on conference attendance from agented and published authors. Why? I assume because they believe that conferences are a good thing. I'm sure there are many reasons, but I think one is sufficient.

Editors also attend conferences. Imagine this scenario: Your agent is at a conference. She is sitting at a table with the editor of your dream publishing house. Dream editor says, "I'm looking for...." and proceeds to describe your book.

Your agent smiles and says, "As a matter of fact, I have...." and she launches into an enthusiastic description of your work.

The editor grins and says, "Would you mind sending that along?"

Your agent hides her triumphant grin behind her wine glass and replies, "I'll send it on Monday."

Romance Plots: Melrose Place or Lifetime Movie?

As we know, romance novels come in an astonishing variety of subject matter and styles. Some are funny, some dark, some serious.

What I've been thinking about lately is the realism spectrum.

Some romance novels are like Melrose Place (an old guilty pleasure of mine). The characters are over the top and the plot twists are almost too extreme to fathom. If done wrong they can be obnoxious and tacky. But, if they are done well, those novels are devilishly entertaining.

Other romances, on the other hand, are like Lifetime movies, which half the time are based on true stories. The events are realistic, the characters are everyday people. If done wrong they can be boring or predictable, but if done right, they can be so poignant that they make your chest ache.

I have favorites on both sides of the fence and plenty that fall in between.

How 'bout you? Do you like "extreme" guilty pleasures in your romances, or so much depth that you could be almost be reading the newest addition to Oprah's Book Club?

The Little Things

When I started the insane journey of seeking publication, I encountered roadblocks right away. Not the agent's genre, poorly written, unlikeable characters, confused plot, etc.

These were all great lessons and I have since been able to solve the majority of those problems in most of my projects.

Now I'm much closer in my journey. I've had times where I was millimeters away from getting representation, but was turned down in the end. I've received enough feedback to learn that I missed my chance due to some of THE LITTLE THINGS.

Those little things can make you or break you. Here a few:

1.) WORD COUNT: I did a post on it

here: http://paranormalpretties.blogspot.com/2010/06/word-count-it-does-make-difference.htm

2.) Character motivation, (Even the little ones): If a character does something that doesn't make sense, that could be your death knell.

3.) Typos/ punctuation errors: Agents and publishers are getting less "editorial" every day. The closer a manuscript is ready to be set in type, the better. Also, you want to look like a professional, right?

4.) Wandering away from the story: Stephen King says that editing is "Taking out all the things that are not the story" This is where your betas achieve sainthood, but you must also be vigilant. Don't let side characters hijack the story.

5.) Adverbs and cliches: An agent once said about one of my projects, "The fine line between satire and cliche was a bit indistinct for my taste" Though I was like, "Score! She spotted the satire!" I went back to work on making the manuscript more original. Adding depth to the characters and their motivation really helped with that.

In short, your manuscript must be perfect when you submit it. Not just "pretty good" but perfect. Scared yet? Good, I'd love the company! :)

Twitter/Blog contest winners!

Yay! My 1000th follower and first winner is: Tarrant Smith!

My random 2 blog follower winners are: Sean Poindexter and Christie (Fiction Enthusiast)

My randomly drawn winner from the comments is: Sterling!

Yay-yeah Congrats to you all. Twitter and my blog wouldn't be fun without you guys!

Again, here's the prize list:

1.)FRANKENSTEIN, by Mary Shelley

2.) INFERNO, the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri

3.) UNCLE TOM'S CABIN, by Harriet Beecher Stowe

4.) JANE EYRE, by Charlotte Bronte

5.) THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE, by William Strunk and E.B. White

Email me your address and prize selection to Annarkie12@gmail.com

Review of THE MIDNIGHT GUARDIAN, by SARAH JANE STRATFORD and Author interview!

I met Sarah-Jane on Twitter. I don’t remember who followed who first, but I do remember reading her profile and saying, “Wow, you write historical vampire novels, me too!” I looked up her novel, THE MIDNIGHT GUARDIAN, read the blurbs and raving reviews, and was intrigued. I ordered it immediately.

THE MIDNIGHT GUARDIAN is set during the beginning of World War II. Five Millennials (vampires 1000+ yrs old) are on a mission to take down the Nazi regime and ultimately stop a war that would diminish their food supply. Also, the Nazis have employed a special class of hunters trained to destroy their kind. Vampires vs. Nazis, who can resist! The story is told mostly in the point of view of the vampire, Brigit, who is a delightful bad-ass. She and her team of Millennials give a whole new meaning to the word “bloodthirsty.” The carnage is as breath-taking as the love-scenes are poignant and erotic. Speaking of love, the back-stories of Brigit and her love, Eamon (who is not a millennial yet, and tragically must stay home) give a depth of character that is rarely seen in vampire novels these days.

This novel was a complete treat to read. It was like INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE meets INGLORIOUS BASTERDS meets NATURAL BORN KILLERS. It kept me guessing the whole way through and the final result, though unexpected, left me wholly satisfied, and there were enough loose ends left over to give me hope for a sequel. I think I dreamed about it the night I finished it. The only issue I had with this novel was that the scenes were not in chronological order, like a Tarentino movie, and I had to check the dates at the beginning of each chapter to keep track of what was going on. But once I got used to the pattern, it was a great ride.

To my excitement: Ms. Stratford has volunteered to do an interview. (Thunderous Applause) Welcome, Sarah Jane!


So, my first question is: Vampires vs. Nazis…whatever provided the inspiration for such an awesome concept?

It was all Brigit. The character came to me – this vampire, during World War II, trying to escape Germany – and of course I had to follow her and find out where she had been and what was happening. So in many ways, the story just unfolded before me and I was beside myself with excitement. I was a big Buffy fan, so vampires were in the back of my brain. And World War II is a period I've always found fascinating – humanity at its most monstrous and yet we also see so many ordinary people rising up to be bigger and better than they might otherwise have been in order to fight the horror. So beyond the more intimate story, I was eager to explore the juxtaposition of the perceived evil of vampires vs. the true evil of the Nazis. It was this wonderful question: What does it mean to be "human"?

Your story is full of action and evocative description, and I think it would make a kick-ass movie. Any word on that being possible? Could Quentin Tarantino direct it?

Thank you! There has been a lot of interest from Hollywood, so we'll see what happens. I've written screenplays before and would love to turn Brigit's story into a script. Fingers crossed.

I’m sure you knew this one was coming: What made you decide to stray from a chronological formula?

(Grin) I knew there were going to be three emotionally intertwining stories, so it felt natural to weave them together in a pattern, rather than keep them separate. For me – and Brigit – it was all about history. The past informs the present, so it seemed right that Eamon would retrace the past as a way of keeping Brigit in his present, while also trying to assist her now, in his unique idiom. And by the same token, Brigit's most recent past is a tool for attempting to comprehend her utterly bizarre present. I know it's a bit tricky – it was tricky to write, too – but I'm hoping people find it ultimately rewarding.

There were a few loose ends that left me screaming for more. Is there a sequel in the works?

There is indeed. I don't want to say too much, but let's just say we find out a lot about a certain sexy bald vampire.

Mmmm…. Mors. Where was I? Oh, yeah. As I said before, I discovered you and THE MIDNIGHT GUARDIAN from Twitter. Have you bought books because of Twitter?

Bought books, gone to events, met amazing people in real life – Twitter is phenomenal. It's a wonderful community. My only regret is not having gotten on sooner, but I'm attempting to make up for that now.

Thanks so much for coming! The Midnight Guardian can be purchased here:

http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Guardian-Millennial-Novel/dp/0312560133/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Sarah Jane will be around to answer questions, so ask away!

Update on my twitter/blog contest: I didn't forget about you guys. I'll be drawing winners in about 2 weeks, when I have money for postage. :)