Writing A Small Town Series

Hi!  Winnie Griggs here.  This month the sixth book in my Texas Grooms series hit the shelves.  When I wrote the first book in this series, Handpicked Husband, I hadn't really intended to go past four.  But as I wrote these first four books, some of the secondary characters that popped up really captured my imagination and made me itch to tell their stories.  At the moment I plan to have ten total books before I wrap it up.

These books are tied together by community - they are all set in the fictional town of Turnabout, Texas with, of course, a common set of secondary characters. They are standalone stories and can actually be read in any order.  But trying to set so many stories in the same town can become a nightmare from the perspective of keeping up with characters, landmarks and town layout.

And, since I'm a visual person, I came up with a couple of documents to help me do this.  The first is a town map I drew up, and that I update with each book as I reference new areas of town or different businesses.  Here is what it looks like.

The second document I created contains the main characters, by book, including important dates.  It looks like this:

Having both of these documents handy when I'm writing new books in the series has really saved me lots of time, and prevented potential mistakes, as I write.

So what do you think?  Would these documents be of interest to readers who follow this series?  Is there other information that you as a reader would like to see all in one place like this?

And in honor of the release of Second Chance Hero this week, I'd like to give away a copy to someone who leaves a comment on this post today.

Winning the Widow's Heart 

To help his dying sister, Nate Cooper once broke the law and paid a heavy price for his actions. Now the ex-con turned saddler hopes for a quiet life and new beginning in Turnabout, Texas. Being declared a hero for saving a child’s life, however,  leaves Nate feeling like a fraud. 

Since the violent death of her husband, single mom Verity Leggett has attempted to lead a safe life, avoiding danger and excitement at all costs. And her daughter's handsome rescuer Mr. Cooper seems like a perfectly responsible man, one she can finally rely on. 

When his secrets come to light, however, will Verity be able to get over his past and see Nate for the caring man he's become? 

DREAMS COME TRUE Series - Gail Gaymer Martin

Blessings from Love Inspired novelist Gail Gaymer Martin at http://www.gailmartin.com/

Writing a series is exciting but difficult. The longest was my seven book Loving series that took place in a fictitious town, Loving, Michigan. I based the setting on a real tourist town, Grand Haven, and my characters visited numerous events and businesses there. I loved that series, but never again will I do one with involving seven novels. :  )

My last three book series was Man's Best Friend, based on 3 women involved in a dog shelter. I hope you enjoyed those novels: Dad In Training, Groom In Training and Bride in Training.

A true series occurs when one story is finished, these characters will continue into the next book now focused on another character or two who appeared in the previous novel. It's challenging and interesting but not without it's difficult moments.

The hardest part about writing a series is keeping information straight. What kind of car do they drive? Are the parents of the hero and heroine living and if so where do they live? Do they have siblings? What caused them to be single: death, never married, or divorced, and if it's divorced, how do we handle this as Christians? What church do they attend? Where do they work? And it goes on and on. The author must be on her toes to keep all the details accurate.


Now I'm working on another three book series, Dreams Come True. It's not a series I would have chosen, but my editor encouraged me to write creat this kind of series because she thought I could. They love my emotional stories so I guess that's a compliment. These stories are based on the same concept as Make A Wish Foundation, about parents with a child who has a very serious illness. I know it sounds depressing, but my job is to give the readers a wonderfully emotional story with good  times and diifcult moments but always a happy ending.

Each of these books can stand alone. The story has a satifying ending but leaves the doors open for another character to step into the spotlight. In fact it might be fun for readers to try and guess whose turn will be next. I've asked myself if readers enjoy reading books writing as a series or do they prefer single titles so they don't have to wonder what will happen next. I know some readers purchase the novels and then wait until they're all released so they can read them in a row. That's something I've never done.

I'd love to hear from you and your thoughts on series. Do you enjoy them? Do you wait until you have the whole series before reading them? 

Saying Good-bye to a series

I just finished up the last of a four book series (The Sisterhood of the Dropped Stitches). I knew the series was done, but didn't want to say good-bye. It didn't help that I just got an email from a reader asking if I couldn't find a way to go beyond the four books. How do the rest of you --readers and writers alike -- feel about coming to the end of a series? I know as a reader I often wish series had more books. I get comfortable with characters and don't want to say good-bye.

Janet