The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Writing a Series

with Karen M. Davis

When I first set about writing Sinister Intent - my first published manuscript - I had no idea it was going to turn into a series. How could I? I had no idea if it would ever get published, let alone be the first of three (at this stage) Lexie Rogers crime fiction books. So when I got that incredible news every writer dreams of - that I was going to be published - I was of course elated.  Then I heard, "You have a two book contract."

What? I had to write another one? This was my first thought. Then I was told, ''Don't worry, you have  ten months to write it.'' What?! Elation quickly turned to panic. It took me four years to write the first one!

However, there were a lot of positives. I already had my main characters - their descriptions, their traits, issues, and back stories. I had the settings and location - the eastern suburbs of Sydney - a place I knew well. I had a police station, support characters and many more police experiences to throw at Lexie and her colleagues.

Dilemma: since I hadn't even considered another book, I'd put Lexie through a lot in the first one and she needed a break. How much was a young policewoman able to bear? How unlucky could she be? And how believable was it that everything seemed to happen to her? I decided somebody else had to "cop it" this time. Although Lexie still needed to be in possible danger. And solve the crime. And sort her love life. Just like everyday life...

Hard part: I found writing book two, Deadly Obsession, and now, currently writing book three, challenging in a number of ways. The characters need to develop, be stretched to their full potential, learn a different life lesson. They can't just stay as they began. Relationships have to grow, alter, be tested. Snippets of events from previous books need to be inserted at the right time to remind the reader of past happenings, or to explain something. I have to refer to the other books, and check notes constantly, to ensure I don't contradict something written previously. This can be tedious and repetitive.

               

These are not problems encountered with stand alone books because the characters and story are, as it states, stand alone. The characters may have baggage but it is not set in stone.

I do love reading a series, seeing how the characters develop, whether the girl gets the guy she wants, etc, and I do enjoying writing a series - most of the time. But I must admit, I am looking forward to finishing my half-written, stand alone mystery, next.


Or perhaps that will turn into a series... Could I be that lucky?


Anyone thinking of writing a series?

I love to love...spending time with family and friends.      
 
I love to laugh at anything...especially cute animals.

I love to learn...all there is to know about writing.

Keeping it Real

with Karen M. Davis

When writing a romantic crime thriller, how do you keep

it real yet entertaining? 

Having been a New South Wales police officer for twenty years before ever attempting to write anything besides police reports, one of the biggest challenges I found was keeping the story authentic but also interesting and believable.

Not all police work is exciting. Writing about all the paperwork would put a reader to sleep in seconds. But I wanted to portray what it was really like to be a cop, show what police have to deal with, give an insight into the life inside a police station. I also had to get my head around the fact that I was writing fiction – not putting a brief of evidence together that had to be factual. I had to stretch my imagination but I feared some of my real experiences would be almost too unbelievable for readers to swallow. Real life is sometimes stranger than fiction as we know.


Wanting to have a strong romantic interest between the main characters, I became confused after a freelance editor looked at my first draft of Sinister Intent and told me that it was inconceivable that two detectives could fall in love during a homicide investigation. Though to police, this is not surprising at all. That is their bread and butter. They are working long hours together; relying on each other to possibly save the other's life if those circumstances arise. So is it unbelievable to imagine a bond could form? Isn’t that the reason so many cops are married to each other – they understand the job like no one else can.


So I decided to keep the more exciting and intriguing parts of police work as close to the truth as possible, while adding a bit of suspense, drama and a strong romantic theme to spice up the story. Both Sinister Intent and Deadly Obsession, follow young detective Lexie Rogers through her investigations and her budding romance with her handsome partner, Josh Harrison.


I love writing crime because I’ve lived the life of a detective. I love writing romance because what is life without it? And I can only hope I’ve blended the two to make for an entertaining read.


Do you read or write what you know and love? Or do you like to step outside your comfort zone and escape into another world all together?

        

I “love to love” precious time with my family and friends.

I “love to laugh” at every opportunity.

I “love to learn” something new every day.