Dear Book Goddesses
The Mumma and I have been talking and we think you should make authors stop writing other stories when they are meant to be doing the next book in a series.
It’s fucking annoying.
Amen,
Kris.
PS – Yanno, all this angst to authors and readers could be avoided by implementing my suggestion of a total ban for anything above a trilogy. Just sayin’.
Kris + Books = Good. *Sometimes*. 
I'm always amazed when writers have a whole bunch of stories on the go at once. Wouldn't it be more efficient just to hammer out the whole thing and get it over with? I can't focus on more than one thing at a time. Idea – story – end, begin again. *shrug*
Mind you, if they've lost interest in the sequel you really don't want them producing crap just to please you. They have to care enough I suppose.
Anything in particular trigger this one?
I like that idea of stopping with a trilogy (or at four or five). Anything, so long as there is an end in sight.
Laurell K. Hamilton should have stopped her Anita Blake series with number 10, Obsidian Butterfly.
And remember tv shows like The X-Files? (OMG, is anyone else old enough to remember?) It just ran itself into the ground with no end in sight.
Word.
P.S. I have the most insane urge to wear my hair in bun-pigtails now.
@Val – Yeah, AB was the series that taught me that it was best if a series ended instead of going on forever.
Totally agree with you on this one! 🙂
Yes, write while the writing is good. Then stop when it's time to stop. No detours along the way, though.
*mope*
Poor *mope*y Wren. Woe! Woe!
LOL – @smoninhot books – I was going to say I have the urge for a cinnamon bun right about now!
Kris – Remember when Stephen King got in his car accident but he hadn't finished the Gunslinger series?! It was heartless but no one wanted to be left hanging like that!!
I have to agree with you…and with Tam. I can't focus on more than one thing either. 🙂
I love reading series but author's sometimes miss when it's time to end them.
Anita Blake is about twice the length that it should have been.
@Patti
I felt so bad for Stephen when he was hit by the car and was in critical care for a while. I felt even worse that I was really worried about Roland and the Dark Tower not being finished.
Princess Leia rules. 🙂
Now I'm glad I never had the urge to write anything bigger than a trilogy. And the one time I wanted, the idea was canned.
Gee, I wonder who this post might be addressed to? Don't you have him locked in a cage in your cellar? He can't write anything when he's down there in the dark you know. You at least have to allow him a candle and pen and paper :).
I agree! That's why if I know books are going to be a series, I like to wait until the whole series is completed before I begin reading.
Out of curiosity, did you have anyone in particular in mind when you wrote this post?
I sometimes feel like I'm missing some key piece of information because I've never read AB. I've only heard stories. I tried once, I got book 1 and I never even finished it. It bored me. Sigh. Guess I'll just nod wisely when people comment on those books and pretend I know what the hell is being talked about. I'm good at that.
@Tam – On the plus side, you got to miss out on the whole getting traumatized when the series went to crap after Blue Moon.
Nope. I'm a series junkie and I need MORE SMACK!
I LURRV series that go on into the double digits and the great beyond.
I can't get enough of the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris and I might have a total meltdown when she finishes.
I love seeing no end in sight… I'm terrible with goodbyes.
:o)
MsM
I like series. But there is a time to pull the plug.
Trilogies are good. And I am not so fond of prequels.
Val they do a rerun of the x-files on the sci-fi channel here.
Tam: “I'm always amazed when writers have a whole bunch of stories on the go at once.”
Me too. It makes my brain hurt just thinking about all the plot bunnies that might pop into your head as an author. Much easier to deal with randomness when one is a blogger. LOL.
Chris: Well, let me say straight out that it had absolutely nothing at all to do with ML's draegan lords series and was associated with a discussion Mumma and I had about the gazillions of series that Christine Feehan has on the go.
Val: “Anything, so long as there is an end in sight.”
True that. I can't remember now at which book I stopped reading the Anita Blake series, but there are a number of series I have also given up on recently such as the Stephanie Plum series and the Undead series.
I was the same with the X-Files. I ended up wanting Mulder to just get abducted already so that the show could freaking end. LOL.
KC: “I have the most insane urge to wear my hair in bun-pigtails now.”
Happens to me all the time. *g*
Jenn: The boycott shall begin with us! Viva le readolution!
Wren: Detours are allowed when you are writing stand alones so you don't get let off the hook that easily. It's when they happen mid series that the *mope* begins.
Patti: Yeah, I do remember that. I actually feel the same way about Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series, although his books are basically stand alones but are set in the same world and often with the same characters. He has Alzheimers and I know I'm going to be devastated when the end finally comes. I feel unbelievably selfish about it.
Tracy: Maybe it's a good thing that we read as opposed to writing. LOL.
Lily: I love me a series too… when it's a good one and the plot and characters don't stagnate. If they do, well, you know me and the patience thing; ie, I don't have any.
Aleksandr: That she does. *g*
Have we put you off now? LOL. I think, although I've never really asked the question here, that readers can handle a longer series when each new book is based on a different character/pairing. Well, that definitely goes true for me anyway.
However, when a series is focused on a particular character there needs to be something fresh for readers each time otherwise it gets stale. I think a great example of a series that works is Jordan's PsyCop series. Each book offers up new material and character development for the reader. It's terrific.
Jen: You malign me. I wasn't talking about Sean being a slack arse… this time. Anyways, he's been sick the poor chook so I'm restraining myself from picking on him.
Richelle: See my comment to Chris about the Mumma's and my discussion.
I wish I could put off reading a series until all the books are out. *Damned impatience!* 😦
MsM, LOL! You Book Slut you. 🙂
I do love my In Death series as well as the Dark Hunters. When those end I'm going to go into major sulk mode.
Ingrid: “But there is a time to pull the plug.”
Yep, I'm with you there which is why I like a nice, neat and tight trilogy. I find them immensely satisfying. Plus I'm more likely to reread them too.
Poo to prequels. I'm not a fan either. Part of me always thinks to myself why the heck it just wasn't dealt with in the main story arc. I can be mean that way. You may have noticed. 😉
I only don't like series with more than 7-8 books that I haven't started yet. And when I than read a review of the umtieth book in the series which makes me wanna read it. My compulsive nature wants to start with all the other books in the series first, reading them in the right order!… *sigh*
Janna: I agree with you, Kris has just recently suggested that I read the Virgin River series by Robyn Carr – based in what her virtual buddies have been saying. I bought the first three (loved them, so thanks to everyone who spoke about the series) and stupidly decided that I shouldn't buy all that the bookshop had on their shelves! I'm very impatiently waiting for Kris to suggest we go back so I can get the rest!
On the other hand I have also recently purchased two books (different authors) that gave no indication that they were a part of a series. After reading the first chapter and realising that they are second books (in a series) I've had to put them down. This is a thing that really pisses me off!!!
Sorry Sissy, this is such a long comment!
I love series, but man, they can be dangerous. See for example Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time – he died before really finishing it, and it doesn't matter that the latter books weren't as brilliant as the firsts, I was (selfishly, I know) floored anyway :(. Or GRRMartin's A Song of Ice and Fire, which will probably never see an end because Martin's writer's block is as vast and as deeep as the ocean.
I never read AB, but I'm familiar with the Stephanie Plum's phenomenon. I don't know which characters irritates me more, Ranger who doesn't speak if not for saying “babe”, Morelli who's more and more insipid, Lula and her dumb humorism, the Grandma who's plain crazy, Stephanie and her hair and mascara and ineptitude and her “I love A bit also B, I'd like to bed both”. Do it, already! At this point I wouldn't say no to a ménage à trois – or Ranger and Morelli could ditch the chick… maybe it could work ;).
Word.
I agree with the trilogy rule. I never read past the 3rd book anyway.
Janna & Mumma: I'm with you on reading series in the right order. My OCD has me twitching if I've accidentally started a series midway and, like you Janna, if I discover that the theme in one book sounds great I HAVE to go back and read the series from the beginning before I can get to it. Sigh indeed.
Sara: I'm in total agreement that Ranger and Morelli should ditch Stephanie and hook up. That would be hot. *g*
In all seriousness, though, I think why I went off the SP series is in relation to what I said earlier about stagnation. I just felt like the characters were the same old, same old so I decided to stop reading before I really began to hate the whole thing.
Tracy: Yep.
JenB: Not even if you are liking the series Jen? For eg the Adrien English or the Heaven Sent series?
Kris: A-ha. Well, I have trouble with CF anyway. One of the Drake Sisters books used the phrase “her feminine channel” or a variant thereof about five times in a three-page sex scene. Blech. And then I couldn't read the last Drake Sister book because I was too pissed off about the first 1.5 chapters.
Chris, I can understand why you would've been pissed about the start of the last book in the Drake sisters series. The series is still my fave of hers, despite it being ALPHA saturated.
To be honest, unless it's seriously smutty (ie kinky or both chick and dude are super hot) I skip most m/f scenes these days due to sheer and utter boredom.
My home is going to stay a CF-free zone. 🙂
I'm rereading Adrien English and at the end of book 3, I'm with you on “that arsehole Jake Riordan.”
HA!!!!! That scene totally broke my heart and confirmed everything I had felt re: Arsehole Jake.
I'm now watching Kyle and Oliver get together from One Life to Live. I have become a total friggin' sap. It's disgusting. LOL. But the New Year's Even scene is seriously lovely and the song that goes with it is awesome.
Good grief, Kris. Next you'll be changing your blog theme so it's all puppies and flowers and G-rated.
I know! *poutmope*
I'm writing a series (eek!), but I promise there will be no more than 5 books in the series. I've already got the story-arc mostly mapped out and all that good stuff.
It's a paranormal (eek again) and I love it because I'm going out of my way to tweak all of the stereotypes. Instead of the Pack Alpha being male, it's female. Instead of being the all-powerful-kick-your-butt-while-looking-gorgeous heroine, my heroines tend to be eerily normal (ack!) and…the sex is really hot.
Oh and did I mention that the hero in book 1 has an extremely intriguing and VERY sexy tattoo? Hmm??? LOL! Now, I just have to get them written and published. Bwa-ha-ha! 😀
Bridget: “but I promise there will be no more than 5 books in the series”
And our work here is done! 😉
I knew you were writing a paranormal story, but I don't realise the Alpha was going to be a chick. Cool. 🙂
“the hero… has an extremely intriguing and VERY sexy tattoo”
Bridget, I'm shocked! Don't tell me you've gone for a tatt, you know, down there. *waggles eyebrows*
I don't read Lanyon, and the HS series was an exception. I think I've read past book 3 on maybe 5 or 6 series…EVER. In fact, I rarely even make it to the third book. I usually read the first, maybe the second, and then move on.
Jen, how come? If you don't mind me asking, that is.
I don't care for mysteries, especially not ongoing mystery series.
I just don't have the time, patience, attention span, or loyalty for lengthy series. I'm inconsistent in my reading tastes and I lose interest by the time the third or fourth book comes out.
heh, no it's not down there…ish. lol. I'm not going into details. Let's just say it kind of happened spur of the moment. I was looking at “cookies” and the next thing you know. 🙂
It's a 5-book series, but each book is a single couple, so it's really 5 separate books set in the same world. 🙂 I'm going to get Jen to read it. She'll be tempted by chocolate or some other device. Hmmm…must ponder. 😀
JenB: Fair enough. Being a mood reader myself I can totally understand the need to swing from one author and/or genre to the other like a ecstatic-drunk fly in shit heaven. *g*
Bridget: How disappointing. 😦
Oooh, I like it when it's different couples set in the same world. Much better for my toy poodle attention span. Best of luck with it all, Bridget!