So happy to have you with us, Catherine!
Thank you for having me on your blog today, Faith. Instead of the typical interview, I thought I’d take on the subject of trilogy’s and why we love them.
First, let’s clear up a little something that is sometimes questioned. What is the difference between a true trilogy and a series of books? And no, it isn’t that there are three books in one and less or more in the other. LOL
Obviously, trilogy means three books, but the meat that binds these books together is more than just the same family going through life. A trilogy is a series of three books that either have the same ‘antagonist’ (bad guy, or in the case of my books, girl) or conflict that isn’t solved until the end of book three. In romance, the reader expects a happily ever after at the end of each book. It’s a given. It’s why we pick the books up and stay awake all night reading them. But to have the same bad guy still musing about at the end of book one gives the reader the hope that in book three they’ll see that bad guy get theirs. I suppose a true trilogy can have a love story that takes three books until the hero and heroine have the promise of forever, but I haven’t read it if it’s out there. Why do we read them?
Simple. We romance readers are voyeurs. Really, we sneak into the personal lives of these characters and watch their every move. And even when they have their happily ever after, we want to see what tomorrow looks like. In trilogy books, and even in series romance, we manage a glimpse of book one’s H/H while reading book two. Seeing them work through life’s issues is rewarding even after the ring is on the finger or the bun is in the oven.
Why do we hate them?
But, Catherine, I don’t hate them!
Yes you do!
You hate that they take so long between books to make it into your hands. So my question to you, dear blogger, do you wait until all three books are out before you bother picking up book one? I confess that I do. Nora Roberts writes wonderful arcs in her trilogies, but I won’t pick up book one until three is on the stands. With her, the wait isn’t very long. *Grin.
What about the series of books?
Most of us identify a series of books to be books involving different family members with different conflicts, antagonists and stories. These books are just as rewarding as a trilogy because we get to see all those characters we fell in love with before. On the paranormal side, we think of Karen Marie Moaning, JR Ward etc. It used to be hard to find books in a series; luckily that isn’t the case any longer.
When a trilogy and series collide… what do we call it?
I have no idea. Payday for the writer maybe. Shannon K. Butcher writes a series called The Sentinel Wars, which I just love. The conflict and antagonist is about a war between two species, so the arc isn’t always one key bad guy. The unlimited amount of love stories in a series that travels five or six books is staggering. Bottom line, everyone has a story and unless you live in a cave, you’ll have a love story to tell.
Okay, that’s all I have folks. I’d love to hear your take on Trilogy’s and Series Romance. What you love and what you hate about them.
Check out my latest release, Redeeming Vows from The Wild Rose Press… But if you haven’t picked up book one, Binding Vows, or book two, Silent Vows, you might want to start there.
Binding Vows (Book One MacCoinnich Time Travel Trilogy)
Silent Vows (Book Two MacCoinnich Time Travel Trilogy)
Redeeming Vows (Book Two MacCoinnich Time Travel Trilogy)
Before the Moon Rises (Ritter Werewolf Series Book One)
Embracing the Wolf (Ritter Werewolf Series Book Two)
Posts
20 comments:
The interesting thing about trilogies is that the origin is in the fantasy realm and not a romance thing initially at all. AND the story that starts it all off is Lord of the Rings, one long, epic story that the publishers knew would not be marketable as a single book.
Tolkien didn't want to split up the story, the pub forced it on him. Thus the trilogy was born.
A true trilogy is a continuation of a single story throughout the three books. Cliffhangers are allowed. Leaving characters unhappy is completely expected. This doesn't work in romance, so most romance trilogies are hybrids - plot and dramatic elements carry forward from one book to the next, but each individual book needs a good, solid wrap up of the romantic conflicts.
Like the MacCoinnich Time Travel books, an excellent example - oh, wait, that's yours! ;)
Thanks Faith for having Catherine on your blog today.
I'm in love with the hero Daegan Raeliksen from author Renee Vincent's Emerald Isle Trilogy http://www.reneevincent.com/. I can hardly wait until December 2011 for the story to come full circle. I hope I'm not dissappointed in the ending. I hope all ends well for everyone *crossing my fingers*.
*Wave* Hi, ladies. Great post, Catherine. Here's an interesting question. Does an author decide to write a trilogy/series or does the story demand it? Or, are we just slaves to the publishers length limits? (JK on the last, but it seemed apropos given Angel's comment.) I had no intention of writing a series, but I felt compelled to after finishing a second story that had a mysterious antagonist like the first. It seemed natural to combine them and then write another book to further the plot and so on and so on.
Sometimes the story can't be told in under 500 pages. There was a time when publishers printed epics...no more. I just finished Karen Marie Moning's fifth book in her Fae series. I was one of those readers who went nuts when I realized how long I was going to have to wait for satisfaction (what with being the ultimate instant gratification girl). I'm not sure she could have tolf this story any other way, and I've got to give credit to the publisher, the agent, the editor, and the readers for supporting the project. If not, we would have all missed out on a very good story.
The Vows can all stand on their own, but I'd think you'd want to read them all in order. I loved them all.
I'm not sure what happened to my comments earlier... oh, well, here we go again.
Angel: Romance has to have a HEA with each book, as you know, or publishers don't want 'em. I don't know of many people who want to pick upa 500 page book at one time anyway.
Hi V.P. Thanks for stopping by.
Emma: I can't seem to stop writing series romance. And I loved writing this trilogy. The books with this family could go on and on...
Eliza: I agree, they should be read in order. It's kinds like reading the last chapter in a book before starting the first...
So happy to have you with me today on my blog, Catherine! Drat the computer from work! I could not reply until now.
Faith
Hi Angel! Welcome! Catherine is so awesome!
Faith
Hi Viking Princess! It is always good to see you here at my blog! Catherine is a special lady!
Faith
Hi Emma! Welcome!
I love it when questions are asked.
Faith
Hi Eliza! I love Moning's books, and I've heard nothing but good things about Catherine's trilogy!
Thanks for stopping by!
Faith
Thanks again for having me Faith.
Emma: I think a story demands a second book at times. I really didn't expect three books when I wrote Binding Vows, but the next books just fell out of my head and onto the computer. LOL
Catherine, you are welcome here any time!!!!!!!!!!
Faith
Interesting. So I'm not writing trilogies, I'm writing series, because each brother or sister has a different story. The only constant is the family. Thanks for the definition.
Sue: Like I said, series is just as wonderful for a reader... sometimes even more so because they can revisit the characters from books past but not have anything dangeling for the 'complete' HEA. Thanks for stopping by.
I enjoyed the information, Catherine. Hi Faith! I like trilogies, especially when you come to care about the characters and you want to somehow see how it all turns out. I guess you could say it's for readers (and writers) like me who prefer the longer journey :)
Hi Sue,
Thanks for dropping by!
Faith
Ms.Flagg!!!! So good to see you again! I miss you!
Faith
Hi Mickey,
I don't mind a long journey, as long as there is some relief between the pages. I have a hard enough time putting a 300 page book down, if it were 500 I'd be cross eyed by the time I reach The End.
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