Writing a Series

Sometimes an idea for a novel comes to me at the oddest times—in the shower, in the middle of the night, during date day at the movies. I am the first person to admit that writing one novel is an undertaking not for the faint of heart, but when the idea for a series strikes, a writer knows that they are in for months or years of intense work.

A series requires that the writer pace the work. Decisions need to be made as far as the genre, sub-genre, time period, and how the characters intersect.

The work can take form in several ways.

1. A series of books featuring the same characters over the course of several months or years.

2. A secondary character from a previous book is made the main character

3. The same setting, with completely different characters.

My particular favorite, as a reader and writer, is number two. Pamela Clare did this to great effect in her MacKinnon series, one of my all-time favorites reads. Three brothers, each with their own unique story, where the others, past and future, all played a part.

With this particular method, successive books act as an epilogue to prior ones, so the reader learns about children the couple might have, etc. I like to think of characters as “out there,” living their lives, so this method has great appeal.

I used number one when I wrote Free Me and In His Arms, where the second book was a continuation of the first. Free Me was written for a submissions call, where the characters were to meet on vacation. The call was limiting in word count and with the vacation theme, the characters had to meet and have some kind of meaningful relationship develop during the course of a week or two. Readers aren’t fond of that dynamic. They prefer that characters fall for each other over a longer period of time. In Free Me, Phil and Bryan don’t fall in love, but in heavy lust.

In His Arms picks up the story three months after the end of the cruise where Bryan and Phil meet, and the story then progresses over the course of a good many months.

My first series, the Sapphire Club, I wrote with the characters interacting in each one. In that series, Serenity Dream is the first story. Serenity and Lucien Damrill are a married couple who haven’t seen each other in ten years. Serenity was not enthralled with the sexual aspect of marriage, so she leaves the day after their wedding and is gone for ten years. When she returns, she brings with her a secret that could destroy both her and Lucien.

This story brings in the character of Prentice Hyde, Lucien’s good friend who is an avid attendee at the Sapphire Club. In writing Prentice into Serenity’s Dream, he jumped off the page and I knew he needed a story of his own. It turns out that he had quite a story, quite a history, and he needed his own time in the spotlight.

All along, I thought that Haynes, a young footman, would be the subject of my third book in the series. He was a strong character and one that I, as the author, knew held a deep secret. That secret kept me from writing his story, because, at the time, I couldn’t manage the logistics of his story. That happens.

However, there was a very minor character that I had only referred to as the Duke of Thornhill or the duke. He was enigmatic, secretive about his life, a paradox in behavior and proclivities. His interactions with Haynes brought him to the fore. With Haynes, he is submissive by choice. I knew what I wanted for Haynes, but in that exploration, I found Phillip Allard, the almighty Duke of Thornhill.

The Sapphire Club series has been very good to me and readers still buy it, three years after it was first published. I have rewritten Serenity’s Dream and it has a shiny new cover, new edit, etc. In Serenity’s Dream, Haynes got his story. I fleshed out the back-story on Serenity and Lucien, and gave the entire story a good polish.

With each series, as well as with every book, I have a system I use to keep all the facts straight. I start with character index cards. On each card, I write physical characteristics, traits that makes the character who he or she truly is.

I’m working on another series, which will involve five or six volumes, tracing the lives of generations in one family. I’m excited to bring those characters to life.

If you like historical romance with a bit of BDSM-lite, the Sapphire Club series might be for you. Check them out in my library.

Newest Releases

Serenity’s Dream

Serenity Damrill has returned to her husband, Lucien after a ten-year absence. She carries with her a secret that could destroy her life and possibly all that Lucien has built.

Lucien was quite happy in his life running the Sapphire Club and has no need for the frigid wife who deserted him the day after they were married.

Can Lucien teach Serenity that her fear of the marriage bed is unfounded? Will Serenity’s secret be the death knell for their marriage?

For Men Like Us, which takes place during the Regency in England. You can find it at Dreamspinner Press. Just click the title to be magically transported.

*****

For Men Like Us

After Preston Meacham’s lover dies trying to lend him aid at Salamanca, hopelessness becomes his only way of life. Despite his best efforts at starting again, he has no pride left, which leads him to sell himself for a pittance at a molly house. The mindless sex affords him his only respite from the horrors he witnessed.

The Napoleonic War left Benedict Wilmot haunted by the acts he was forced to commit and the torture he endured at the hands of a superior, a man who used the threat of a gruesome death to force Ben to do his bidding. Even sleep gives Ben no reprieve, for he can’t escape the destruction he caused.

When their paths cross, Ben feels an overwhelming need to protect Preston from his dangerous profession. As he explains, “The streets are dangerous for men like us.”

*****

Tarnished Gold

available for pre-order. Released on March 25.

(Insert cover for Tarnished Gold)In 1915, starstruck Jack Abadie strikes out for the gilded streets of the most sinful town in the country—Hollywood. With him, he takes a secret that his country hometown would never understand.

After years of hard work and a chance invitation to a gay gentlemen’s club, Jack is discovered. Soon, his talent, matinee idol good looks, and affable personality propel him to the height of stardom. But fame breeds distrust.

Meeting Wyatt Maitland turns Jack’s life upside down. He wants to be worthy of his good fortune, but old demons haunt him. Only through Wyatt’s strength can Jack face that which keeps him from being the man he wants to be. Love without trust is empty.

As the 1920s roar, scandals rock the movie industry. Public tolerance of Hollywood’s decadence has reached its limit. Under pressure to clean up its act, Jack’s studio issues an ultimatum. Either forsake the man he loves and remain a box office darling, or follow his heart and let his shining star fade to tarnished gold.

Read an excerpt and purchase the Tarnished Gold ebook or print, signed by the author (if one of the first twenty sold.)

About Brita Addams:

(Insert Brita logo)Born in Upstate New York, Brita Addams has made her home in the sultry south for many years. Brita’s home is a happy place, where she lives with her real-life hero, her husband, and a fat cat named Stormee.

She writes, for the most part, erotic historical romance, both het and m/m, which is an ideal fit, given her love of British and American history. Setting the tone for each historical is important. Research plays an indispensible part in the writing of any historical work, romance or otherwise. A great deal of reading and study goes into each work, to give the story the authenticity it deserves.

As a reader, Brita prefers historical works, romances and otherwise. She believes herself born in the wrong century, though she says she would find it difficult to live without air conditioning.

Brita and her husband love to travel, particularly cruises and long road trips. They completed a Civil War battlefield tour a couple of years ago, and have visited many places involved in the American Revolutionary War.

In May, 2013, they are going to England for two weeks, to visit the places Brita writes about in her books, including the estate that inspired the setting for her Sapphire Club series. Not the activities, just the floor plan. J

A bit of trivia – Brita pronounces her name, B-Rita, like the woman’s name, and oddly, not like the famous water filter.

Please visit me at any of these online locations:

Website | Blog | Twitter: @britaaddams |Facebook |Fan Page |Goodreads |Bookshelf |Amazon Author Page

Giveaway

One random commenter will be selected to receive their choice of anything from Brita’s backlist.

Tarnished Gold is excluded.

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