▣ Books in a series
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Today I'm thinking about books in a series. Most of the big well known mystery writers today are creating a character and then taking that character through 10 to 20 novels. Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels are an example. The public gets hooked on the character and roots for him through all his ups and downs. It does create a following for the author.
So far I haven't done that although I did do a sequel to Tempest Rider since some of my fans seem to think that I should do a sequel. Bite of the Serpent is a stand alone who dunnit as well as being a continuation of the story of Slate and Silver Morgan. I thought I'd hate doing a sequel using the same characters because I like creating new characters. I thought it would be boring.
Memoirs writers: What's the most boring thing you ever had to do?
By writing Bite of the Serpent I saw the value in a follow along character as long as the character was memorable. In the book I'm currently working on I may create a chacter that I'll follow along for a while in other novels. However, I'm also thinking now of continuing the saga of Zip Collins who debued in The Smelly Man. I'm even considering what to do in the new book already although it will be some time until I'm ready to do that. I always liked Zip a lot and I don't mind writing about him again.
It does same some time to use characters already created in the next book. They already have a life of their own that can be expanded on. It does seem to be the way to go in todays market and creates a following if they like the character. At the moment I'm exploring different ideas and trying to expand my abilities by trying something new.
Please comment if you have any input as to whether this is a good way to go or not.