Jodie Leigh Murray

 

First, let me start out this blog by saying that I never set out to write a sequel. It never crossed my mind. Not until my first book sparked interest with readers enough for people to want to know what happens to the characters. That is how much I put into my characters. And it's heart-warming to know this.

 

Episodic Series

I consider my romantic suspense series, beginning with The Gangster's Daughter, an episodic series, where each book covers a different story but connects the characters. Although I've enjoyed several different series, mostly romantasy, that follow the same character, there are some series that I've read and enjoyed that have been episodic.

 

Characters

It's extremely important to not only keep the characters straight in each book, but paying attention to naming. I hadn't planned on continuing The Gangster's Daughter into a series. I may have had to stretch some facts a little bit when I wrote The Gangster's Mistake, but I'll never tell. It all worked out pretty dang good, so I'll leave it at that. I've started to keep track of all the characters in each book, even the mention of a name, so I don't have any repeats. Believe it or not, it's hard to keep track of.

 

I also have a dossier on each major character with things like personality, traits, what they look like, who's in their family tree, likes/dislikes, what has happened in their life that might have had an affected them, etc. These dossiers are huge. Minor characters have smaller dossiers if they're in multiple books.

 

Timeline

I also have a timeline of all characters, what has happened and birthdates. This helps me keep track of what might happen in each part of their lives from birth to the current day. You'd be surprised at how you might slip up, thinking someone might graduate from high school and they're twenty. It's unlikely they're a super senior these days. It also helps me plan for the future books in the series.

 

Settings

I try not to bounce around settings too much. Cape Haven, my fictional island in The Gangster's Daughter, reappears in the next two books. I haven't decided if it will be or not in the next one. Currently, it's not essential to the plot. Las Vegas and California, do. I will also need to add in another setting as well, so this is another section in my binder that I have to keep track of. I also have visuals on houses. It's just another thing for me to keep straight.

 

That's all I have for now, just learning about writing sequels myself. I recently read a review on The Aristocrat's Wife that someone left on Goodreads requesting a sequel, and I've been asked for a sequel to The Duke's Daughter as well. I definitely have a spin-off bouncing around for The Duke's Daughter, but I'll need to noodle on the other one. The possibilities for stories are positively endless, which is why I write novels, not short stories. There is always more to the story.

 

Happy reading!

 

Jodie

 

Today, the tool we have in our hands most of the time make it much easier to research anything. All you have to do is Google something on your smartphone and you've got the answer. Whether what we find is correct is the question. Sometimes it's hard to forget that not everything you read on the internet is true.

 

Current Day Research

I will never claim to know everything. In fact, there is a tremendous amount that I don't know that I have to research. Even for my romantic suspense novels. Settings, weather, crime, politics. There are several things I look up before and during the writing process. For The Gangster's Game, which is coming out in a few days, I had to do a substantial amount of research on how to get a license to be a therapist and a license to be a private investigator in the state of California. I also did research on trafficking.

 

Historical Research

Researching history is a lot more complicated than writing in the current day. It can pull you into a rabbit hole like you wouldn't believe. Fascinating things to learn from history, whether it's the beginning of time or 50 years ago. Currently, I'm researching my next book, set in the year 1702. Not a lot of data on this time of period, also known as Stuart England, which was 1603-1714 and began with James I, succeeding Queen Elizabeth I. It was a time of innovation and discovery, when England went through a transition from monarchy to parliament. It was also the Golden Age of Piracy, which is what my book revolves around! I have to research everything from historical dates, to fashion, to landmarks, to everything about pirates. And it. Is. So. Fun!! I love history.

 

The further back in history a person has to research, the harder it becomes because of a lack of data. But this also can be a good thing. Many historical facts have been stretched over the years. My novel, The Duke's Daughter, had real historical figures and I may have added some fictional happenings, but one thing that is not entirely clear is the battle of Hastings (Senlac as some refer to it). Some say King Harold took an arrow to the arrow, while others say that didn't happen. I shrug. Will we ever know?

 

When doing research, I first determine what I need to know before I begin writing and get that out of the way. But there's always something that pops up I might need to look into. What type of gun are they using? Are the ages and school level system the same in Italy as here in the U.S.? What level of crime can get you a prison sentence as opposed to a county jail sentence, or felony vs. misdemeanor? It seems there is always a question to everything, even the smallest detail needs to be accurate.

 

Not being able to continue to produce books to put into readers' hands, especially those who enjoy my books and look forward to the next one. THAT scares me. I was narrowly close to not being able to pay my editor for my book coming out next month. I had to take money out of personal assets to pay for editing, and will need to pay it back. Luckily, I was able to do that.

 

I always said that as long as I make enough money to pay for the expenses of the next book, I'll keep writing. Well . . . that's no longer happening. The economy sucks. People don't want to shell out money for books they can check out at the library, or people tell me their reading list is so long they simply can't buy another book. I understand. Truly, I do. I have a tight budget and a long list of books I want to read. But on the flip side, this is my business I'm fighting for. I want to keep writing. I want to keep publishing my books. I'll do whatever it takes to continue to do it! Ultimately, I'd like to do this full-time, although most authors are not in it for the income.

 

I have so many ideas for books I want to write.

 

So, that scares me the most. Not being able to continue writing books and publish them.

 

Admittedly, I don't take many days off. And by days off, I mean full days off where I don't do any type of work. None at all. Most people know that I have a full-time job in addition to to my writing career.

 

Camping

Most people know that I like to go camping, although I have to admit that it's been a while since we've got camping at an actual camping site. We like to go to state parks like Tetteguche, which is north of Duluth, MN and Willow River just east of Hudson, WI. This is by far my favorite way to spend a day off. My husband will argue that I always take time to write when we're camping, but there are times when I don't. It just hasn't been all that recent. I need to make a more concentrated effort to get back to relaxing when we start going to state parks and other campgrounds again.

 

Reading

Another thing I like to do when I have a day off is read. This is probably the most obvious one. I suppose in a way it can be considered working since I need to read to better my own writing skills, but I read just like the rest of those who enjoy reading. I do it to escape reality, to learn different cultures, history, anything really.

 

Traveling

Traveling, like camping, is a great way to spend a day off. Even if it's just a day trip somewhere. I like road trips. It's probably one of the places I do my best daydreaming. I've seen a lot of places, and a lot of things with road trips, although I haven't road tripped too far to the west and I have yet to do an east coast road trip. They're on my bucket list, though. Oh, the things you see when you're traveling.

 

Relaxing

Sometimes I just like to sit on our deck or on our patio, visiting with neighbors or family. This happens few and far between, but it does happen from time to time.

 

What is your favorite way to spend a day off?

 

This proved harder than I thought it would be when I first plucked this from my list of ideas to blog. There are so many wonderful romance novels written since I started reading way back in the day. There are far more than ten novels, so I'll give it my best shot!

 

The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss

An oldie, but a goodie. Unfortunately, Ms. Woodiwiss is no longer with us but every single book she every wrote was an excellent read. This one was by far the best. The Wolf and the Dove came in a close second. These may be a little outdated (this one was published in 1972) since times have changed so much since written, but the story is memorable and that's what matters.

 

True Betrayals by Nora Roberts

Another one that was published long ago, but not quite as long-1995. Roberts has written hundreds of memorable stories, but this one stuck out to me and still remains one of my favorites. There are several others that I love, such as Carolina Moon, Montana Sky, and Sanctuary.

 

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

This one caught me by surprise. My daughter had to read it in her lit class for senior year, and the ending shocked me-to say the least. Not at all what I'd expected, but the actual romance of the story was well-written and it stayed with me. I judge books by whether I can remember the story line, and this one I remember well.

 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

A book that remains in my all-time favorites, this is one of the most colorful stories I've ever read. It was so colorful. Well written and poignant.

 

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

One of the first books I read by this author, who incidentally used to be an independent author like me and others I know. A lot of books written by Colleen Hoover have stuck with me. I can see how she got picked up by a traditional publisher. Her stories resonate and her characters are memorable. A few others that stuck were Verity, Too Late, Confess, Heart Bones, and, of course, It Ends With Us.

 

Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

I give you fair warning that there are two more books coming, but it will be a while before that happens. And when you are done with these three, you will want the next one immediately. Rebecca Yarros definitely knows how to end her books on a giant cliffhanger. This is romantasy and heavy on the spice, just a word of caution. It's not in abundance, but what there is of it . . . whew.

 

The Lion's Bride by Connie Mason

Another oldie, but goodie. On the spicy side for a long time ago, but it was a great romance novel.

 

A Court of Thorns and Roses (and the rest of the series) by Sarah J. Maas

Another romantasy series, but an extremely good one. The first book was very tame compared to the rest of them, but I read through them with super speed and after the first one, they got very heavy on the spicy scenes. But as far as romance goes, I put it in my top ten for a reason. Spicy scenes aside, we're talking romance stories here, and these books were memorable in that alone. Not at all what I expected when I started with the first one.

 

One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

These were not what I expected, either, but I was pleasantly surprised and glad I picked them up. Wonderfully written and engaging. Again, I'm judging on the love story itself. Romance, but not really descriptive sex scenes-and that's okay. To some, it might not be.

 

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Last, but certainly not least, Outlander. If you can stick with it, I know she is extremely detailed in her writing, but the story itself is wonderful. And I don't mean watching it on Starz or DVD/Bluray. I mean actually reading the book. You get so much more when you read the book! I still have two more of this series to read, but you have to have some serious time on your hands to concentrate on the reading of one of these tomes.

 

There you have it. These are my top ten, but there are so many more that I can mention! And I'm sure I'll read many more, and hopefully write some to make your top ten!

 

Jodie Leigh Murray