Can’t possibly say goodbye

I’m thrilled to be here, Novel Spaces! Not only is it great to join some Dorchester Publishing house-mates, but to be in the company of both new-to-me faces and familiar ones – I’m SO excited to read at the Fantastic Fiction series with Terence Taylor next May!

About me:
I’m an award winning author, actress and playwright. I write the Strangely Beautiful series of Gothic Victorian Fantasy novels for Dorchester Publishing, which began with The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and continues in April and October 2010. My futuristic novella Dark Nest won the 2009 Prism Award for excellence in Fantasy / Futuristic / Paranormal Romance. I grew up in rural Ohio, received a degree in theatre and a focus in the Victorian Era, love ghost stories and Goth clubs, live in New York City with my real-life hero and rescued lab-rabbit Persebunny.

Today’s thought: Can’t possibly say goodbye.

So I want to know how the single title, stand alone people do it. I want to know how people can build a world, characters, tension, plot, resolve conflict and when the storyline is complete – let them go after one book. I can’t do it. If I’m ever called to do it, I wonder how.

I was told that I’d suffer a bit of “post-pardem” let down after my debut novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker hit the shelves. And while it’s true I’m blessedly exhausted from a whirlwind tour of promotion, book signings, events, etc. I’m falling right back into working on the next “Strangely Beautiful” baby as if no time has passed.

I’m a serial-serialist I suppose. I can’t build a world and leave it well enough alone. That likely comes from the fact that the books that have historically engaged me the most have been fantasy novels that usually run the series model. The more time I spend in the Strangely Beautiful world, the more it grows. (I’ve cut myself off though, this could get out of hand and I don’t want to take a series past its natural end). The world of Dark Nest is the same, it’s a futuristic setting in which the action of the novella is swift and immediate for a partial resolution, but a follow up-novella is certainly in my head and in the works. Attachment to characters and world-building is a trait every writer shares, but the tendency for the characters and that world to keep growing and unfolding through several books is an author-specific choice.

I’d like to pose a few questions for you series writers and you single title, stand-alone novelists. Do you write what you write because it’s the structure that calls to you? Do you tell the world how many books it has in it or does the story tell you? Have you dealt with the “post-pardem” period yourself? Do you write series because it’s what you like to read? Single titles / stand-alone authors, what about you? Are you done with your characters after a certain time and that’s that? Have you ever started something you think is surely stand alone and then been shocked when a series has been birthed unwittingly? Who’s written both and can speak to a preference or the pros and cons of each? Readers? What’s your preference and thoughts about series versus stand alone? Go on, chime in!

For those of you interested in The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, it’s been recommended by True-Blood.net, the official Fansite for HBO’s True Blood (Based on Charlaine Harris’ fabulous Sookie series!). There’s a limited-time 30% discount from Barnes & Noble, just follow the link stated within at http://tinyurl.com/yl5om43. Thanks again Novel Spaces for the opportunity to be here!

Let me know your thoughts on those above questions. Leave a comment and I’ll give away one selected winner’s choice of either Dark Nest or The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, the beginnings of my series worlds. Blessings!

Leanna Renee Hieber
www.leannareneehieber.com
www.twitter.com/leannarenee