Indie Revolution Day Five - Melissa Pearl

by Unknown 12:30 AM 0 comments

For one whole week, I will be talking to Indie Author's about what it is like to be an Indie Author and their books!

For today on the tour, we have Author Melissa Pearl!

Thanks for joining us today Melissa! Melissa has put together a wonderful guest post so enjoy!

Thank you so much for having me on your blog today. I feel very privileged to be here.

Today I want to talk about series versus stand-alone novels.

Which do you prefer?

I'm a mix.

There is something so cool about getting drawn into a world of fantastic characters and being able to hang out with them for more than one book. When I wrote the Time Spirit Trilogy, I really wanted to create a world where people would be drawn in and desperate to get their hands on books two and three. That's why I wrote them with cliff-hanger endings and that's also why I kept a few threads of mystery running throughout the trilogy.

I love reading a series where you get to end of the last book with a satisfied smile as everything has come to this fantastic conclusion and you can see how all the little links connected.

I've had a few people say they were really sad to see the trilogy end, because they wanted more of the characters. This is why series books are so fantastic.

On the other hand, I also really appreciate a good stand-alone novel. Sometimes you just want to read a book that you know will be wrapped up by the last page. You're not left wondering what will come next and you don't have to wait months to find out.

It can be sad to say goodbye to characters so quickly, but it's also satisfying reading a really great story in one hit. You have less time with them, so in that sense saying goodbye is much easier.

I have noticed a trend in the YA market lately - there seem to be a ton of series out there. They seem to be more popular than stand alone books and I think it's a little sad. I really think there is a place for both. I know as a reader I really appreciate the variety that both provide.

This is part of the reason Brenda and I decided to combine the two. Forbidden Territory is the first book in the Mica and Lexy Series, but it is a stand-alone novel. Forbidden Waters, Book 2 in the series, is coming out next year, but you won't need to read Forbidden Territory to enjoy it. Sure, we will make reference to a few things from the first book, but you'll know what's going on without wishing you'd read Forbidden Territory first.

We're really hoping this concept will work. It means the readers can enjoy the characters, but not be lost as to what's going on if they happen to pick up book three or four in the series first. As writers it gives us so much scope. We can take these characters anywhere and make up multiple adventures for them without having to keep on linking back to the other books. There are way less restrictions, although we will need to be careful that we are not constantly repeating ourselves and the characters' back stories in case someone wants to read all the books in the series :)

So what's your opinion? Do you prefer the one off books or are you a series type person? What makes one better than the other?

Thank you to Melissa for stopping by!

You can find more about Melissa at her blog here!

Melissa has organised two wonderful giveaways for my followers! The first one is a wonderful swag and book pack!

In this first pack, Melissa is giving away a gorgeous Forbidden Territory necklace, along with some bookmarks and an ecopy of Forbidden Territory! There will be one winner of this fabulous prize pack!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For the second prize, Melissa is giving away an ecopy of each of her  novels! Of course, if each of the winners haven't read the books, they can have the first novel instead of the second or third!

a Rafflecopter giveaway