As far as reading books goes, I am a series-a-holic, a series-o-phile, whatever the term is for someone who loves to read books set in the same world. I devour them, and if I love them, I reread them over and over again. So when the concept for my first fantasy novel popped into my head, I knew it would not be a standalone. Which created its own kind of anxiety around generating enough words and story ideas to fill at least 3 books.
Fast forward fourteen months to October 2018, when I published MAGIC REMEMBERED. I knew the series would have 3 books, and would follow the main character, a witch named Calliope. Once that series finished, I wrote a novella (MAGIC RESTRAINED) that served as a bridge between Calli’s story and The Sister Witches series. I also wrote a couple of short stories as I tried to work out what *might* come next for Calliope and Tanner.
(And I'm still working out MAGIC #4! I want there to be another book, I truly do. I even started writing it, had one of those OMG, YES!!! plotting moments, AND set up a preorder. And then it all just petered out and I had to cancel the preorder. I think that in order to pull Calli's next book out of the creative ether, I need to go on a writing retreat. Hoping that happens in 2023...)
When I started writing The Sister Witches series, I knew it would have at least 3 books, one for each sister. But book #2 ended up being a dual POV between Clementine and Laszlo, and book #5 included all the sisters’ POVs. That book, WITCHES EVERBOUND, felt like a good closing to the series, even though Alderose’s destiny isn’t crystal clear and Beryl and Kostya’s happily-ever-after is not guaranteed.
The Shifters in the Underlands series was meant to start with 3 books featuring dragon-shifter, Jake Winslow. Any future books that come out under that series name will feature other characters introduced in Paper Dragon, Blood Dragon, and Moon Dragon.
MEDUSA’S PROXY, published in February 2022, marked the start of a new series based on goddesses in the modern world coping with life, loss, friendships, and love. I have no idea how many books are forthcoming, or even what I’m going to call the series.
At first, I thought to use the title, “Goddess by Proxy.” I imagined centering each book on one Magical being trained to be a specific goddess’ proxy, which would allow goddesses to start taking time off. Medusa’s Proxy is a novellette, a shorter format I find intriguing when I’m working out ideas.
Then Habonde Barleywine and Baubo Elefsina entered my consciousness and THE GODDESS & THE WOODSMAN was birthed. Now, goddesses and their mythologies haunt my waking hours, and my sleep.
Persephone's up next, and a divorce from Hades is her first step toward taking charge of her life. And last night, Pandora appeared and presented me with the first scene in her book (it appears she's trying to nudge aside Hekate). She's had it with the whole evil "Pandora's Box" concept. She would like everyone to know she carries a pithos (an urn, thank-you-very-much), and that her story began long before that wordy Hesiod twisted it around to suit the needs of the patriarchy.
If I had the time (or maybe I should say, when I have the time), there are many characters I would love to revisit. In January, I’ll set up polls here and in my newsletter to see which characters readers might like to see as well.
