Jennifer Probst | A Little Old, A Little New - Mixing Characters in a Series
Readers love series. I love series. Stand alone, continuities, trilogies,
serials, you name them, I'm ready to leap and get intoxicated by a new group of
characters to invest in.
One of my favorite ways to do this is mix old characters with the new. It's a
delicate balance to bring something fresh to my readers, along with giving a
taste of what happened in the past books, like visiting an old friend.
I remember when I was completely addicted to soap operas, and suddenly the young
children were full grown teens one day, ready to take on their own story. Or one
of the kids would disappear, and many episodes later, storm back into town as a
full adult. We forgive soap opera time because it's so much fun. Same thing with
fiction.
In SEARCHING FOR
PERFECT, my hero Nate is a big golfer. When he's on the course, he almost
gets bonked on the head by a runaway golf ball, and when he meets the person
holding the club, readers come face to face with Wolfe - my nineteen year old
angsty, tortured teenager from THE MARRIAGE MERGER. But
now he's all grown up. Wolfe and Nate strike up a friendship, and interweaving
the old with the new takes on a breath of fresh air. It's also a great way to
introduce some humor, and show a burgeoning male friendship I love to write about.
We also see Genevieve, the younger sister of my original heroine, Alexa, from THE MARRIAGE BARGAIN.
Sixteen when we first met her, flash forward ten years and we have her story
about to bubble up. She's friends with the crew from the matchmaking agency,
Kinnections, so readers are able to re-connect with the characters from the Marriage to a Billionaire
series without ever feeling they're stealing the show. And of course, her
twin sister Isabella has become quite a problem in the family. She's a bit of a
hell raiser, so I believe her story may need to be told once I figure out what
it is!
Oh, and let's not forget our animals. There's nothing I love more than seeing my
pets crop up in future books, whether it's Old Yeller from MARRIAGE BARGAIN who got
his own story in THE BOOK OF
SPELLS, or my beautiful, disabled pit bull Robert from SEARCHING FOR SOMEDAY. I
like to know they're happy and still doing okay.
Do you love seeing older characters popping up in series? What are some of your
all-time favorites? I'll mention a few but of course, my list is endless!
Wow! Yes I and I'm sure other readers would love to find out how our favorite characters are doing. After reading a series, rather it be 3 books or 10 book series, It would be sweet to find out how their lives are going. If they had children or if they were able to stay together, ect. I wish and hope other authors see this and maybe catch on. Your an awesome author and I know we as your fans would really appreciate being kept up on our favorite characters. (Terri Pletcher 9:45am April 30, 2014)
Yes, I agree it is great and fun to see our favorite characters pop up in other books... Julia Quinn's Lady Whistledown or Sherilynn Kenyon's Dark Hunters or Geralyn Dawson's Bad Luck series with the girls grown and then boys. Yes I love series best as you can get to visit with old characters as the new ones are getting their story. Oh there are just so many that I would love to see the children of get their stories. (Tina Ullrich 10:09am April 30, 2014)
I love it when an author has characters continue on in other books. Some of my faves include Jill Shalvis's Lucky Harbor series and her Animal Magnetism series; Kristan Higgins's Blue Heron series; Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series; and Lisa Kleypas's Hathaway series. I love seeing how the characters have continued on. (Sandy Kenny 10:54am April 30, 2014)
I love Diana Palmer's books... you get to see other characters pop back in from time to time. (Colleen Conklin 1:00pm April 30, 2014)
I do like it when character's from past books pop back in in new books. I feel like I get to catch up with old friends. Julia London, Brenda Novak and Robyn Carr are excellent authors that update you on past characters. (Lacy Blaney 2:23pm April 30, 2014)
Love to get updates on the lives of fav characters form other books. (Mary Hay 5:51pm April 30, 2014)
WOW, Congrats on your new books: SEARCHING FOR PERFECT and SEARCHING FOR SOMEDAY. Yes, I love older and newer characters together and am used to both because I love Days of Our Lives Soap Opera and have been watching since I was a child. They give a bunch of character to a story by mixing it up. I would love to win and read your fantastic books in 2014. Thank You very much. Cecilia CECE (Cecilia Dunbar Hernandez 7:10pm April 30, 2014)
Books that are tied by character are a definite plus. I love having a frame of reference from the past and finding out how the people fared. (Sharon Mitchell 8:00pm April 30, 2014)
Congratulations on your new book, Searching for Perfect and on the Belles on Wheels Tour. I hope all of you ladies have a great time on that looonng bus ride! I know we will love seeing you. I love a series as well, as long as each book doesn't end in a cliffhanger (hate those most of the time) A couple of my favorites is Gena Showalter's, Lords of the Underworld series and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. (Debbie Kelly 8:00pm April 30, 2014)
I love seeing characters pop up in other books in a series! Some of my favorites are: Lucky Harbor by Jill Shalvis Fool's Gold by Susan Mallery Hard Ink by Laura Kaye Thunder Point by Robyn Carr (Marcy Shuler 8:49pm April 30, 2014)
it's always fun to see characters in a series; one that comes to mind is Fool's Gold. (Denise Holcomb 10:49pm April 30, 2014)
i love series of books but i love stand alone in a series i love kasey millsteads series . i also love melissa fosters (Denise Smith 1:27am May 1, 2014)
I do love a good series series. Jill Shalvis' Lucky Harbor is a favorite. (Pam Howell 7:27am May 1, 2014)
I love all types of books. Series are my faves though. I enjoy feeling an attachment to the characters. (Denise Austin 1:42pm May 1, 2014)
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