Jana Richards | Writing the Multi-Author Series

Writing can be a solitary venture. So when the opportunity arose to write a multi-author series set in a small town in Maine called Lobster Cove, I jumped at the chance. This unique series from The Wild Rose Press includes several genres of romance in differing lengths. So far the series is comprised of works in contemporary romance, suspense, historical and paranormal/fantasy. I thought it would be fun to share ideas and stories with other writers.

But along with the fun came some unique challenges.

The town of Lobster Cove was created by our senior editor and some of the writers who were first to come on board. They built a map with street names, businesses, schools. As more writers joined and needed locations in the town to set their stories, things sometimes got complicated. For instance, this little town of 2,500 on Mount Desert Island in Maine couldn’t support four bakeries, or two hospitals. It just wouldn’t be logical, even if the town is only fictional. If one writer already had dibs on a business or location, the other writers had to find different places to set their stories. Details of each business and each character were carefully noted in a Google doc. The writer “in charge” of a certain character or location got to create the details that we all used.

Since the series needed continuity, characters who appeared in one book couldn’t suddenly be someone else in a subsequent book. Consequently, I couldn’t make up characters as I went. I had to deep-six a doctor I’d invented and use a couple of others that other writers had already created. When I needed a policeman, I had to search the doc for a pre-existing one. Maggie’s Diner had to have the same owners and group of waitresses. And their temperaments and descriptions had to match the ones from books that came before.

Names were a problem as well. I had to change the last name of my hero because someone else had already used that name. Ditto for a secondary character.

Sometimes the information I needed wasn’t on the Google doc. For example, there were three doctors listed but I needed to know what type of doctor they were and how old they were. My heroine says she’s been going to her doctor since she was a child so I had to know if that was a possibility. So I turned to the Yahoo loop that all the authors of Lobster Cove were part of and asked. Within minutes, the other authors got back to me with the information.

Though writing a multi-author series that requires continuity needs a lot of diligence, it’s been a wonderful experience. It’s been fun to create our little seaside town and all the characters who people it. Lobster Cove becomes more real with each new release. My contribution, ONE MORE SECOND CHANCE, a contemporary romance, does not have a release date as of this writing, but will be coming very soon. Stay tuned!

Join me on my birthday, November 5, for Jana’s Birthday Book Giveaway. Over 15 authors, including me, will be giving away over 30 ebooks. All you have to do to win one (or more) of the books is to enter the Rafflecopter draws. It’s just that simple! So help me celebrate my birthday on November 5 on my blog. See you there!

About ONE MORE SECOND CHANCE

Dr. Alex Campbell has an agenda —finish his contract to provide medical services in Maine, pay off his medical school debt, and head back to his real life in San Diego. But when he meets Julia Stewart, all his carefully laid plans are put in jeopardy.

Julia Stewart, Lobster Cove’s high school principal, swears she’ll never let another man drag her away from the home she loves. Her aging parents need her, and the Cove is where she wants to raise her daughter. When her mother’s illness brings her and the big city doctor closer together, panic sets in. Her marriage taught her that men don’t stay. Can she put aside the heartaches of the past and trust Alex enough to accept the love he’s offering? Or will her fear of abandonment mean she’ll send him away forever?

About Jana Richards

When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.

In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada with their Pug/Terrier cross Lou and several unnamed goldfish. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her Website.

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