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Should a book series end?

Think of classic kids books (pre Harry Potter) and we find an even mix of two kinds of series. On one hand we get authors writing seemingly endless collections of books, on the other we get relatively short collections with a fixed end point.

Enid Blyton, Beatrix Potter, and Rev. W. Awdry wrote in a way that left the reader with no sense that any one book was to be the ‘last book’. We see a big difference between these and books like the Narnia series, ‘the Lord of the Rings trilogy/quadrilogy’ (though not exactly children’s books), ‘Little Women’ (and its sequels), and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ (and ‘Through the Looking Glass…’).

Maybe the thing that makes the biggest difference is the fact that characters in these continuous book series don’t seem to age (or they at least age at an extremely slowed rate), the other books noted guide the reader through a journey with the main character that often looks like a coming of age story. This leaves me stuck, I want to let my characters age and develop but I really don’t see myself closing off the series at any point.

I’ve got a world growing around Jack and his friends and family that shows no sign of shrinking. Ideas for books far into the future, when Jack and Thea are teenagers, and even adults, are already taking shape in my mind, but how do I let them grow without limiting myself to some future ‘end point’?

Thankfully Terry Pratchett has shown me the way. His Discworld series went on as long as he did and it’s open nature somehow lets it live on in the minds of readers. Commander Vimes, Lord Vetinari, and Tiffany Aching are still doing their own thing in my mind and in the minds of millions of Pratchett readers. Despite leaving things open Pratchett managed to allow his characters to grow and develop (and age) as the series went on. It’s comforting to know that I was never forced to see these characters ‘end’.

J. K. Rowling has basically said that she won’t write any more harry Potter books. She has absolutely every right to decide what she writes and when she writes, but I can’t help but feel saddened by this fact (I’m sure a lot of people do too). I like to hope that if Jack Reusen manages even 1% of the fandom Harry Potter has seen I’ll be able to keep his world alive and running.

There is no one big bad guy in Jack’s world, no clear obstacle that he’ll eventually one day overcome. I plan on putting my characters through all kinds of conflict, danger, adventure, discovery, and excitement for as long as I can. Perhaps some book series should end, there’s sometimes a natural point that feels like the time to say goodbye to the characters, but I don’t think authors have to write like this.

What’s your favourite type of book series? Do you like a clear and concrete close to the story, or do you prefer to feel as though there might be another chance to revisit the world just around the corner? Feel free to discuss your favourite book series, and what you like about them in the comments section below. As always thanks for reading, all the best, John

Book sales

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I’ve held back from talking about book sales on here. From reading other writers’ blogs I get the feeling that it isn’t really the done thing. This blog is designed to highlight the world of Jack and his friends so perhaps this isn’t the place for this. However, I’d also like this wee blog to give potential writers a real idea about what it’s like to be a self-published children’s author, so here we go.

So far my book sales have kept me happy. They’re nowhere near providing me with a living yet, but as an incentive to get me to write more they’re really fantastic. This week I’ve sold three books (two hard copies and one kindle edition).

That might not sound like much to some people but given the amount of time I’ve actually been able to put into showing the books off I’m finding this pretty promising.

On top of this I’m being asked more about the books by parents, both whilst picking my kids up from school and while working in the toy shop. I get the feeling that people are actually hearing about the books from parents and children who’ve enjoyed reading ‘…the Fey flame‘. Somehow that feels better than a load of sales gained by a big ad campaign.

If you’re a new or aspiring author and you’ve opted to try the self publishing route expect to get sales in direct relation to the amount of effort you put in to getting your book known, and to the reception that your book gets from those who have already read it. I always notice a jump in sales when I do a book talk, show it off on twitter a bit, or simply when (like the other day) someone is good enough to tell others that they’re enjoying Jack’s world.

If anyone reading this would like to know more about what’s involved in the early stages of a self published book feel free to leave questions in the comments section and I’ll give you feedback on my own experiences.

Of course I also welcome comments from anyone who is in the same boat as me or even people a few steps beyond this point. It’s always good to hear how other writers deal with getting their book known. As always, thanks for dropping by, and don’t forget to follow the Jack Reusen account on twitter, or alternatively you can like the official page on Facebook to be kept up to date about the books. All the best, John

Almost time…

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There are two big reveals to share tonight: a sneak-peak of the cover for ‘Jack Reusen and The Spark of Dreams’, and on top of that I’m sharing the title of the very last chapter, it’s that close to completion!

I’m so sorry for the long wait, editing has been a tough run this time round. I did something with one of the main characters that I wasn’t 100% happy with, unfortunately it was quite early on in the book so changing it has had a ripple effect. ‘Jack Reusen and the Spark of Dreams’ is looking to be ready around a month later than the April release promised at the back of ‘Jack Reusen and the Fey Flame’. To everyone who has been asking about it, I am so sorry for the delay, and thank you for all the support you have all shown so far.

As for the book cover I hope you like the wee snippets shared in this post. I put out a call for an illustrator a few weeks ago and an illustrator called Karen MacAllister came forward (pop over to her illustrator website and her blog to find out more about her work). She showed me some great wee preliminary sketches and we took it from there and, thanks to Karen we now have a really dynamic and intriguing cover.

To be slightly annoying (building anticipation a bit), I’ve decided to only show small portions of Karen’s finished work. I thought it’d be more fun to share the finished article once the book is out.

I need to point out that Karen’s advice and knowledge were almost as valuable as her artistic skills in creating this cover. She really knows her stuff and de-cluttered my original plans to produce something that catches the eye and draws you in and I absolutely love the colour and tone she’s put into it.

I’m going to edit like a lunatic over the next couple of days, the book is all but done but I want to really do this justice (it isn’t easy getting the balance right in zombie scenes for kids). So many readers have been so supportive of this next leg of Jack’s adventure that I don’t want to let them down. Hopefully the story within will have the same draw as Karen’s fantastic cover.

As always thanks for reading, I’ll try and visit here more frequently over the next few days with updates so you should hopefully hear more soon. All the best, John

Book 3: working title…

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Who doesn’t like a sample of the next book at the end of a book they’ve just enjoyed reading? I know I like a wee taster, if for no other reason than it tends to prompt me to pre-order the next instalment so I don’t miss out.

Well I decided in “Fey Flame” to do just that, it was an easy move since I’d already written the first four chapters of the next book before I published ‘Fey Flame’ (NaNoWriMo needed me to get an extra 15,000 words done before I’d be able to submit).

Well roll around ‘Spark of Dreams’ and we get a wee dilemma: book three doesn’t (/didn’t) have a title, let alone a few chapters to work from. Aside from a fairly detailed idea of what will be happening in the next book, up until tonight, there wasn’t really any substance to it.

Well now there is, I now have some actual, solid, story writing down for it and I’m pretty excited to see how this one plays out.

Anyway, without further ado, may I present to you the working title of book three…

“Jack Reusen and the Children of Fate”

I say ‘working title’ and it is just that, I’d love feedback on what people think of it, especially if you have views on what children might think to it.

I’ll be asking my eldest son in the morning but it’d be great to get a wider perspective on what people think. The story will centre around the families of Fynn, Alyssa, and Granny Reusen and will tell us more about these characters and the magic they wield. What’s more we’ll also get a revisit from the ‘Wishmaster’ (though he may be less nasty in this book).

Anyway, it feels great to have that dealt with. I now have a complete book (along with epilogue and taster) to edit, some artwork to figure out to show off the books and hold them together, plus I’ve got book three taking shape before my eyes. All in all it’s great having a sense of where I’m going next.

Also, don’t forget there’s still the option of getting to appear in ‘the Spark of Dreams’ as a ‘zombie’ (plus some of these characters might get the chance to follow on into book three). There’s not much time so if you’d like to see your name appear in the book I’ll need to know in the next couple of weeks. As always, thanks for reading, all the best, John

Spark of Dreams

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So the spark of dreams is finished, over a cup of tea at about 6:30 this morning I sat down and completed it. I’m currently writing up the epilogue and the taster of the (as yet unnamed) third book. I can’t believe that I have another book under my belt and it’s not even half a year since this all started.

There are a few things that I’m going to have to figure out pretty soon and the one that keeps jumping out at me is the cover. I want it to be subtle and intriguing, with just one symbol of what the book is about and a solid framing effect that I’ll duplicate (with a variance of colour) in future copies of ‘…the Fey Flame’ as well.

This sounds like a simple task but coming up with a universally recognised symbol for dreaming (apart from perhaps a cloud) is not as easy as you might think. So for the next wee while I’ll be editing (which I’m pretty comfortable with) and designing covers (which is a little intimidating).

The big issue is that if I make a mistake with either then it’s on every copy I get printed, so I want to be sure about what I send to the printers. I’d actually welcome any suggestions that people might have for the cover so if you’ve got your thinking cap on pop your suggestion below. The two concepts I’m playing with at the moment are a lumbering outline of a sleepwalker, or a picture of a small torch hidden under a pillow (yes Jack’s torch makes an extra appearance in ‘…the Spark of Dreams’).

More and more people seem to be hearing about ‘…the Fey Flame’ which is just brilliant and has given me the much needed boost I needed for the last leg of ‘the Spark of Dreams’. Book three is a very skeletal plan at the moment and books four to six (Thea’s stories) are coming to me like distant little smoke signals but the great thing is that it really feels like this series could keep on going (if people keep on reading).

Anyway for now I’ll sign off, I’m away to a ceilidh tonight with the family, should be fun. I’ll post again soon with updates on ‘the Spark of Dreams’ (and hopefully some sketch ideas for the cover. Thanks for reading, all the best John

Thea

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The polar-bear-girl seems to be a favourite among many readers. In a weird way I feel like a fan too, I know that in reality I created her and that she lives in my mind but I still can’t help but feel that I’m not entirely in control of her (and at least a few of my other characters as well).

This strange sensation is responsible for my change in story arc, not that anyone but me knows what I was planning for the books but suffice to say that what is currently in the works is very different from my original idea for the book series. In many ways I liken it to when I became a parent: I had expectations of what it would be like, what my relationship with my children would be like etc. and in some ways I was right but in many, many, unpredictable ways I was way off the mark.

It’s the same with my characters, I put them together in my head, trying different combinations of personality traits, tastes, etc. to see what functioned well for the story but perhaps because of the pace of writing that Nanowrimo requires of a writer I somehow ended up with some very independent characters. Perhaps the most noticeable of these has been Thea.

Originally I wanted a girl who would not be subordinate, I distinctly wanted to avoid anything damsel-like, I wanted her to have a degree of authority on what was going on so I made her older than Jack and way more informed about Fey. At the same time I didn’t want a mini adult so I tried to ensure that, emotionally, she is still able to be affected by events. The result (I hope) is a very human girl with some very inhuman/non-human traits. This combination is a lot of fun to write and I’ve already decided that the non-human part of her needs its own story arc.

Books four through to six will now be themed around Thea and the first of them will be out early next year. I’m still deciding whether to simply call Thea’s books ‘Thea Icebärvolk and the…’ or to stick to something snappier like ‘Thea’s … (a Jack Reusen Adventure)’. Part of me wants to hold on to the Jack Reusen link since the books are set in the same world (and we’ve already got this lovely web site fixed as jackreausen.co.uk to show the books off) but there’s plenty time to think about that.

What do you think to giving Thea her own trilogy? In general what female characters in children’s literature do you see as good role models for young girls? Feel free to jump into discussion in the comments below, all the best, John

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