Jane Davitt's Blog - Posts Tagged "sequels"

The sequel to The Square Peg, The Broken Triangle comes out on Tuesday July 2 and it got me thinking about the perils and pros of sequels.

I've done quite a few over the years and some were a slog, some were fun, but it's a sure and certain fact that some readers will like the first, dislike the sequel and vice versa. It's definitely a gamble because you're providing a direct comparison; it's not a case of, hmm, did I like this book by author Z about shape-changing snails with a love of the opera and an allergy to cats more than the book author Y wrote with shape-changing frogs into tattoos and bondage?

No, a reader can think, I loved this and that about book one and they're missing in book two, darn it. Or a cliffhanger can be resolved in a way they weren't expecting and that leaves them let down. (I'm thinking of my own experiences with the Stephanie Plum novel where a book ends with a knock on the door and you don't know if it's Ranger or Joe behind it.)

For me, even knowing going in that a sequel can turn some readers off the first book, a sequel is tempting in some ways. You've built a world already and it's fun to revisit it. You're curious yourself about what's next for characters you love, even though there's a twinge of guilt because a roses and kittens story is boring as hell so you're going to have to throw stuff at the poor babies.

It's also reassuring to know that you have an audience who liked the first book and will probably give the second a chance. Book sales: 0 is not what anyone wants to see on a royalty statement.

But in another way, it can be tiring to dismantle the happy ending you spent 250 pages getting to in the first book. It's like starting over. And if there's a gap of years between the sequel, you've forgotten the character's voices, who they are.

Happily, The Broken Triangle was written right on the heels of The Square Peg and we avoided the trap of happy ending spoiling by shifting the focus to a different romance, while bringing in Ben and Shane as often as needed.

For those wondering, there's a smidge of kink in this but Vin isn't into the same things as Ben and Shane, not by a long way. It's not a threesome either, but a love triangle.

So what do you like/dislike about sequels? Do you hope there'll be one if it's a book you liked or feel that it's unnecessary if the first book ended in the right place?