Jane Davitt's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-broken-triangle"

Alexa and I have finished the sequel to The Square Peg and sent it off to our editor at Loose Id. It's called The Broken Triangle and as you might expect if you've read the first book and remember how it ends, it tells Vin's story after the classmate he fell for in high school walks back into his life.

I'll keep you posted on publication dates (assuming it gets accepted, of course!).

It's not set in stone, but we have a tentative release date of July 9 for The Broken Triangle, the sequel to The Square Peg. Could move around a little, but that's where we are right now.

ETA Now July 2.

Alexa and I just got the cover art for The Broken Triangle, by the talented Valerie Tibbs. Love it to bits! The book comes out on July 2.



A bigger version is here:

http://janedavitt.livejournal.com/202...

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?

Very happy to announce the release of The Broken Triangle by Jane Davitt and Alexa Snow. It's the sequel to The Square Peg and it's available from Loose Id here.

Many thanks to our editor Serena Stokes, all at Loose Id, and our cover artist Valerie Tibbs.

ETA A couple of people have asked, so to make it clear, this isn't m/m/m but m/m. And there's no cheating. It's a love triangle.

[Personal note: minor operation on my wrist tomorrow that requires general anesthetic/cast so I'll be afk for a day or so and unable to answer any questions and such but if you have any send them in and I'll get to them as soon as I can master typing with one middle finger not the usual two :-)]



Vin's a hot Goth, tattooed and pierced and the most popular bartender at the Square Peg. Want to date him or buy him a drink? Sorry. Vin's body is a temple and he's barely been kissed. His heart belongs to Riley, the guy he crushed on in high school and can't forget.

How about Vin's BFF Patrick? He'd let you buy him a drink and have your wicked way with him in the men's room (shh, don't tell Shane or Ben, the bar owners!) Okay, maybe Vin needs to loosen up and Patrick needs to calm down, but they're set in their ways.

Enter Riley, looking for Vin, and suddenly everything changes. Vin's handed a happy ending on a plate and Patrick's free and easy lifestyle loses its glitter as he sees what Vin has.

But does Vin really have his dream guy or does he just have Riley? Maybe they're not the same thing, after all.

Thanks to all who've bought it.

It made the bestseller list at All Romance ebooks and it got mentioned in a USA Today article about new releases.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyev...

Also made number one spot at Amazon yesterday;

#1 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Literature & Fiction > Erotica