The Most Important Question An Author Can't Answer

“Which book of yours should I read first?”

Is there any question quite as terrifying to an author? Ah, to be Harper Lee.

Reader: “Harper, which book of yours should I read first?”

Harper: “Let’s see, I have TWO, and the second one is a follow up to the first one so, um… Read To Kill a Mockingbird first, and, if you like that one, read the other one.”

Reader: “Great! Now, to this side of our author panel: Joey, which book of yours should I read first?”

Joey: Deep breath “Okay, so I have SIX SERIES, 50+ books. Some contemporary, some paranormal. All different permutations of BDSM romance – M/f, F/m, F/m/f, M/f/M, Vanilla heroine/male sub, M/F, interracial, protagonists with handicaps… In paranormal, I have mermaids, witches, vampires, angels, sorcerers… In contemporary, I have millionaires, housemaids, SEALs, cops, roofers, tea room managers, artists… Oh, and if you have an “edginess” preference, I have everything from sensual undercurrent Dom/sub dynamics to extreme edge relationships. Etc."

Don’t get me wrong, I am SO SO SO happy when a reader WANTS to read one of my books. I will, without any complaint, do my best to recommend a book to that person, but making the decision seriously stresses me out, lol. That’s because I’m a reader, too. Which means I know the REAL question a reader is asking when they say, “What book of yours should I read first?” isn’t about the surface elements, cop versus vampire, etc. It's this one: “I’m looking for a certain experience when I read a book. Is this story going to deliver it?”

No author can answer that, because it’s as individual as the person asking. But it usually takes a reader less than a couple chapters to know they’ve found it. I’ve discovered it quite randomly, across nearly every genre, and in some of the most unlikely story lines.

Given all of the above, being asked which book of mine a reader should try first is paralyzing. I think OMG, what if I suggest the wrong book? Maybe I think the reader would fall in love with Book A, but they not only hate it, they swear never to pick up another of my books. Which yes, is bad for my future book sales, but what really crushes me is that I gave this reader a terrible experience, when MAYBE I had something in my backlist closer to what they really wanted. I just needed a better understanding of what they were seeking.

In marketing a book for film rights, there’s a thing called a logline. It’s similar to a pitch line, but it answers, “why is this story worth telling?” Unlike a pitch, it’s not a teaser. You’re not hinting at what the story’s about. You’re telling the listener what it IS about, in an arrangement that stirs their interest.

For instance, my logline for Natural Law is as follows: “When an alpha male cop goes undercover in a BDSM club to solve a murder, he teams up with a Mistress who schools him in what submitting to a woman really means.”

I know I seriously overthink things sometimes. But the above is about selling a book, or in this case, the film rights to that book. Trying to determine what questions to ask, what information to give, to bring a reader together with the book that will offer them the reading experience they really want, matters a great deal to me. As I examined the question for this post, it felt like a different approach was needed than something like the logline strategy.

That was when I thought of the line from Notting Hill: “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” Or in this case: “I’m just a reader, standing in front of another reader, telling her/him about a book I think is really worth reading.”

The best person to recommend a book to a reader is NOT the author. It’s another reader. It’s why I’m so glad my JWH Members Only fan forum on Facebook exists, as well as the many other book forums where readers can talk to other readers and help them navigate those waters. Prior to social media, this happened on the bus, at work, by the pool, etc. Some of that lovely interaction still happens. Even if they’re total strangers, there is no such thing as dreaded “small talk” and awkward pauses between avid readers.

When deciding what book I myself want to try by a new author, I employ a two-part strategy. 1) See which book their fans like best and 2) if available, ask the author what her/his favorite book is in their backlist. The answer to those two questions tells me which books have the largest part of an author’s energy and heart in them. If they can deliver the experience I’m seeking as a reader, it’s most likely to be in that selection.

But even if I still send the inquiring reader to one of the book forums to get a good recommendation, they’ve asked me the question directly first. I owe them an answer. And the thought process above brought me to the idea of “think like a reader.” When I suggest a book to another reader, I want them to understand what it was that captivated me about a story. As an author, I can tell them what I’m striving for when I write a story. Something that has nothing to do with publishing goals, marketing trends and all that. It’s about what’s between me and that empty page or screen.

So here’s what I really want to say when someone asks me, “Which book of yours should I read first?” (aka “Will your book deliver the experience I’m seeking?”)

I want to write characters I love so much that I don’t want their story to end (which may be why I write pretty long books, lol). I want their relationship to be intense and emotional. I want it to make me laugh and cry, curl my toes, and think about the way I love others. I want it to arouse me the way first love does. I want to be so pulled into the story that, at the end of a writing day, I’m a bit dazed. And finally, I want the Dom/sub elements to be so integral to that relationship they only intensify the emotions the characters feel, and make the journey they take together even more significant.

That’s the experience I’m trying to deliver in every book I WRITE.

If that gels with the experience an inquiring reader is seeking, THEN I'd feel more comfortable proceeding to a list of the tropes/elements my books have (Male Doms, Female Doms, cops versus vampires, etc), and suggesting something that might work for them.

Finding an audience for a book is always a challenge, but it’s a special pleasure when you get to do it one-on-one, helping to fill the seats in that theater.

In closing, I leave you with a little plea for mercy from all of us authors with a substantial backlist. When you ask us what book you should read first, don’t say “Oh, you choose.” Give us a little guidance about what kinds of books you like best, so we can get you a little closer to that experience you’re seeking.

* * *

After all that, it seemed sensible to offer a short list of my readers’ favorites, broken down by elements/tropes. Hope this will help you or any of your fellow readers decide what Joey W. Hill book to read first. At the end of the list, I offer a general guide to what type of D/s dynamics prevail in each of my series overall.

[NOTE: All of the below titles can stand alone in their respective series.]

Male Dominant/female submissive

Paranormal/vampires: Beloved Vampire

Paranormal/other: In the Company of Witches or A Witch's Beauty: A Daughters of Arianne Series Novel

Contemporary: Afterlife: A Knights of the Boardroom Novel or Worth the Wait

Female Dominant/male submissive

Paranormal/vampires: The Vampire Queen's Servant: A Vampire Queen Series Novel

Contemporary: Willing Sacrifice, Natural Law, At Her Command

Menage (Threesome)

Paranormal: Vampire Mistress and Vampire Trinity (conclusion of story started in Vampire Mistress)

Contemporary: Naughty Wishes: The Complete Novel, Divine Solace: A Nature of Desire Series Novel

Interracial

Paranormal: Vampire Master

Contemporary: Honor Bound, Soul Rest, Truly Helpless

Male Dominant/male submissive

Paranormal/vampire: Vampire's Soul

Contemporary: Rough Canvas

Male Dominant/Female Dominant

Contemporary: Ice Queen and Mirror of My Soul (conclusion of story started in Ice Queen)

Vanilla heroine/male submissive

Contemporary: Branded Sanctuary: A Nature of Desire Series Novel

SEAL/Military Heroes

Unrestrained, Willing Sacrifice, Honor Bound

Cop Heroes

Natural Law, Soul Rest, Chance of a Lifetime

Working Class protagonists (no millionaire hero/heroines)

Worth the Wait, Branded Sanctuary: A Nature of Desire Series Novel

Vampires ==> Vampire Queen series

Mermaids ==> Daughters of Arianne series (mermaid heroines)

Angels ==> Daughters of Arianne series (Angel heroes)

Witches==> Arcane Shot series

Wolf shifter ==> Vampire's Soul – vampire master/wolf shifter sub, Male/male story

Mythology Reinterpretations ==> Medusa's Heart

Handicapped or Dealing with Serious Illness Heroes/Heroines

Unrestrained, Worth the Wait, Honor Bound, In His Arms

Lighter BDSM elements

Paranormal - Daughters of Arianne series or Arcane Shot series

Edgy/More Extreme BDSM elements

Paranormal: Vampire Queen series

Contemporary: Hostile Takeover

More Mature Hero/Heroine

Unrestrained

SERIES DOM/SUB DYNAMICS GUIDE:

My contemporary Nature of Desire and paranormal Vampire Queen series have the most diverse D/s dynamics from book to book. You’ll find M/f, F/m, menage, M/m, IR, etc.

The Knights of the Board Room series is all M/f, with the exception of Book 6, Willing Sacrifice, which is F/m.

The Mistresses of the Board Room series is F/m, though Book 2 (Neil/Abby’s story) is a switch heroine.

Naughty Bits is M/f. Naughty Wishes is full triangle menage M/f/M (which means there is also a M/m relationship. Both men are Dominant with the female member of the threesome).

My paranormal series Arcane Shot and Daughters of Arianne are M/f series.