To write sequels or not to write sequels...

Gone to the Dogs... Better late than never...

To write sequels or not to write sequels...

The topic of sequels isn't exactly a hot one at the moment (most writers I know are busy debating genre vs. literary fiction:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/07/how-hard-should-we-make-our-readers-work/
http://joeponepinto.com/
http://litreactor.com/columns/battle-of-the-books-genre-vs-literary )

Although certainly no few people are going to be talking about the fact that there will be no Pulitzer Prize awarded for new fiction this year:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/07/letter-from-the-pulitzer-fiction-jury-what-really-happened-this-year.html

But I'd like to talk about something else. You know, just to be different ;-)

I've got two Works In Progress at the moment, and at least one has sprung a sequel...or at least a spin off. It could go either way. Or both ways. Well what did you expect from a lady who bats for both teams? ;-)

Seriously, though, I have to wonder:
do romance readers want sequels? (I mean really want, not just think we want.) Isn't romance about that first blush of love (or occasionally rekindling an old flame)? Once we see the first look, first kiss, first hot sex scene, what's left? More of the same? Are sequels to romance novels little more interesting than tired old marriages?

And yet, there are sequels in the romance world. There are even full series (J.P. Barnaby's Little Boy Lost, a six book series, springs immediately to mind.) I haven't read them, but they are SO on my "to read" list! So is Ariel Tachna's Partnership in Blood books. In the case of the first series, I believe it's more along the lines of one great big long story broken into six novel sized parts. The Partnership series just sounds... well, vampires and wizards, need I say more?

But what if the sequel isn't as strong as the first book? What if, by it's very nature, it is bound to be weaker simply because there are no more "firsts"? Who wants to read about the continuing saga of our heroes AFTER they've ridden off into the sunset (or wherever it is vampires ride off into)?

And how many is TOO many sequels...?

Okay, going astray here, I WANT one of these, only with MY book covers....

I know it isn't out yet, but I'm thinking about writing a sequel to my BDSM novel. The material is there--in fact, a lot of the writing is there because I didn't know quite where to end it, so I kept writing, and writing, and writing... and I know what happens after Jason and Henry ride off into the proverbial sunset. But do you, the reader, want to know? Do you care? Are you content with Happily Ever After, or do you want to know more about the Henry's jealous ex, Derrik, Jason's father's wedding, or the woman who wants to occupy Henry's bed--or at least his St. Andrew's Cross, because while he might Top both men and women, he definitely only sleeps with guys--? (And of course that causes a hiccup in the relationship because Jason isn't the most secure kid in the world--but the first book cuts off before y'all even get to see where Henry lives, let alone some of the people in his life, like his mom and her emus. Yes, emus).

an emu looking at you

Or would you be content with mere glimpses of Henry and Jason (whom admittedly you haven't even met yet, the book isn't due out until September-ish), when I write about their friends, Sebastian and David in the spin off? (For clarity's sake: a sequel picks up where the previous book left off, a sequel picks up the setting, but gives the story of a different set of characters. We get to see our favorite characters from the previous book, but it's not their story being told, it's somebody else's).

Sequels are certainly popular in other genres; they're the bread and butter for science fiction and fantasy writers, and let's not forget the cozy mystery (okay, those aren't exactly sequels, but still...)

Do you want to see a true sequel for Heart's Home, or do you really just want Robin's story? (Which isn't the first thing I'm due to write about, I'm writing about Thad, that other contrasexual werewolf in Alun's pack, first. Oh, and Rhianna comes back of course because she's not done making trouble for Alun and James. No way she'd slink off that quietly--but I'm guessing you already knew that...)

So... romance readers, the floor is yours: sequels or spin offs or both or neither...

Oh yes, and of course.... it's Wednesday!!

In celebration of my upcoming BDSM novel, Bound: Forget Me Knot, which is due out September(ish), here are some beutifully submissive boys, and the men who Master them....

And yet again, today's recipe has absolutely NOTHING to do with any of the above...unless you're into food and sex, which quite frankly, I'm not...

Now, I realize that summertime isn't when most of us thing "soup" -- unless you're thinking of gazpacho soup, a yummy cold tomato based soup.

You’ll need:
6 large-ish tomatoes (brandy wine would be nice) tomatoes that are fully ripened. You’ll need to peel them. This isn’t as hard as most people think.

To peel tomatoes, all you need is a pot of boiling water, large bowl of ice water, tongs and a little bit of patience. While you’re waiting for the water to come to a boil, you can deal with the rest of the ingredients:

1 medium to large Spanish (or better yet, Vidalia, if you can get your hands on one) onion, peeled and minced2 cucumbers, peeled and finely chopped; most people also like to scoop out the seeds.1 sweet red and/or yellow or orange pepper (I like peppers, so I usually do two), also finely chopped. (I usually roast my peppers first, because I love the flavor. To roast peppers indoors, all you need is a gas stove, those tongs you already have out and a little patience. Turn on a burner to low/medium, and set the pepper over the fire, right on the burner. Let it go until it’s roasted, i.e. slightly blackened.)2 to 3 large cloves of garlic minced fine (depending on how much garlic you like)Most recipes call for chopped celery. I’m not a big fan of celery, so instead of chopping a stalk or two of it, I usually add a little celery powder. My local Chinese grocery carries it.1 half a lemon, squeezed1 lime squeezed
Probably by the time you’ve done all this, your water will be boiling. Lightly score the tomatoes (i.e. cut an ex in the bottom with a nice sharp knife). Drop in those tomatoes. Let them sit in the water for approximately 20 seconds. Pull them out using tongs, and drop them into the ice water. You can go ahead and let them rest there while you finish up:Seed and mince very finely 1 jalapeno pepper (or use jalapeno powder, about an eighth of a teaspoon should do)
Finely chop up a dozen or so fresh basil leaves (or use about a tablespoon of dried basil)
To skin the tomatoes, simply peel at the score marks. The skin should slide off fairly easily.Go ahead and give a fine chop to those tomatoes; slide them, juice and all into a large bowl with the rest of your chopped and minced ingredients and citrus juice. To the pot add:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil2 teaspoons balsamic or red wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar will do in a pinch; I’m not a huge fan of white vinegar for cooking).1 teaspoon ground cumin3 cups of tomato juice (V-8 works, too)2 cups of roasted corn (or plain corn, but these days, you can get roasted corn in the frozen food aisle… of course you can also roast it and slice it off the cob yourself, if you like)Salt and pepper to taste

If you have a food processor, you can give everything a rougher chop and process it, but I tend to like a nice chunky soup. If you’re going to run it through a food processor, add the corn AFTER it’s been pureed.
Cover and let sit overnight in the fridge. Serve chilled on a hot summer day, maybe with some of those midnight margaritas I gave the recipe to a few months back….

Please remember to leave a comment with your thoughts on sequels...or just about anything else.
And I've managed to wet your apatite a little for that BDSM novel I have coming out in September, but if you're afraid your book budget is going to be blown by then, I'll be giving away a signed paperback copy of it in October, during the Howoween Blog Hop!