Do you have cross-over characters?

[Beth]

Sheila asked: "Do your characters ever cross over - short stories with the same people, or the same people appearing in different series? Do you think it's a good idea or a bad idea when series do that?"

I haven't done this myself--yet. My short stories have their own worlds, as does my novella, the Claire Hanover series, and the new series I hope to start publishing. I may decide to have a cross-over character in the future, but the opportunity hasn't arisen yet where it makes sense.

I know quite a few authors who DO write short stories starring characters from their books, either the main character or a side character. The short stories then are often used as a way to promote the books.

I think it's a good idea, as long as the author can keep track of a character's history across all the books and stories the character has appeared in. We already have to do that for books in a series anyway.

[Sheila]

Thanks Beth. My husband's reading a series at the moment, and beginning to collect the books from the crossover series. My sons get really upset when TV shows cross over though. Maybe books feel less like an imposition - we read them on our own time and don't have to sit through the adverts.