Claiming books/adding to series

[Taylor]

Hi there!

Would it be possible to claim my two just-published short stories, and create a series with the existing books please?

The series is "Straights Get Shared" and consists of:
Shared by the Vikings Book 1 (already claimed)
Shared by the Gladiators Book 2 (already claimed)
Shared by the Knights Book 3 (needs to be moved to my profile)
Straights Get Shared: A MMMM+ Time Traveling Short Story Bundle Books 1-3 Bundle (needs to be moved to my profile)

Thank you!
Taylor

[M.]

The books have been moved to your author profile.
Does these books have a continuing narrative featuring the same characters, and/or set in the same universe? This is required to be qualified as a series according to Goodreads policy.

[Taylor]

Hi there!

Apologies... this seems to have been posted twice for some reason! The first part of my request (claiming the titles) was completed by another librarian, but just waiting to hear back on the series request.

Yes! These are all interconnected short stories set in the same universe and adhere the same magic-lore, story and character arc — each one follows a lonely protagonist who encounters a magical artifact, ends up time-traveling to a different era, and finds a happily ever after. They’re all structured the same way, tied together thematically, and branded intentionally as a series :)

Thanks!
Taylor

[Taylor]

Hi there!

Is there any chance I could have an update on this request? This is my third attempt to have this series created, and of explaining how they are all tied together as a series that meets the Goodreads policy. If I'm misunderstanding something, can somebody please point me in the right direction?

Here are my other threads of trying to create this as a series:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thanks,
Taylor

[M.]

Hi!
A similar story, character arc and/or structure does not fulfill the requirements for a goodreads series. The books must explicitly take place in the same setting or share characters that appear in multiple books.
I hope this helps.

[Taylor]

Hi there!

Thanks again for the clarification — I hadn’t realized that the connections between books needed to be more clearly laid out in terms of shared characters or setting. Totally my bad for not including more detail up front — happy to provide it now!

So, the MCs in the Straights Get Shared trilogy are a trio of childhood friends from the same small town in Texas: Dave, Zane, and Gareth. They’ve drifted apart in adulthood, but their shared history runs through the background of each book, and they’re all on a parallel emotional journey.

Here’s a breakdown of how it all ties together:

Dave (Shared by the Vikings) has recently moved to England with his now ex-girlfriend. They’ve broken up, and he’s stuck overseas, isolated, away from the only two friends he ever really had (Zane and Gareth), and increasingly frustrated with how his life has turned out.

Zane (Shared by the Gladiators) is a workaholic who finds himself in Rome for a last-minute work trip. He reminisces about his childhood friends — noting how Gareth was always the one who wanted to play with swords, while Dave was game for anything as long as there was treasure involved (this serves as character foreshadowing/callback).

Gareth (Shared by the Knights, publishing next week!) is dealing with the recent death of his adoptive father and the realization that his closest childhood friends are no longer part of his life. He decides to start fresh by traveling to England to join a historical “Search for the Holy Grail” tour — but ends up twisting his ankle. Discouraged and about to give up, he considers calling Dave (who he knows is in England) to meet for a pint and reconnect — not realizing, of course, that Dave has already time-traveled at this point.

While these stories are short and the characters don’t physically appear in each other’s books, they’re referenced throughout, and each book plants seeds and foreshadowing for the others. There’s a clear shared timeline, emotional arc, and interconnected backstory — plus a consistent tone, format, and magical time-travel setup via mysterious relics. Their personal journeys mirror one another, and the final book brings the emotional payoff of seeing how their individual paths were always part of something larger.

The trilogy is being bundled after the release of book three, and was written from the start to be a cohesive interconnected series with three emotionally lost men finding a second chance across time.

I hope that clears up the character and setting continuity! Totally happy to add anything else if you need it.

Taylor

[M.]

Thank you for clearing that up!
If the main character of each story refers to the other protagonists, there is a clear shared universe and there are recurring characters mentioned, which qualifies it as a series.

I have created a series here: https://www.goodreads.com/series/4152...

[Taylor]

Thanks so much!!! I'll be sure to be clearer when I request the next series!

Many thanks,
Taylor