Thursday, October 10, 2013

Is There More To The 13th Floor?

I am so stoked to be hosting Christine Rains on my blog today. I know you've heard of her series. Even the name of the collection gives me shivers. And it's so awesome that it's nearly Halloween, and the perfect season in which to read the series, if you haven't had a chance yet.  So - please welcome Christine!

*Resounding applause raises the roof*
 
WILL THERE BE MORE BOOKS IN THE SERIES?
 
 

One of the questions I hear most often is if there will be more books in the 13th Floor series. My answer is always this: No. Well okay, yes. Maybe? I don't know!

Perhaps if I rephrased the question: are there any more books planned for the series? No. I'm focusing on other projects at the moment. There's a chance I might revisit the 13th Floor one day, but not any time soon. I've played around with the idea of writing 13 books in total, but not within the next year

One of the biggest decisions a writer needs to make is when to back away from a series. It's difficult when you have characters you adore, and the readers ask for more. I can see their stories going on for years. But should I keep writing them for years? Probably not. I planned to have six books in the series, and I like where the final book ended. It wrapped everything up nicely, and it left readers wanting more.

 Endings can be difficult. I've been disappointed a lot by how books ended. Some of my favorite authors like Stephen King have endings that fell flat even when the story itself was phenomenal. It's not easy to write a spectacular ending and know that it's the right ending for your series. It's tricky to find the point where it's not ending too soon with loose ends left hanging and not dragging out so that it bores the reader.

It's a writer's job to keep their readers entertained. That means giving them something new and amazing in each story. This is what I plan to do. It was so much fun writing the 13th Floor series, but it's time for me to bring you something new.
Have you ever been disappointed by an ending?
How do you know when to end a story?
 


Blurb:

Six supernatural tenants

Living in a haunted apartment building

On a floor that doesn't exist.


Six novellas telling their tales.


A retired demon acquires a price on his head.

A werewolf is hunted by her pack.

A modern day dragonslayer misses his target.

A harpy challenges Zeus for the soul of the man she loves.

A vampire is obsessed with a young woman he can't find.

A banshee falls in love with someone who's death she has seen in a vision.

And a sweet ghost must battle a primal monster to save them all.

 
All the stories take place at the same time intertwining their lives together on the 13th Floor.

Includes “The Shadow,” a bonus short story.

Find The Books Here:
 



Author Bio:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She has eight novellas and twenty-one short stories published.
Connect with Christine here:
 

24 comments:

  1. I have never been tempted to serialise my stories because I hate giving a definite conclusion.

    I can see how this series could evolve because the floor is a character in itself - people move in, leave etc. You could carry on forever... :-)

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    1. PS. Hi Gwen - sorry, how rude of me to ignore you on your own blog! :-)

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    2. It does have the possibility of going on forever. Sequels and prequels! Thanks for stopping by, Annalisa.

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  2. If you are comfortable with where the series ended, then that is what's important. Often they do go on for far too long. As for disappointing endings, I remember reading this book by Skipp and Spector that was great until the ending - when everybody on earth dies.

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    1. I am pleased where it ended. Oh yeah, that's the sort of ending that would disappoint me too.

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  3. Thanks so much for having me here today, Gwen! And for the raised roof. :)

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  4. I think your series ended perfectly. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing more of the 13th Floor and Carmine. :)

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    1. I don't know if I'll return to the 13th Floor, but I'd really like to set more stories in Carmine. The city that named herself really won me over!

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  5. Thirteen books would be cool - like Lemony Snicket's series. But you'd have to feel like you have enough material for it.

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    1. The problem for me would be narrowing it down to 13! *LOL*

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  6. They need to end when the character's arc is done. Some series I have planned #'s. Some not. If you know it's over, then maybe it should be. Shrug.

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    1. Those characters' stories are definitely done. I do like the setting of the city, though.

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  7. You have to follow the story. If there's more, great. If not, that works too.

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    1. I'm lucky to have great flexibility with this series. Thanks for stopping by, Nicole!

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  8. Aha, I was over there and now I'm over here. Hello Gwen and hello again, Christine. Indeed, if it does feel right to have your series conclude, than that must be right. As for Stephen King, the master of the run-on sentence that leaves me blue in the face. No, not literally.

    Great! Now I have the theme song from Jeopardy playing in my head.....



    My best,

    Gary :)

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    1. At least it's the Jeopardy song. I have Dora the Explorer in my head. Nowhere near as calming.

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  9. So hard to answer that question... since you never know what the future holds:)

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    1. That's very true! We'll see whatever inspiration hits me. :)

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  10. Wise woman. I can think of plenty of series that fell flat. Even the amazing Harry Potter series started to feel forced and I swear, JK almost sounds like she is personally sick of Harry. But pushing the series makes money...sometimes at the expense of the story. When you have more to add to the series, I'm sure you will write more amazing follow ups.

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    1. Thank you, Elizabeth. At least I wouldn't be writing the same characters. Just the same setting. It does get difficult with the same characters.

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  11. I agree with Nicole. Sometimes it's in the author and the characters to keep going. If not, it's forced and one might as well stop.

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    1. Thanks, Medeia! I've read too many series that sound forced. I prefer not to be added to that list.

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  12. I wrote the type of story where people 100% LOVED or HATED the ending . . . but an author's gotta do what an author's gotta do :-) Great post!

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    1. Thanks, Jamie! It's hard with endings. I'm picky with them too. Some of my favorite books have endings I dislike, because I enjoyed the story itself.

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