Bonnie Engstrom: How NOT to Write a New Series
How not to write a series!
By
Bonnie Engstrom
I’ve been planning to write about this subject for a long time and now that The Candy Cane Series is finally complete I am following through with my intent. Most authors will write a trilogy or maybe a five book series. Those are the smart ones! The ones that have two to three main characters and maybe a few very minor characters. Often there is one MC that is featured throughout the series. I love all my MCs, all seven of them . . . with similar names. What was I thinking? I know. The series is based on a swim team of four girls and two alternates. I learned that from the many years my children swam competitively. So I guess there was some logic in my choice. But then Melanie came along.
Melanie is mentioned in Book One, Noelle’s Christmas Wedding, as the cause of the horrible accident to Doreen. She is a minor character for several books until . . . she takes over. Yes, characters do that, especially if they are complicated and interesting and have a background of their own. Melanie isn’t bossy. In fact she is loving and caring and prayful, and she is forgiven by Doreen. Wow, did that really happen?
Here’s short synopsis of the series to help readers understand.
ABOUT THE CANDY CANES
Twenty years ago six high school freshmen in Newport Beach, California formed a swim team that became legendary. They won the state relay swim championship four years in a row. In addition to their skill and devotion to daily practicing, they prayed together and vowed to be sisters forever. Another thing that set them apart was they chose their own swimsuits making them a team within a larger team. They chose red and white diagonally striped swimsuits. Thus, became known as the Candy Canes. They always will be.
There are nine books in the series. Each book can be read as a standalone, although the stories begin when the women are in their twenties, they build on each other as the women progress in age. Each book touches on a social situation: abuse, alcoholism, interracial marriage, infidelity, life threatening disease.
Each book highlights one girl in particular, but all the girls and their families and friends (yes, boyfriends, too) are mentioned in every story because their lives are intertwined by a strong faith and strong friendships.
The weddings are as unique as the locations. A bouquet is tossed in one (Cindy’s Perfect Dance), a bride carries a newborn baby in another (Melanie’s Blue Skirt), a mother swings her son dancing in another (Natalie’s Deception), and a dog drops an athletic shoe in another (Doreen Finds Her Groove).
Each Candy Cane wedding takes place in a nontraditional venue – a famous public garden in Corona del Mar, a historic site overlooking the Newport Bay, on a Central American beach, in a health club, in a hospital lobby, in a famous hotel, and finally . . . That’s still a mystery to be revealed in Book Nine, Natalie’s Red Dress.
A Special Opportunity
My publisher just put The Candy Cane Series in a special Boxed Set Collection – $9.99 for all nine books. A great deal for a series that never intended to be a series. I hope you will take advantage of the special price. I know you will enjoy following the women through their trials and their loves. Please let me know what you think about all the similar names and all the women. Please leave a review and follow me on Amazon. I will be grateful. I answer emails. See below.
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