Besieged by Rain
(Book One – Son of Rain series)
Michelle Irwin
Blog Tour
April 7-14, 2015
AUTHOR GUEST POST
– LET’S GET SERIES-ous
I debated different topics to do my guest post about, but made up my mind after hearing one thing over and over: Series versus stand-alone novels. I know there are readers who love series, and some who would rather read stand-alones. Personally, I love a good series. There’s something about being able to find characters that you love (or sometimes love to hate) and then spending a decent length of time with them, watching them grow book after book.
It wasn’t long into the process of writing my debut when I realized that it was going to be a series. Why and how did that happen though? Basically, I knew where the first book was going to end, and I knew about three quarters of the way through the process that there was a lot more that would be left to be said after that. I originally thought it would be three books, but when edits on the first book rolled around, it became clear there was one more book that was needed to tell the full story. Then I discovered that there really needed to be some of the story from the other main character’s point of view, which was how Clay’s four books—starting with Besieged by Rain—were born.
In my opinion there are some great series out there, and there are some which started great and are getting a little long in the tooth now. The cynic in me says the latter is probably caused when sales become more important than story. When that happens, a single story tends to be dragged out over two or three books (or even movies) where it could have been told much more concisely as one story.
For me, a good series is one where each book builds on the last. It doesn’t necessarily have to follow on from the last one (it can cover the time before, after, during the events of other novels), or be with the same characters, it just has to have a purpose in and of itself. By the end of the latest book in a series, you want to be able to say I learned more about, experienced more of, or felt more for the world/characters/plot because of that book.
So if a series can get too long in the tooth, what is the right length for a series to be though? Honestly, I think the answer to that is the same as “what is the perfect book length” or “what is the right length for a chapter,” and that is as long as it needs to be. Some series can be told in two books, others might need twenty. There is no right or wrong, only whether or not the story is valuable, and that’s something only the author and readers can really know.
The next book to be released in the Fire and Rain companion series is Rise from Ash, Book 2 in the Daughter of Fire Series:
– LET’S GET SERIES-ous
I debated different topics to do my guest post about, but made up my mind after hearing one thing over and over: Series versus stand-alone novels. I know there are readers who love series, and some who would rather read stand-alones. Personally, I love a good series. There’s something about being able to find characters that you love (or sometimes love to hate) and then spending a decent length of time with them, watching them grow book after book.
It wasn’t long into the process of writing my debut when I realized that it was going to be a series. Why and how did that happen though? Basically, I knew where the first book was going to end, and I knew about three quarters of the way through the process that there was a lot more that would be left to be said after that. I originally thought it would be three books, but when edits on the first book rolled around, it became clear there was one more book that was needed to tell the full story. Then I discovered that there really needed to be some of the story from the other main character’s point of view, which was how Clay’s four books—starting with Besieged by Rain—were born.
In my opinion there are some great series out there, and there are some which started great and are getting a little long in the tooth now. The cynic in me says the latter is probably caused when sales become more important than story. When that happens, a single story tends to be dragged out over two or three books (or even movies) where it could have been told much more concisely as one story.
For me, a good series is one where each book builds on the last. It doesn’t necessarily have to follow on from the last one (it can cover the time before, after, during the events of other novels), or be with the same characters, it just has to have a purpose in and of itself. By the end of the latest book in a series, you want to be able to say I learned more about, experienced more of, or felt more for the world/characters/plot because of that book.
So if a series can get too long in the tooth, what is the right length for a series to be though? Honestly, I think the answer to that is the same as “what is the perfect book length” or “what is the right length for a chapter,” and that is as long as it needs to be. Some series can be told in two books, others might need twenty. There is no right or wrong, only whether or not the story is valuable, and that’s something only the author and readers can really know.
The next book to be released in the Fire and Rain companion series is Rise from Ash, Book 2 in the Daughter of Fire Series:
Release Date: June 28, 2015
Evie Meyers thought she’d found her happy ending in the arms of Clay Jacobs, her former enemy turned lover, but a fatal mistake and bedside admission sent her running again. Alone and pursued once more, Evie must adapt or die.
Finding an ambiguous message from Clay, she’s left confused and uncertain whether it’s a trap. While it’s second nature for her to run, there’s no escaping the memories of their time together and she longs to learn the truth. With heart battling mind, her choices send her on a collision course with what was once lost and leave her life hanging in the balance.
______________________________________
Bottom Drawer Publications is proud to present Besieged by Rain, book one in the New Adult Paranormal series, Son of Rain, by Michelle Irwin.
The Son of Rain series is a companion series (of sorts) to the Daughter of Fire series featuring Evie Meyers. We say of sorts because Clay’s story, albeit partly told in Evie’s books, is so much bigger. This is not simply a retelling of the story from Clay’s perspective. Clay lives a whole other life that Evie only gets a glimpse of when their story unfolds.
Book Details: Novel
Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance
206 pages - 89,000 words
BLURB
Clay Jacobs is a soldier. His family—elite members of a secret organization—are tasked with washing the world clean of all supernatural threats. Each new day brings the opportunity to fight at their side for a cause that he’s never doubted is just.
But Clay harbors a dangerous secret. The object of his teenage obsession was not human, and he failed to detect the truth until it was too late to destroy her. Even after she fled, he couldn't bring himself to report her. Now, the memory of the one who got away not only haunts him, it holds him captive and assaults him nightly. Unable to escape her hold on his mind, he races across the country to locate her and restore his sanity. Only instead of the monster he expects, he finds a woman who ensnares him with her charms. In her embrace, Clay dares to imagine a different life.
When his family discovers his betrayal, and threaten to destroy his dreams in the worst way imaginable, Clay has no option but to return to their side and convince them he’s back on the right track. Will he be able to play his part convincingly when the cause he’s spent most of his life fighting for is the very thing that will end his lover’s life?
BUY LINKS
GIVEAWAY
Enter the draw over the next 6 weeks until the end of the blog tour and be in the running to win paperbacks, shop vouchers, swag from the author, and e-books.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Irwin
Michelle Irwin has been many things in her life: a hobbit taking a precious item to a fiery mountain; a young child stepping through the back of a wardrobe into another land; the last human stranded not-quite-alone in space three million years in the future; a young girl willing to fight for the love of a vampire; and a time-travelling madman in a box. She achieved all of these feats and many more through her voracious reading habit. Eventually, so much reading had to have an effect and the cast of characters inside her mind took over and spilled out onto the page.
Michelle lives in sunny Queensland in the land down under with her surprisingly patient husband and ever-intriguing daughter, carving out precious moments of writing and reading time around her accounts-based day job. A lover of love and overcoming the odds, she primarily writes paranormal and fantasy romance.
Find Michelle at:
http://blog.michelle-irwin.com/
Thanks so much for participating in the book tour :-) BDP
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete