Hello everyone! Today I am so excited to welcome back the amazing J.P. Barnaby to the blog. J.P. is here to talk about Spencer, the fabulous sequel to the equally wonderful Aaron. I reviewed it last week and totally loved it. She is talking about sequels and shares some VERY exciting news for her fans of this series! J.P. has also brought along a great giveaway for her blog tour. So please join me in giving her a big welcome!
Sequels
How does an author decide to write a sequel? In my case, honestly, it’s how do I stop? I’ve written twelve full-length novels and so far, only one of them (the latest, A Heart for Robbie) is a stand-alone. With The Little Boy Lost series, it was easy. The books were designed as a single story—it just took longer than 60,000 words to write. I got the idea from Stephen King’s Green Mile series of pocket books. Only, mine didn’t turn out so pocket-sized. As I wrote, the series became popular, and by the time I got to the end of the series, I felt a tremendous amount of pressure to finish it exactly right. I can only imagine what JK Rowling felt writing Deathly Hallows. I only had the expectations of a few thousand; she had the expectations of a few million.
Just after I turned in the final book of the series, I flew out to New York for the Dreamspinner Press author conference. During that conference, I got one of the best pieces of advice I’d heard in my budding career. Elizabeth said that just because people tell you they want a sequel doesn’t mean there is one. I kept that advice. Because since the Little Boy Lost series finished, I’ve had a lot of requests for just one more book. But, there isn’t one. A good book centers around conflict. I’d done enough to Brian and Jamie. They were together, they were safe, and they earned their happily ever after. With Aaron, however, I knew there was a second story there before I ever finished the first. There were things I wanted to do in that book Aaron just wasn’t ready for. Time had to pass in order for him to get to the point where he could deal with what I had in mind. Therefore, I let him rest. I gave him time with Spencer. We kept in touch and when he was ready, we started again with Spencer.
While I was writing Spencer, I found the most amazing beta. I will tell you that I have several betas who read each book. They read for different things and they find different things. Kage Alan is the master at identifying my passive voice. I was a Physics major, not an English major and while I learn new things with each books, I still have habits that need to be broken. Kage hammers that one out in a litany of painful comments. While he read Spencer, he messaged me one day and asked when I was starting the next book.
Uhmmmmm…. What next book?
That’s it. The ending is conclusive. There is no more.
And he said – no, there’s another book.
We bickered for a few months, back and forth, with him continuing to bring up the “4th book” (because Painting Fire on the Air) is also a Survivor Story in the same line as Aaron and Spencer. It’s about Ben, Juliette’s older brother. So, whenever Aaron or Spencer came up, he’d ask how I was doing on the 4th book.
And I’ll be damned if he wasn’t right.
With one pretty damn big caveat, I will say that after I sat down and really examined what he was saying, there is another book about Aaron and Spencer in my head. There is also a book about one of the other major supporting characters. He’s been rattling around in my head too. Now – the caveat. I have a ginormous list of WIPs. There are a few things I want to do first, so I don’t know when or even if these books will come to fruition. I suppose I’ll see how Spencer does and if people even want to keep reading about this setting and these characters before I make a final decision. But, knowing the characters from Aaron’s universe – I’m sure they’ll decide for me with their soft but insistent voices.
So, keep in mind as you read books by authors you love, sometimes there just isn’t any more to the story. There is no more effective conflict to keep your beloved characters going forever. If there were, Amy Lane would give me another Frog Boy book, or Ryan Loveless would let us know how Ethan and Carter are doing. Trust me, I have a few books on both sides of that argument.
A Survivor Story
It’s been nearly five years since Aaron woke up in the hospital so broken, he couldn’t stand the sight of his own face. The flashbacks no longer dominate his life, but he’s still unable to find intimacy with his lover, Spencer Thomas. With time, patience, and the support of his family, his therapist, and his loving partner, Aaron has figured out how to live again. The problem is, Spencer hasn’t. His life has been on hold as he waits for the day he and Aaron can have a normal relationship. Hoping to move things forward for them both, he takes a job as a programmer in downtown Chicago, leaving Aaron alone.
Reeling in the wake of Spencer’s absence, Aaron receives another shock when his attackers are caught.
Now, he must testify and verbalize his worst nightmare. Publicly reliving his trauma without Spencer at his side destroys his precarious control. But he finds someone who can understand and empathize in Jordan, who watched his brother cut down in a school shooting. With Spencer gone and the DA knocking at his door, Aaron seeks solace in Jordan, and Spencer will have to risk everything to hold on to Aaron’s love.
Buy Links:
- Dreamspinner Ebook
- Dreamspinner Paperback
Award winning romance novelist, J. P. Barnaby has penned over a dozen books including the Working Boys series, the Little Boy Lost series, In the Absence of Monsters, and Aaron. As a bisexual woman, J.P. is a proud member of the GLBT community both online and in her small town on the outskirts of Chicago. A member of Mensa, she is described as brilliant but troubled, sweet but introverted, and talented but deviant. She spends her days writing software and her nights writing erotica, which is, of course, far more interesting. The spare time that she carves out between her career and her novels is spent reading about the concept of love, which, like some of her characters, she has never quite figured out for herself.
- Web site: http://www.JPBarnaby.com
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JPBarnaby
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JPBarnaby
Giveaway
J.P. is giving away a $50 Amazon gift card to one lucky winner along her tour. Follow the Rafflecopter link below to enter.
I can’t wait to read Spencer… I loved Aaron even if I haven’t reread it yet cause it was so heartbreaking I simply can’t reread it right now… but I bought lots of tissues so I’m ready for Spencer
Stella – Spencer is intense, I think, in a different way than Aaron – but no less powerful. I don’t think you need to re-read Aaron to get the full effect of Spencer. The things you need to remember from Aaron – you’ll remember. <3
Wonderful blog post, J.P.! You still have a number of passive sentences in it, but nice nonetheless. Did I happen to mention the prequel and sequel ideas I had for Robbie? lol
*LALALALALALALA* I’M NOT LISTENING.
I am curious who the other major supporting character is…
Thank you for pointing out that just because readers want another book there isn’t necessarily one to be written, it’s hard to let go of the characters we love but sometimes that is what is right for them (and the author.)
I have a guess based on reading Spencer. Have you read it yet Allison? B/c unless I am missing something major, I think you will know it when you get there.
Allison – I’m fairly certain Jay is right in her guess. She’s very intuitive. But, I’ll tell you – it’s Anthony Downing, Aaron’s youngest brother.
Great post! When it comes to my favorite characters, I’m a big fan of sequels, but I realize their stories must eventually come to an end. It’s just hard to let them go sometimes. Definitely looking forward to Spencer.
Lisa – Thank you so much. There have been little tidbits throughout the tour Little stories written outside of the books you might like. You can find the tour schedule here: http://www.jpbarnaby.com/2014/03/20/spencer-blog-tour-and-where-to-find-jp/
I wonder what past authors think about the sequel trend these days. It totally irked me when Alexandra Ripley published a sequel to Gone With the Wind. Even though she had the support of Margaret Mitchell’s family those characters lived in my imagination and I hated that she had taken away my right to deduce how the story would end. Don’t get me wrong I love series but I feel somewhere along the line we are losing the Great American Novel.
Jill – I absolutely agree with you about Gone with the Wind. As authors, we want to write what our hearts tell us, but to make a career out of it, we also need to write what the market wants. Series (both with the same characters and those with in the same universe) are very popular with the M/M genre. But, one of the pitfalls of that popularity are series that go on far longer than the storyline allows.
I think authors should just trust their instincts…if it feels like a series is over to them, we have to respect that as readers.
Trix – Yeah, authors are never in control. We are controlled by the voices in our heads. When they fall silent, the story is over. 🙂
Thank you for the interesting post and the generous giveaway! I guess with book sequels, it’s a bit like with tv shows or movies. Sometimes less seasons or parts is more 🙂 If the first one is a huge success, the expectations for a sequel are high and if the story arc was tied up in the first part, the plot line used in part two can feel far-fetched. I think that sometimes spin-offs work better, with the spotlight on the secondary characters of the first book, while the reader still gets glimpses of the happy couple, and there’s no need to introduce any new conflicts for them.
I’m glad you wrote Spencer because Aaron’s story broke my heart and I can’t wait to read this so I know the boys ended up together, happy and safe.
I loved the blurb and I am so excited to read about these men!
I read the review here last week and fell in love! I’m waiting for my April pin money to buy Aaron’s story. It would be great to have Spencer’s story waiting for me!
Sounds great. Thank you for the giveaway.
I think we all know authors who have taken series too far, but it’s difficult not to want more from characters we fall in love with, or the community they come from. I am a huge fan of series, but I actually don’t ever think of asking authors to write more of characters if I love a book. It’s not that I don’t want more, but it’s like you said, sometimes there is no more for the author to say, and I always think the author would know that the best. HOWEVER, I have heard more than many authors say that the reason a book has been written is because of hearing from readers. So, obviously, the fans can get those engines running. So, I’m glad that everyone is not like me, keeping their mouths shut. I’m so looking forward to reading Spencer, and any possible future Survivor stories, too!