Please welcome Yolanda Sfetsos, scifi romance author, today!

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Hi there! Firstly, I want to thank Charlee for having me over. It’s great to be here.

Today, I wanted to talk a little bit about the word series. Everyone loves a good book series, right? I know I do. I love reading them, and certainly enjoy writing them.

There are plenty of formats to choose from, too. There’s the open-ended, ongoing series that can last for so many books it’s intimidating to start if you find out about it too late. I’m talking about the kind of series that unless each installment is tightly told, you start to wonder why the hell there are still books in this particular series. It’s easy to fall in love with characters and a world so deeply that a writer doesn’t know when to stop…

Then we have a planned series. When the author knows that telling a particular story is going to take four, or five, maybe even seven or eight books… These are usually my favourite because, although it’s sad to say goodbye to the world, the reader usually reaches a satisfying end.

We can’t forget trilogies. These are probably the most common—three books to tell an arc that is too big for a stand-alone. I enjoy trilogies, but lately I’ve found that some leave me feeling hollow by the third book. Almost as if the first two books were always planned but the third one was just an afterthought. Maybe they would have been better as a duology. I personally love these. A story that is too big for one book, but not big enough for more than two. These are usually well-written and the story so tightly told that I can’t help but love them.

There are many more formats, like serials. But I have to admit that I’m not really a fan of these. Or what about a series that is just about one main character and the world they live in? I enjoy these as much as the ones featuring different couples in each book.

As for writing a series, I decide how many books will be in each pretty early on. For example, the fourth book in my RECAST series will be released this week, and I knew how many books I wanted to write since the first one. Each book in this series concentrates on a different couple, but the overall arc will span six books and might possibly have a spin-off.

I’ve been writing several spin-offs lately, which I suppose are a type of series as well. 😉

I don’t shy away from reading (or writing) short or long series, if the characters and story grab me I’ll gladly go along for the ride, no matter how many books it spans. There is one thing I must always do, though. I always have to start from the beginning. I need to. There’s no way I can come into a series at Book 3 if Book 10 has just been released. Nope. I will go out of my way to start at the beginning, or not bother starting at all.

What about you? Which is your favourite kind of series to read or write? Can you read them out of order and start anywhere? Plus, let me know if there are other formats I’ve left out.

Thanks for reading,
Yolanda

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About Yolanda:

Wife. Mother. Writer. Bibliophile. Dreamer. Animal lover. Intrigued by the supernatural. Horror freak. Zombie enthusiast. Movie & music fan. Slave to her muse. Yolanda lives in Sydney, Australia with her awesome husband, lovely daughter, and cheeky cat.

Find Yolanda:

Website: http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/yolandasfetsos
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/yolandasfetsos

About the book:
She escaped the arena of death, but trusting him might be the death of her.

RECAST, Book 4
Taylor may be the Clash Arena’s most dominant—and only—female gladiator, but today she just can’t catch a break. After winning yet another brutal fight, with the arena inexplicably falling down around her ears, she jumps at the chance to escape the prison of her subterranean pit.
Instead, she finds herself knocked unconscious more times than she can count, and pursued over the edge of a sea cliff by an AI enforcer she can’t shake off her heels.
Walsh has been living a double life, masquerading as a tyrant’s enforcer while hiding his true agenda. When the despicable arena falls, there’s only one thing on his mind—saving the savage blonde who doesn’t trust him as far as she can throw him. Which is a considerable distance.
Once he convinces her he’s not out to kill her but help her survive, they form an uneasy alliance. But Taylor senses he’s keeping a secret, not just from her, but about her. And the truth will show them exactly what it is to be human.

Warning: This book contains some girl-on-girl action, a kick-ass gladiator who takes no crap, an AI who puts it all on the line, a band of misfits who aren’t as merry as they seem, cute tadpoles with sharp teeth, and grip-you-by-the-hair kisses. Strap in, interstellar turbulence is a bitch.

DASH is now available from Samhain Publishing.