THINGS I LEARNED FROM WRITING SERIES
Writing is a journey. And I don’t just mean from the beginning to the end of a single book, I mean the process of writing itself. When I wrote Bodyguard to a Sex God, it was written as a standalone book. I had attended a couple of Supernatural conventions and was interested in the whole concept of an actor needing a bodyguard because of *overenthusiastic fans*. And so the book was born. It was written as a standalone story, with a defined beginning and end. Or at least I imagined I had written it that way. Then I realized I had fleshed out Kyle and Ross way too much for them not to have their own story. But… it wasn’t right to have their story as book 2. I wanted to build the in-jokes and the affection, and the fact that it is plainly obvious that Kyle likes Ross. So there was a book 2 (Ex Factor) and 3 (Max and the Prince) and now there is a book 4, Undercover Lovers.
I love writing series. Some, like Bodyguards and Sanctuary, have new characters in each book, others like Texas have a strong central couple with other guys in relationships slotting in alongside them.
The biggest thing I learned about writing a series is that world building is important. It is vital to me to keep a sense of place and time that is consistent throughout all the books.
Which do you prefer? Standalone or series books?
Book 4 in the Bodyguards Inc series: Out July 31st
BUYLINKS: http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.com/2015/01/undercover-lovers.html
Book 1 – Bodyguard to a Sex God
Book 2 – The Ex Factor
Book 3 – Max and the Prince
Blurb:
Ross and Kyle’s story.
Even if Ross and Kyle make it out of this alive, will the secrets in Kyle’s heart stay safe?
Kyle gets caught up in a case that is entirely unrelated to Bodyguards Inc. Not only does he abruptly need time off, but he has to have absolute trust and complete support from Ross without being able to tell Ross a thing.
CIA Agent Stefan Mortimer needs Kyle’s help with a case of a geneticist and a missing formula. Trouble is being led right to Kyle’s door, endangering the life of the team he has built and the man that he loves.
Going undercover, with Ross as his husband, is the worst kind of torture in so many ways, but it is the only answer. Kyle and Ross may well live through this but Kyle is convinced his heart won’t survive.
Excerpt
Chapter 1
As soon as Max left the room, Kyle reached for the phone. He hesitated, with his fingers an inch from the handset, and listened to its beep indicating a call waiting.
Stefan Mortimer was at the other end of the call. That was a name Kyle hadn’t expected to hear again for a very long time, and the fact the man had contacted Kyle didn’t bode well. Especially considering Kyle thought, his and Stefan’s association had been put to bed a long time ago. A twinge of guilt accompanied the memories. He’d been the one told to leave, he was the one who’d had no choice but to go, but leaving Stefan behind had never sat well with him.
A combination of anxiety and fear fluttered in his chest as he picked up the handset and pressed the button to connect.
Only to be offered a line that was dead.
“Stefan?” Kyle said to the empty air. For a second he held the receiver to his ear, then, very deliberately, replaced the handset in the cradle. Kyle rested his head on his hands, scrubbing his face to clear the tension. When the door opened, he knew it was Ross. He always knew when it was Ross.
“He got cut off,” Ross announced.
Kyle nodded. “So I see.”
Ross sat down in the visitor’s chair directly opposite. “Is he a new client? Should I start a file for him?”
“No, an old….” How could he describe Stefan? Ex-lover, partner, old friend? “Someone I knew.”
Ross eased forward in his chair, his gray eyes bright with interest. “Knew? Like you used your experience as a spy to know?” he asked in his usual inquisitive tone.
“From before,” Kyle said. He was deliberately vague. As he was every time anyone at Bodyguards Inc. skirted near what Kyle used to do for a living. Ross loved to tease that Kyle had been CIA black ops. To be honest, Ross wasn’t that far from the truth—but that had been a long time ago now.
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