Turning into a Series

My characters drive my novels, and lately I've had a number of books that began as a standalone but turned into a series. The last one is my In from the Storms series. It began with a book set in Wyoming in the 1870's that I was calling In from the Storm. At first, I wrote it in two parts. Part One had Ian MacGregor and Aileas Douglas as main characters, and Part Two focused more on Ian's sister, Jeannie. However, the book became too long, so I divided it into two novels. I then called the first one Mountain Storms and the second one Past Storms. Lo and behold, when I finished the second book, Brady Sharpe, Aileas's stepbrother, demanded that his story be told, so Dust Storms was added. I'm writing on it now. They should be available sometime next year.

Just before the three books in the In from the Storms series, I wrote another standalone, Off the Streets, about a homeless man and the family who wanted to adopt him but met opposition. When I finished it, I realized I'd left the story of the teenage boy from the family hanging. Therefore, I'll also need to tell Brandon's story in a sequel. I've entitled this series of two "Another Chance," and the second book will be called Without a Dream.

The first set of books I published evolved the same way. I actually wrote Sown In Dark Soil first, but Granny Em kept telling me I needed to back up and tell her story, so I did; and Cleared for Planting then became the first book in the Appalachian Roots series. Uprooted by War told about the characters during the Civil War, and Transplanted to Red Clay finishes the series with Rachel, Granny Em's great granddaughter.

Promise was actually the first book I ever wrote, although not the first one I published. It became The Farmers series with Promise being about Isaac Jackson; Peace about him and his sister, Jasmine; and Pardon about Kevin, the younger brother, who ends up on the streets for a while. 

Although I do have two standalones out, When Winter Is Past and With Summer's Songs, my readers seem to prefer my series. Mountain Mishap, another standalone set in the Appalachian Mountains, should be released next week, and It All Started at the Masquerade, my fourth standalone, is going through the editorial process now. It's always part of the writing fun to find out which novels will turn into a series. I never know.

All my profits go to a scholarship fund for missionary children.

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