Tips for writing a series from 3 YA authors

Susan Hughes, a wonderful children's author, has a great kidlit blog on OpenBook Toronto. This month she talks to three authors about what it's like to create a YA series: Caroline Adderson (early chapter book author), Moira Young (teen author), and ... me, a middle grade author.

Here's the link to our thoughts about writing a series.

I'm really honoured to be asked to share my thoughts, although the honest truth is that when I wrote the first book, The Gargoyle in My Yard, I was just focused on getting it published. That seemed like such a huge hurdle, that the possibility of a series didn't even occur to me until later.

A series was several steps down the line. Publish first, then dream even bigger! I guess if you're a published author before you attempt a series, then you might have the skill and time to have your series more planned out from the start than I did. Still,  I may have had beginner's luck since it wasn't that hard to turn book one into a series. The character of a 400-year old gargoyle had so many possibilities that when I finally got writing the next book, the problem was figuring out which part to tell first.

And  ... the idea of a fourth gargoyle book keeps popping into my head. The beginning of the next instalment in the lost gargoyle series, I wonder?? Stay tuned ...

No 1 rule for writing a YA series AND Video of the Week

The Lost Gargoyle Series

So ask three YA authors (Caroline Adderson, Moira Young and me) this question: what advice would you give an author who is thinking about writing a series?

The #1 rule, apparently, is character is king! 

This week on Open Book Toronto, wonderful children's author Susan Hughes posts the second part of a two part series on writing a YA series. Read it here

You'll find out more about why character is king, the toughest part of writing a series, and there's some chat about a 4th gargoyle book? WHAT? Interestingly, we three authors have similar answers in parts of this email interview, which is really validating. Thanks Susan Hughes!

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Also, in another lovely tip of the hat from OpenBook Toronto, my new book trailer for The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden is their Video of the Week. I have to say that I love this trailer (thanks to the talented George Panayotou for the video expertise!), it's exactly what I was hoping for, magical, drifting, and a little strange. That's me playing guitar, a piece I wrote for the trailer, that's my little dog Samwise Gamgee, barking on cue (in my kitchen). Enjoy. Thanks OpenBook Toronto!