Getting Serious About A Series

I'm going to write a series, and I'm so excited. I'd never really thought about it before, but after doing a session about it at a recent RWAustralia conference, seeing writer friends do it and loving finding an author has more books with the same setting and inter-linking characters - I thought 'why not'? (The fact that series are popular maaaay have swayed my thinking just  little as well.) I can already see those three, matching gorgeous covers. I'll probably get those done for more inspiration!

As I write across genres I had to decide what would unite the stories. Location or characters? Now that the idea is in my head, I can't even remember how I got there, but my series will be contemporary, about three brothers - The Bedford Brothers; Ry, Jase and Blair. They're a horse racing family with each of the brothers involved in a different aspect of the business - breeding, training and business. Of course they're each going to meet a woman who's going to turn their worlds upside down, but be perfect for them, even if they don't think so at the start. They're a bit wild and a bit of that will rub off on the heroines, but of course they'll all be a match made in heaven.

I'm looking forward to disappearing down the rabbit-hole that is research. I know little beyond the basics about horse racing, but when you know little about a topic, what else can you do? Looking at pictures of endless green pastures and trying to find the exact, right 'family home' and sexy guys is essential! Pinterest is my best friend (if you want a sneaky peak at what I'm planning, link to the Bedford board here). A visit to the Melbourne Cup, or better still Ladies Day/Oaks Day might be in order as well.

Once I had the basic idea, the framework of the series just came together. It's awesome when you can see scenes or settings in your head, like stills from a movie. I recently learned about creating a Series Bible - a place to keep notes about each of the books, the characters, how and when they intersect in each book, how plot lines are resolved. I love puzzles and in a way, this is like a puzzle with pieces that have to lock in neatly to each other. At least with this sort of puzzle, I can make the pieces fit ! I'm a bit of a organisational freak, so having so many people and places to sort out will certainly feed that fetish.


It will be a challenge, but one I'm looking forward to. Family dynamics is such a complex thing but it makes for interesting stories and it'll be fun to play with this. My stories are usually from both points of view but the heroines have played a more dominant part (no BDSM pun intended), so it's going to be a nice change to write male-led stories.

So keep your eye out for the first Bedford Brothers book - A Firm Hand - early next year!

Do you like series?  Which ones would you recommend?