On Writing Series Romances by Cheryl Bolen

Series. Nancy Drew. Miss Marple. Sam Spade. All these series of books have two things in common: their hero/heroine is a continuing character and they are mystery novels.

What I fail to understand is why in the heck romance series are so crazy popular right now. You can't have as your hero/heroine the same continuing character (except in rare cases, like the Real Vampire series by Gerry Bartlett). A romance writer's promise to the reader is a happily ever after for her hero/heroine. Sure, I understand the readers love to revisit characters they've come to love.

My first two published books were both stand-alone romance novels set in Regency England (1998's A Duke Deceived and A Lady by Chance, 2000). These books are still among my readers' favorites, and I believe it's because of the rich secondary romance subplots these books offered the reader. Most authors nowadays hold off on secondary romances for subsequent books in their series.

My First Series – Six Books in 12 Years

In 2002 I made the move into series with my Brides of Bath. Originally, the series was to be a trilogy. Then after those three books were successfully published by Kensington Zebra (only in mass market paperback in those days), my publisher came back and asked for a fourth book. Unfortunately, I killed off a popular character from one of my subplot romances in the first book, The Bride Wore Blue, in order to come up with a fresh new plot. That fourth book is now titled To Take This Lord. (It was originally titled An Improper Proposal, which had nothing to do with the story.) 

I won't be killing off any more popular characters again.

Several years after those four Brides of Bath books had been selling very well in new packaging as print and eBooks, readers kept asking for more connected stories. The earlier books featured a pair of twin brothers in a secondary role as friends of the hero(es). The elder of the Steffington twins is a baronet. His minutes-younger brother is a scholar of some repute.

It is the scholar who became the hero of the fifth Brides of Bath book, Love in the Library. He was my first nerd hero. And I had so much fun awakening his sexual desires. Fans enjoyed the mystery and characters from the previous books, along with one sexy scholar.

I wrapped up the series with a sixth offering, a Christmas novella titled A Christmas in Bath. It, of course, offered a fresh new romance with previously introduced secondary characters. It also afforded me the opportunity to tie up a couple of loose ends that readers had occasionally complained about in reviews.

Turning Those Stand-Alones into Series

Since I now also wear a publishing hat, I quickly learned that series wa-a-a-ay outsell stand-alone books. So, fifteen years after Kensington published my popular Lady by Chance, I decided to turn it into a series, titling the series House of Haverstock, after the hero of Lady by Chance, Lord Haverstock. Book 2 is titled Duchess by Mistake and Book 3, Countess by Coincidence. I later added a Christmas novella, uniting two previously introduced characters and titling it Ex-Spinster by Christmas.

The series has done very well. I believe it’s because Book 1 did so well. It was first a Kensington Precious Gems, sold in Walmarts. I don’t know how large the print run was, but it was pretty healthy. It was also in a very successful four-book boxed set that made it to number four on the New York Times bestseller list, so those sales were huge. Then as my own indie book I do know it’s sold over 80,000 copies. So when Book 2 came along, it sold like crazy.

After more than 20 years, I finally got back the rights from Harlequin Historical on my first published book, A Duke Deceived, originally published only in paperback in 1998. Later this year it will be republished as Book 1 of the Deceived Series. It’s being repackaged now.

My Romance With a Continuing Couple

I do have one series with a continuing couple. I call my Regent Mysteries series a lighthearted historical romantic mystery. It’s a mouthful. In Book 1 (With His Lady's Assistance) the Regent’s life is threatened and he sends for Wellington’s most gifted spy to find the culprit. The problem is this army captain (whom the plain heroine dubs Captain Sublime) isn’t high class and therefore cannot mingle in the highest echelons of English society. The Regent has just the woman! My highborn, discreet heroine helps him mingle by pretending he’s her betrothed. Of course, they fall in love. It’s laugh-out-loud funny (readers say). In Book 2, they tie the knot. In Book 3, they travel to Egypt for the Regent, along with her sister, whose romance (a triangle) is told here, and there’s a Christmas novella in which Captain Jack and his Daphne solve a fresh crime for the Regent while another couple get their happily-ever after. For me, I’ve gotta have a happily-ever-after romance in every book.

They Don’t All Succeed

I’ve had good success also with my Brazen Brides series of five books, the first two published by Kensington in 2005 and the last three indie published.

And last year I took two other stand-alones and rewrote them to make them the Lords of Eton series, adding a fresh third book this year. This series has done well.

But I’ve had another “series” that has not been a success for me. It may be because it’s a contemporary series, and my reputation has been in historical. Indeed, 34 of my 40 books are Regency romances.

Another reason my Texas Heroines boxed set does not sell well may be that the characters in the four books are not connected in any way. All four are romantic suspense. All four feature a Texas heroine in distress. That’s where the connection ends. I will say all four get stellar reviews, so that’s not the problem. I have many readers still say one of those books (Murder at Veranda House) is one of their favorite books.

I have another off-genre book, a World War II historical, that won a lot of awards and that a lot of readers adore, some saying it’s their favorite book. That book (It Had to Be You) does not sell, either.

I truly believe readers don’t cross genres for authors. And I think that’s the main reason Texas Heroines doesn’t sell.

But I do know that series sell well in today’s marketplace, and you’re missing out if you’re not writing them. In the same genre.—Cheryl Bolen’s latest release is Last Duke Standing, a Lords of Eton book. Visit her website at www.CherylBolen.com.