Tina Leonard: The Fun of Writing A Series

The start of a series is usually agony for me, and the Callahan Cowboys was no exception! I wait and wait for the first book to finally make its way to the book shelves, and then I wait for reader reaction.

Yesterday, I received this Romantic Times review on the second of the Callahan Cowboys series, THE COWBOY'S BONUS BABY; in part, "Warm characters with devastating wit."

That made me laugh! Devastating wit is not how I'd usually describe my writing, but another reader comment on the first of the Callahan Cowboys series, THE COWBOY'S TRIPLETS, went like this:

I loved your first Callahan Cowboy's novel! It was funny &

fast-paced & had fantastic characters! I look forward to more stories

featuring these smart-aleck brothers. Thanks for making a

stay-at-home mom's busy days more enjoyable! --Jenny

So this is the fun of all the hours spent in writing a long series. As many of my long-time readers know, I do love the drama of a big family. I find myself living in their world, wondering about their dreams, wanting them to reach their goals. When the readers love the series, it's the payoff, the big ticket. Nothing makes me happier. Years ago, back before there was email as it is today and people still wrote letters, I got a fan letter that had a dollar in it so I could write the reader back. She had most considerately tucked this money in—and I somehow lost both the dollar and the letter. This has grieved me more than anything over the years in my writing career, that one letter that made its way through both Harlequin and the post office with money it, and I have no idea where it went. How I wish I could write that reader and tell her how much her words had meant to me! Every writer who has struggled for hours with their craft knows that the reader is the best part, the bonanza, the happy ending, to the writer's journey.

So thank you to that kind reader, wherever you are—your words were worth their weight in gold! And thank you to the many other kind readers over the years who have given me a career and a ready audience for my work. You, too, I thank from the bottom of my heart.

Love to you all,

Tina Leonard
http://www.tinaleonard.com/