I guess my first exposure to this was in Bertrice Small's Skye O'Malley series. We followed the rather steamy adventures of Skye and her family through several generations and countries and kept reading and reading.
Each book was steamier than the last and we got to meet and Skye and her brothers and then her daughter and, of course, the two men she would love forever Niall and Adam....sigh...
Bertrice wrote a number of unconnected books throughout the same time, but it was the outrageous Skye who held our attention as we breathlessly waited for the next part of the saga.
From there, I discovered other authors who wrote stories about families -- and now it's quite the craze -- actually I think that very few authors are NOT writing connected family stories (whether those families are bonded by blood or honor or experience or whatever creates that strong connection between them.) Most authors propose series of three-or-four books when they are in the contracting process because they simply are so popular.
Right now, I'm working on the next generation of a family I created for a previous trilogy -- one that has taken off and is selling well around the world in more than 20 languages and 25 countries! Those sexy, dangerous, wonderful Highlanders - gotta love 'em! - are so popular, I'm now writing a 'second generation' trilogy. Now Connor & Jocelyn, Duncan & Marian and Rurik & Margriet will see their own children falling in love and facing many of the same challenges that they did years before. And just as parents must have a care for offering advice or making demands, these Highlanders must resist the almost-overwhelming urge to interfere with their children's choices!
And it's fun -- both creating the tension then standing back to watch what happens. Some of the now-grown children will make the same mistakes as their parents. Some will learn from those mistakes, but still make some of their own. And love is hatching all over Lairig Dubh!
So, what about you? Do you have any favorite series from favorite authors? Are the stories connected by actual families or other bonds? Or any series that you think ended too soon? Post a note and I'll be picking out 3 readers to win a copy of one of my Highlander books!
