Once Upon A Series or Two
Hi Collette, and thanks so much for having me back here at Blue Rose Romance! I’m so pleased to be here, and I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to share some very special news with everyone.
My Dark Rose, Book III of the Wild Geese Series, will be released in July! AND … Everlasting Book IV of The Claddagh Series, will release in August!
It still amazes me that I have not one, but two thriving series, when all I’d set out to do was write a single novel and have it published! I’m also ecstatic because I love reading series.
The Claddagh Series: (http://www.cynthiaowensromancewriter.com/#!the-claddagh-series/c1901) Historical romances set in Ireland and beyond. It started with Rory O’Brien and Siobhán Desmond of In Sunshine or in Shdow. Gambler and survivor. Landlord and tenant. A love that couldn’t be denied. It continued with Coming Home, when Ashleen O’Brien showed an Irish-American war hero that you can find a home and a family in the most unlikely place. And in Playing For Keeps, a half-Irish beauty returns to Baltimore to visit the family she barely remembers. And in Everlasting, a woman bent on retribution meets a man bent on revenge.
The Wild Geese Series: (http://www.cynthiaowensromancewriter.com/#!the-wild-geese/c1gxk) The Irish heroes return. The Wild Geese Series revolves around five life-long friends who met on a coffin ship bound for America from famished Ireland. They grew up together on the mean streets of New York City, and when the American Civil War began, they joined up with Thomas Francis Meagher to fight with the Irish Brigade. But now the war is over, and they’re ready to re-start their lives – and find new love.
There’s something special about reading a book that’s part of a series. It’s like revisiting old friends and making new ones at the same time. It’s like visiting a favorite holiday destination again and again and discovering new and exciting places.
But much as I love writing series—and I confess I’m having a blast!—there are still a few pitfalls.
For instance, if a character is 15 in Book I, and Book II takes place 12 years later, make sure that character is aged appropriately. And if a character is blond and blue-eyed in Book I, he or she needs to look the same in subsequent books.
For my series, I’ve found it extremely helpful to create a “bible” for each book, with a timeline of important events to all the characters—including the minor ones, just in case they one day get their own stories. I also include a character sheet that lists everything from a character’s appearance to his or her favorite foods, hobbies, favorite expressions, likes and dislikes, etc. I also keep track of who’s who, which book(s) the appear in and why, and their relationship to other characters. Sometimes I’ll record a few ideas about whether they’ll have their own stories or not.
Keeping up with a series can be hard work, but it’s definitely worth it. And the best part of it is when a reader sends you an e-mail or a message on Facebook, asking for XX’s story.
That’s the icing on the cake!
EXCERPT
The Sally Malone, Black ‘47
On the Atlantic Ocean
They slid into the water with scarcely a sound.
Dary Greely clung to his father’s hand, watching as the bodies, clad in little more than rags, were tossed over the side of the ship. The children first: his little brother and two sisters. Then Mrs. Morrissey, his new friend Declan’s ma. Shane MacDermott’s da, and the twins’ ma and their granny.
His ma’s thin fingers bit into his shoulder. She was sobbing into a threadbare handkerchief, her eyes red and swollen from crying. He looked up at her, then at Da. A shudder ran through him that had nothing to do with the cold wind blowing in from the sea.
Da’s eyes were dead. Their bright green was dimmed with sorrow. His dark-red hair blew across his face, but he made no move to shove it back with his big, callused workman’s hand. He stared out to sea, a muscle in his jaw jerking rhythmically.
Dary swallowed hard, glancing around him. He saw Shane, clutching his wee brother’s hand, one arm about his ma’s shoulders as she tried to soothe the fussy gossoon in her arms. Kieran and Cathal Donnelly stood close together, drawing silent comfort from each other as tears ran down their da’s face. Declan, self-controlled as always, stared into the water, his face full of sorrow, tears in his eyes that he refused to shed.
When the last victim of the ship’s fever sank to the bottom of the sea, the steerage passengers turned away, their muffled sobs and soft keening carried away on the rising wind. They’d left Ireland for a better life in America, but would any of them survive to see that land of promise?
As they turned to go, his father suddenly knelt before him, clutching Dary’s shoulders and staring into his eyes. “Ye are the last one, Dary.” His deep voice shook with the intensity of his grief. “The last o’ the Greelys. ’Tis ye will live on to tell the stories o’ us all. Ye’re the lucky lad, Dary, so ye are. Always remember that.”
The words rang bitter in Dary’s ears. The urge to vomit clutched at his throat with ruthless fingers. But he managed a nod. “Aye, Da. I’ll always remember, I promise. I’m the lucky one.”
At that moment, Dary made a fierce, silent vow to himself. He would survive to see America. He would go to school in America, make something of himself, just as Da had told him he could. He’d learn to read and write and do sums. He’d make his parents proud.
He was the lucky one.
ABOUT CYNTHIA
I believe I was destined to be interested in history. One of my distant ancestors, Thomas Aubert, reportedly sailed up the St. Lawrence River to discover Canada some 26 years before Jacques Cartier’s 1534 voyage. Another relative was a 17thCentury “King’s Girl,” one of a group of young unmarried girls sent to New France (now the province of Quebec) as brides for the habitants (settlers) there.
A former journalist and lifelong Celtophile, I enjoyed a previous career as a reporter/editor for a small chain of community newspapers before returning to my first love, romantic fiction. My stories usually include an Irish setting, hero or heroine, and sometimes all three.
I’m the author of The Claddagh Series, historical romances set in Ireland and beyond, and The Wild Geese Series, in which five Irish heroes return from the American Civil War to find love and adventure.
I’m a member of the Romance Writers of America, Hearts Through History Romance Writers, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. A lifelong resident of Montreal, Canada, I still live there with my own Celtic hero and our two teenaged children.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cynwrites1
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Cynthia-Owens/e/B003DQ1V2E/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Thanks so much for visiting today, Cynthia!
