An Ending Like Endgame (No Spoilers)

It already feels like it's been a while since I saw Avengers: Endgame with my family. We were able to find tickets for the Friday of opening weekend. I made my son this scaled-down version of the Infinity Gauntlet to take to the theater. We enjoyed the movie and plan to see it again this weekend.

We're fairly recent fans of the MCU. I was able to see Black Panther and Infinity War in the theaters, but my son didn't get into the movies until last fall. We're mostly caught up (we own most of the movies), although there are a few movies that I need to rewatch because I missed sections while I was doing other things.

Finishing a story arc that spans eleven years and twenty-two films is no easy task. I like that the directors threw some twists in at the beginning and that we got to see the characters react to what happened in Infinity War. What really made the movie work for me was how it revisited key places and events from earlier, as they worked well to show how much the characters have changed over the series. I've read series-ending books that have also revisited key people and places, but the character development wasn't so noticeable in them.

Since seeing the movie, I've read some of the articles about it, both in praise of it and some that are more critical. I think they make some good points (my biggest complaint is that characters' combat abilities feel inconsistent with what we've seen in earlier movies, as if the plot was manipulated a bit to force how it would end), but I really need to see Endgame again so I can pick up more details.

If you saw Endgame, what did you think of it? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Series Panel and Snowy Wings Publishing Sale!

I wasn't able to spend much time at the Elgin Literary Festival this year. My son had a friend sleep over the night before (so they got very little sleep), and since we had two other activities that day, I took my son home right after the series panel I moderated. There were three other local authors scheduled to be on the panel: my friend Lauren Jankowski, A.J. Pine, and Gregory Thompson. Keynote speaker Chuck Wendig was added at the last minute.

Overall, the panel went well. We covered topics such as why write a series, plotting a series, creating a series bible (which is done in some instances by traditional publishers), and marketing. There were about fifteen to twenty people attending, which isn't bad for an early morning panel. Since Wendig writes in the Star Wars universe, I approached him after the panel and told him I was a member of the 501st Legion and Midwest Garrison. He's familiar with them and their work and had noticed the Midwest Garrison hat my son was wearing. I didn't have a trading card with me, so I gave him a challenge coin instead. I didn't feel comfortable asking for a picture with him or an autograph for Alex.

Lauren is part of a publishing collective called Snowy Wings Publishing. She and some other members of the collective have books on sale this week for $0.99 through February 1. Here's a list of the titles:

Sere from the Green by Lauren Jankowski
Cheerleaders from Planet X by Lyssa Chiavari
Phoenix Descending: Curse of the Phoenix by Dorothy Dreyer
Let Me Fly Free by Mary Fan
Ballad of the Beanstalk by Amy McNulty

 I hope you check them out!

Elgin Literary Festival 2018

This Friday and Saturday will be the fourth annual Elgin Literary Festival. (You can see me in this picture from a previous festival--I don't remember the year. I'm the one writing on a laptop with my foot up.) I'll be moderating a panel Saturday morning on writing a book series. Other participants include local authors Lauren Jankowski (a friend of mine), A.J. Pine, and Gregory Thompson. Other panels cover topics such as poetry, independent publishing, and marketing. There will be books for sale (I'm not in the marketplace this year), and Chuck Wendig will be a keynote speaker. You can download the full schedule from the website. If you're in the area, hope you can make it!

Outlining a Trilogy

After I wrap up the Season Avatars series, the next big writing project I want to tackle is an urban fantasy trilogy. (I also have a partial draft of a children's book, but so far that's a standalone. I may write a sequel or two later if there's interest.) I have a general sense of the characters and the situation, but instead of plowing in, I'm trying to outline not just the first book, but the overall series. There are still a lot of unresolved questions, but at least I'm thinking not just about what the heroes are doing, but also their antagonists want, what are the worst things I can do to the heroes, and what their emotional arcs should look like. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to write the entire series before editing and releasing it, or if I'll go book-by-book the way I did with the Season Avatars series. As long as I end up with finished books that make sense, the path to them doesn't matter too much.

If you write a series, do you plot it all out before starting or do it book-by-book? Feel free to share in the comments. 

Mid-Series Marketing

It's hard to believe Fifth Season will be released in two weeks. I uploaded the hopefully-this-is-final digital version last week to Amazon and Draft 2 Digital. I ordered a second proof copy to double-check formatting before approving the paper version for sale. One thing I haven't done much of, though, is marketing. I've been very busy at work, and I'm slowly but surely working on the climax of Summon the Seasons, the final book in the Season Avatars series. This is what I have so far for marketing for Fifth Season:

1. Announcement to my newsletter subscribers when the paper version is available.
2. Placing ads. I applied for one ad yesterday, so hopefully it will be approved soon. I have to check a few other ad spots to see if they have openings, especially for new releases.
3. Organizing a Rafflecopter with other authors. We already have several authors lined up, but I haven't had a chance to do much with this yet.

The problem with marketing Book Four is that no conscientious reader will want to start the series there. They'll want to start with Book One, Seasons' Beginnings, but it doesn't have a lot of reviews, which makes advertising difficult. That means I have to go with a Plan B. Once I finish the rough draft of Summon the Seasons, I can work on a short story collection I plan to put into Kindle Unlimited, at least for the short term. Hopefully the collection will entice readers to seek out the rest of the series.

If you write series, how do you market later books? Do you do anything with them, or do you focus on the first book and hope readers will continue with the series? Even if you're not a series author, feel free to comment.

Series Evolution

Last week, I read Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, the latest book in Lois McMaster Bujold's long-running Vorkosigan Saga. The series started thirty years ago and includes not just novels, but novellas and short stories. Most of the works revolve around the Vorkosigan family, in particular, Miles Vorkosigan. I wasn't sure at first I would like this series, since I don't read much military science fiction. However, Bujold not only mixes in a lot of humor, but she also incorporates other genres such as mystery and even romance. Although many of the stories feature Miles, other relatives (and even people with no link to him) are also point-of-view characters and even protagonists.

The characters in this series are neither ageless or changeless. The series starts long before Miles is even born, and in the latest book, he is in his mid-forties. The type of story he stars in has also evolved with the series. Some of his early stories were fast-paced and madcap, but various events have forced him to slow down. While I do miss the plots of the earlier works, it does make sense for his career to have changed over time. (I suppose I could always reread the series, but it's not the same when you already know what will happen.)

The latest book in the series is an autumnal romance, featuring Miles' mother as one of the protagonists. Some fans feel that Bujold has retconned a major character in this book, while others (myself included) feel that nothing happens plot-wise. (There are setups for conflict, but they fizzle out, IMO.) I have no idea if she intends this to be the last book. I think it does make sense for the themes and even the style to evolve as the series progresses. The difficult part is exploring new directions while giving fans what they want in these books. If Bujold does write more books in this world, I'd like to see her use POV characters from the latest generation. However, thirty years is a long time to work in a world, and if she has no more she wants to say about it, we have to respect that.

Speaking of series, I'm planning on releasing Chaos Season, Book Three of the Season Avatars series, this June. I'm targeting the summer solstice, since that is my main character's birthday, but of course I first have to finish revising the story before I focus on cover art, formatting, and all the publishing details.

What's the longest series you've read? Do you think it was uniformly good from start to finish? If so, why not?

Ingredients for a Great Series

Lois McMaster Bujold was one of the many authors I featured during my April A-Z Women in SF Challenge. At that time, I wasn't very far along in her Vorkosigan Saga. I've been working on it and now have only one more book to read before I'm caught up. Going into this reading project, I wouldn't have expected I'd enjoy this series so much. Here are a few things about this series that IMO make it compelling:

It spans genres: This series is a mix of everything: military SF, mystery, romance, and more.

Its setting: This saga is set in a universe where many different planets have been colonized. Each planet has a different culture, which allows for not only interesting world-building but also conflict.

Its characters and their challenges: Most of these stories feature Miles Vorkosigan, who suffers a variety of physical challenges (for those of you who haven't read the series yet, I won't detail his issues or how he acquires them). However, his problems have led him to develop great ingenuity and persistence. There is, of course, ample evidence in the early books that he may have inherited those traits. Although Miles may be dominant, he's not the only noteworthy character in this series. There are important secondary characters who get turns being the point-of-view character, and there are several quite memorable minor characters who help flesh out the books.

Going along with the characters themselves are their character arcs. The events in this series span decades. Characters go in and out of different careers and relationships and learn from their mistakes. This education can be hard-won at times, and the characters suffer, but it helps make readers care about these characters too.

Humor: Along with all the action and intrigue are touches of humor. I think the book with the best humor so far is A Civil Campaign.

The interrelatedness of the books: Each book can work as a stand-alone, but as many early locations and characters reappear, there are a lot of references to earlier events, especially in the later books. I remembered a lot of the references since I read the books so close together, but there are a few times where I did lose track. However, it was nice to be able to reconnect with earlier characters. The chronological order of the stories (not all of them are full-length novels) isn't the same as the publication date, so it's wise to read the series in chronological order if you're not familiar with it.


Have you read the Vorkosigan series, or any other works by Bujold? If so, what did you think of them? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments.