Evolution of a Series--The Nursery Rhyme Series

By: Lena Diaz

Congratulations to "Mandy B", the winner of Lena's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!

When I thought up the concept for my debut novel--He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not--I didn’t plan to start a series. My goal was to put a unique twist on a favorite trope of romantic suspense--serial killers. My idea? Have the killer pluck the thorns off a rose one by one to decide whether or not to kill his victims. That made me think of the nursery rhyme and childhood game of “He loves me, he loves me not”, which then led to the title of my book.

Readers of that book wrote to me asking when Pierce and Madison--secondary characters in He Kills Me--would get their own book. So I decided to propose a sequel. Since my first book had a killer playing a game, I thought it might be fun to do the same thing again. Thus, book two became Simon Says Die.

I think you can see where this is going, right? By the time the second book came out, I realized I had the start to a series--especially after readers read Simon Says Die and began clamoring for books about Pierce’s brothers. I decided to tie the books together by making sure the title of the next one was consistent with the first two.

Thus, the Nursery Rhyme series was officially born.

The third installment comes out next month. The title? Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Dead. And a fourth book is planned for 2014, with another creepy nursery rhyme title.

Stumbling into a series is not a path I recommend. It’s make planning for future books, and figuring out ways to tie the books together, a bit more difficult than it would have been if I’d planned this from the beginning. But seeing how well this particular series has been received--not to mention how much fun I’m having writing it--I wouldn’t change a thing!

Do you like to read books in a series? If so, what are your favorite types of series--ones that focus on a location (like a small town), ones that focus on a family connection between the characters (like the heroes are all brothers), or ones with something else in common--like that all the books have Nursery Rhyme titles? Or is there another kind of series you enjoy that I haven’t listed here?

Giveaway:

One commenter will be gifted with a pre-order of an electronic copy of my September installment in the nursery rhyme series--Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Dead.

Below is an excerpt from Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Dead (release date September 10).

Prologue

Hot, greedy tongues of flame licked around the eaves, teasing, tasting, like a new lover hungry for a first caress, ravenous to join with the tantalizing flesh of the woman lying inside the house.

The beckoning inferno drew him across the dew-laden grass until the heat was so intense he was forced to step back. He lifted his face to the sky as the first ashes fluttered down, brushing softly across his skin like a warm breath, a gentle kiss.

He captured the sooty flakes in his hands, the familiar, acrid scent making his nostrils flare. The comforting crackle of the fire subtly changed and he cocked his head to listen. No, the fire hadn’t changed. Those were sirens, the high-pitched whine mingling with the dull roar of the flames.

He crushed the pieces of ash in his palms, picked up the gas can, and loped across the lawn to his truck. Too late. They were too late. They were always too late. And soon, he would have his revenge.

Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Dead.

Chapter One

The stacks of letters cluttered the top of the conference room table, each one a bleak epitaph to a life stolen, a life lost, a life destroyed. FBI Special Agent Tessa James slid one of the pages toward her, gingerly running her latex-gloved finger across the words. A name—Sharon Johnson. So simple. So short. So inadequate. Beneath it, a killer’s irreverent gloat, “Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Dead,” followed by an odd little curlicue, like someone would make when doodling, except that it was on every letter. It seemed obscene that his words, and his mark, sat on the same pages as his victim’s names.

Even in death he wouldn’t let them go.

Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST Aug. 21st. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@JustRomanticSuspense.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.