When It’s Two or More, Jaws Can Hit the Floor

Posted by

81

J.K. Rowling with the screen versions of her Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Cormoran Strike, and Robin Ellacott characters (Everett/Getty/BBC).

It’s impressive enough when a novelist creates one successful series — as, say, Lee Child did with his Jack Reacher books and Sue Grafton did with her alphabet mysteries. But an author who creates two or more successful series? Wow!

Some writers produce multiple series consecutively — finishing one series before starting another. Other writers tack back and forth between different series. Either way, it takes some impressive and wide-ranging creative talent, and helps “serial” novelists stay fresh. Those authors can also feel good about readers staying with them as they offer something new.

Among the queens and kings of multiple series is J.K. Rowling. She of course penned the seven mega-popular Harry Potter books. Then, after writing The Casual Vacancy standalone novel, Rowling as “Robert Galbraith” launched her crime series starring private investigators Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott. I’m currently close to finishing the seventh installment — The Running Grave, in which Robin goes undercover to infiltrate a very problematic cult — and its 945 pages are full of the thrills, humor, suspense, poignancy, complications, excellent prose, and believable dialog Rowling always provides.

Walter Mosley is best-known for his detective series starring Easy Rawlins, who has now starred in 16 novels. But the author has interspersed those books with smaller series such as the King Oliver books and the Socrates Fortlow books. Mosley is always a great read, no matter who the protagonist is.

Val McDermid has gone the several-series route, too, including a compelling saga starring inspector Karen Pirie and another featuring journalist Allie Burns. Also not a clunker in the installments I’ve read.

Leaving contemporary fiction for a minute, L.M. Montgomery wrote Anne of Green Gables and its many sequels while also penning the semi-autobiographical Emily trilogy. (I consider a trilogy to be a series of sorts.)

Returning to a living author, Diana Gabaldon has gone the “sub-series” route by writing nine main Outlander novels (so far) and a number of offshoot books starring the Lord John character who’s a supporting player in the main novels.

Your thoughts about, and examples of, this theme?

Misty the cat says: “Snow means ‘Middlemarch’ author George Eliot wrote ‘Middledecember,’ too.”

My comedic 2024 book — the part-factual/part-fictional/not-a-children’s-work Misty the Cat…Unleashed — is described and can be purchased on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle. It’s feline-narrated! (And Misty says Amazon reviews are welcome. 🙂 )

This 90-second promo video for my book features a talking cat: 🙂

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece — which discusses what’s happening with my town’s animal shelter and much more — is here.

81 thoughts on “When It’s Two or More, Jaws Can Hit the Floor”

  2. Your analysis of authors who have successfully created multiple series is astute. J.K. Rowling’s transition from the magical world of Harry Potter to the gritty detective narratives of Cormoran Strike demonstrates impressive versatility. Similarly, Walter Mosley’s ability to craft diverse protagonists across different series showcases his narrative dexterity. It’s noteworthy how these authors maintain distinct voices and intricate plots across their works, engaging readers with each new installment. This multifaceted approach not only broadens their literary repertoire but also deepens readers’ engagement with their storytelling.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Rafaela! Great points, and very well said! I’m also extremely impressed with the way J.K. Rowling and Walter Mosley have created multiple series. In Mosley’s case, six (!) different ones. And the fact that Rowling’s Harry Potter and Cormoran Strike/Robin Ellacott series are so different yet both great is awe-inspiring.

      Like

      Reply

  3. Sigh!!

    I missed this post. I missed a lot over the 4 days our furnace was broken when it was -19C for one of the nights.

    As invigorating as it was, I feel a bit raked over the coals. Discombobulated is the word.

    I actually can’t think of something to contribute, but I wanted to pop by and say hello.

    HELLO

    I trust you are having a great holiday season. I look forward to Monday’s topic, where I might actually have something to say!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Let’s see what I was saying since last time–Oh yeah, I’m tired of the end of the world parables in literature. what are you saying we had a global pandemic that killed millions worldwide?

    Well, at least Donald Trump will be only a one-term president. What? he was elected again after a one-term run for Biden?

    Don’t you dare? If I know one thing, we have global stability. PUTIN INVADED UKRAINE, THE OPEN BORDER HAS CREATED AN INVASION OF SOUTH AMERICAN GANGS, JOHNNY DEPP IS PITCHING A RIDICULOUSLY NAMED FRAGRANCE CALLE SAUVAGE?

    STOP IT DAVE, NONE OF THIS CAN BE TRUE!

    What I do know is true is that Anne Rice is a novel serial maven.

    This has been, tough, at least we are safe from thinking robots.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. I go on:
    From Japan! I wrote you when you were near the Fuji and hope you enjoyed it 🤣
    I also thank you for your help and as far as blogs are concerned, but I subscribed again!!
    It seems that Dickens was also the inventor of serials !

    Merry Christmas and a lot of health in the coming year.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. HI Dave, as you know, I prefer standalone novels to series, but I can contribute Agatha Christie who was an incredible series writer. Enid Blyton also churned out series, although they were for a younger audience. She wrote over 700 books. I’ve already said it but merry Christmas and huge hugs.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. How about Dorothy L. Sayers, a very busy lady – most prolific from Lord Peter Wimsey, an excellent detective. However, there are novels and plays, and also religious tomes, particularly the translation from Dante’s Hell.
    Brilliant DLS, I would say.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. John Sanford’s Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport was interspersed with a series featuring Virgil Flowers, a quintessential Minnesota hippie/redneck. Note: I live in a rural area near the Iowa border, a place thick with the likes of Virgil.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Charles Dickens and, above all, his Pickwick Papers, which he seems to have published on a weekly basis, came to my mind!

    Thank you very much, Dave, for all the challenging posts you have written for your readers!

    Unfortunately, your posts do not appear anymore on my

    computer reader anymore!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. I didn’t think I had anything to contribute to this discussion, but just now I encountered a series of four books. The first one had mainly good reviews, but some of them mentioned that the series was related to a number of other series that shared the same world and at least some of the characters, and that it was best to be familiar with these before reading that particular series. (Geez, even this sounds confusing!) I took a stab at trying to find the beginning of this long and winding thread, but soon became confused and decided not to bother.

    Which shows that there is a downside to more than one series, at least if they’re related!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Audrey! I hear you; if one needs to have read other series (or other books) to totally “get” a specific series, that’s not a comfortable scenario. And, yes, even if one tries, it’s not always easy to find out what to read first in that situation.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  15. In Alcott’s Little Women, didn’t Jo March write a series of what they called penny books? If so that would mean she was not only a character in a series, but in the series she writes a series. I’ve read Alcott based Jo on herself so there’s that. Also, Robert E. Howard author of the Conan books. And, Stephen King’s Castle Rock series and/or all of King’s book which take place in Castle Rock (with ties to characters from book to book). That’s about all I’m coming up with for now. Loved the theme Dave and btw Happy Holidays to you and yours. Susi

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you, Susi! Excellent examples of this topic! I love your mention of a character in a series (as you know, “Little Women” had three sequels) writing a series. 🙂

      Happy Holidays to you, too!

      Like

      Reply

  16. This is an interesting topic, Dave. At 945 pages, I’d say there’s a series in that one book.

    I can’t speak to the success, but I was going to mention that Arthur Conan Doyle had a series of short stories after his Sherlock Holmes series. I decided to look that up to see if the stories were related, and I saw that he had more than one series of stories.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Thank you, Dan! Ha — 😂 — many of J.K. Rowling’s books are LONG.

      Arthur Conan Doyle definitely did plenty of writing besides his Sherlock Holmes fiction in the form of other novels, short stories, nonfiction books, plays, etc.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  17. James Lee Burke, best known for his Dave Robichaux series (he has published the latest one this year), also has books in the Billy Bob Holland series, the Hackberry Holland series, and the Holland Family Saga, as well as several standalone novels. He seems to be going strong at the age of 88! I have read about seven of the Dave Robichaux novels but I have to say that his books are dripping with atmosphere and humidity (the ones set in the Louisiana bayous). His books are kind of like what William Faulkner might have written if he’d focused on detective novels.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • FYI: The comment above is from me, Brian Bess (bobess48@yahoo.com). I didn’t see where I could log in but it let me post it and subscribe to your blog (thought I was already subscribed but I should be now). Thanks, Dave!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      • Thank you, Brian! Great addition to this discussion! I’ve had James Lee Burke and his Dave Robichaux series on my reading list for years, but my local library never seems to have the first book: “The Neon Rain.” Will keep looking for it. An impressively long and prolific career for Burke, and I like your Faulkner comparison.

        And blog platforms sometimes work in strange ways. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  18. Oh!!! A very interesting post Dave!!! The first name that came to mind was Agatha Christie who was a master of series. I just read a book that discusses her writing!! Wow!!!! As you know, her most famous works feature detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, each with distinct personalities and methods of solving crimes. The Poirot series, starting with “The Mysterious Affair at Styles,” showcases Christie’s intricate plotting and her ability to weave complex narratives. She kept me guessing until the final reveal. I love the character of Miss Marple. I read that Miss Marple was based on Agatha Christie’s own grandmother, and her grandmother’s friends. The more I read Agatha Christie, the more I see why her ability to craft engaging plots and memorable characters has solidified her legacy as the ‘Queen of Crime. She continues to influence countless writers and adaptations in the mystery genre.

    I had to leave a profound quote by this amazing writer:

    “The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.”
    Agatha Christie

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  20. Great post, Dave! Personally, I love “Daughter of the Forest” by Juliet Marillier. It’s part of the Sevenwaters Series. I think the first book was the best (perhaps this is usually the case?), and I hate to think how much pressure the author must’ve been under to follow it up, but I enjoyed all the books, as they were all unique in their own special way. Maybe that’s the secret: to treat each book on its own merit? Perhaps that helps the reader to enjoy reading it, and the writer to enjoy creating it? 💜😊

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you, Ada! I appreciate the mention of the Sevenwaters series, which I had not been familiar with. As for whether or not the first book of any series is the best, I guess it varies. For instance, it was an unmatched thrill to read the first “Harry Potter” novel and be introduced into J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world, but I think she matured a lot as a writer as the series went on.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  22. A thought-provoking topic, as usual, Dave, and one I’ll have to think about. In the meantime, can I put forward Honore de Balzac for ‘La Comedie humaine’? It’s ‘only’ one series, but consisting as it does of 91 novels, stories and essays (which are completed, there are several dozen more which he never finished) I think it, and its author, are worthy of special consideration. Similarly, Emile Zola’s ‘Les Rougon-Macquart’ series consists of twenty novels, so he’s up there too. As to any more … watch this space! 🙂

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Thank you, Laura! Balzac and Zola did occur to me as I wrote this post (I’ve read many books by each author) and I agree that their respective series were so sprawling that they could be honorarily included in this discussion. 🙂 It was so interesting the way Zola and Balzac put different interrelated characters in different novels, made a character the main protagonist in one book and a supporting player in another, etc.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      • That’s something I love about their books, the inter-relation of one book to another through familiar characters cropping up in larger or smaller roles, depending on what they were doing before – and that’s another interesting subject for a post, perhaps, as with Joseph Conrad’s Marlow, who appears in or narrates several of the stories. It’s like meeting old friends again, makes us feel a part of the narrative. The joys of writing! 🙂

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply

  23. Great examples. I am always impressed with authors who can write more than one series, sometimes at the same time. The author that comes to mind is Alexander McCall Smith who write the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie series, the 44 Scotland Street series, the Corduroy Mansions series, and some others. He often works on more than one book in a different series at the same time. Amazing.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

Leave a reply to Dave Astor Cancel reply