Way back in the day, and by “back” and “day” I mean October of 2005, Colleen Gleason won a chance to be interviewed by the Smart Bitches as part of an eBay charity auction. Her book wasn’t due to be released for over a year, so she asked if we could wait. Sure, we said. No problem!
So here it is, January of 2007, her book has been released, and we’ve put together our promised interview. Since I reviewed The Rest Falls Away this past weekend, several of the commenters have asked about the plot, the vampire historical/paranormal buffet and why this book might stand out. Fortunately for y’all, Ms. Gleason has her chance to pimp her slayer. And in addition, she and I had a sharp discussion about the various kinds of storytelling in television and in print, and the pros and cons of series books and multiple heroes.
SB Sarah: What would you like to tell the Bitchery about your book?
Colleen Gleason:First, I think of my book as truly a genre-straddling novel. It’s being marketed as a paranormal romance, but it’s not really a romance in the strictest sense of the word—in other words, there’s not one hero, one heroine, and they don’t go riding off into the sunset at the end of the book. (Although Victoria will have her HEA at the end of the mini-series, and her story really is a romance…it just takes more than one book to tell it.)
Nor is the book a horror/vampire novel. My girl stakes vampires, she doesn’t make out with them.
I wrote the book for people who like the world of Buffyverse (although if you’re expecting a Buffy fanfic, you’ll be disappointed), and/or who like Regency historicals, and/or who like to read about kick-ass women (whether they slay vampires or not).
It’s not your run-of-the-mill vampire novel, partly because of the setting and partly because I don’t portray vampires as attractive, nor is there a lot of gory, bloody details. Thus, I believe the book will appeal to all of the markets I listed above. (At least, I hope it does.)
The book is the launch of a series in which the same protagonist, along with a cast of characters, grows and evolves through a complete character and romance arc. I think of the books as if each book equates to a “season” of a television show. There’s a beginning and an end, and a “Big Bad” that must be conquered, but there’s still more to do for the next season or book.
It’s important to note that I have a definite, finite plan in mind for my series. There will be five books about Victoria Grantworth, vampire slayer and Regency miss. So I know who she will end up with, and I am moving toward a particular goal and resolution.
There’s been a good amount said in recent SBTB discussions about the merits and liabilities of mutiple heroes in a romance, particularly in prominent series. Is there a multi-hero trend? What prompted your decision to create mutiple sources of romantic tension?
Colleen Gleason: It’s definitely a hot topic: the trend—or is it a trend; maybe it’s just more of a personal preference?—of more than one hero.
And I mean characters with real hero potential—not just throwaway characters pretending to be hero-material.
I wrote the book with more than one man because 1) women grow in their relationships, realistically, and our first loves aren’t always our last loves; 2) I could handle more than one hero because the story will span over more than one book, so I have the space and time to leisurely experience and develop them, and 3) if James Bond can have many women, why wouldn’t a female character—whom I’ve hopefully written to be intelligent, confident, attractive, and unusual—attract and be attracted to—many different eligible men? She would. Clearly, my Victoria would.
So, I say, let’s have fun with it. Part of the fantasy and fun of romance is that we relate to the heroine and/or fall in love with the hero. Who doesn’t want to have more than one fabulous, hot man madly in love with her?
The multi-hero is something I personally prefer, and I find myself looking for it.
When crafting a multi-potential-hero scenario for one heroine, how do you approach sustaining the romantic and sexual tension for each potential couple? I know fans of Evanovich’s series are often frustrated with the Morelli/Ranger triangle, and have said so on our site. Do you worry about readers rooting for one or the other, then feeling betrayed if their hero isn’t chosen? Or is that a primary responsibility of the author in craft: make the choice appealing and understandable to the reader who roots for the heroine?
In my series, each of the potential heroes are very different personality- and character-wise, and thus they interact differently with (and want different things from) Victoria. That helps me to write scenes and dialogue with them that aren’t the same. The men are also in different stages in their relationships with her, and in any given situation, each of the potential heroes (PHs?) would handle things in his own way. All of these elements help me to keep the scenes fresh and true to character, and because of who they are and what they want from each other, the tension is already inherent in the scene.
In other words, these men aren’t interchangeable.
I also know what character arc my heroine is going to go through, and how she will mature and grow in her love relationships. In my mind, there’s only one man who is ultimately right for Victoria.
It’s my job to make sure my readers see that as well. They might not see it right away (and I hope they don’t, because I want to make the ride fun and I want them to experience the evolving relationships as Victoria does), but when the resolution happens, it’s my intention that it should make sense to them, even if they really did “ship” for a different man.
So, yes, I definitely think it’s the author’s responsibility to gently lead the reader to the same conclusion as the heroine.
Many aspiring authors struggle through the process of crafting one stand-alone manuscript; what are some of the benefits and pitfalls of crafting a book that’s part of a series, particularly one with multiple heroes?
Colleen Gleason: I think there are both positives and negatives to having a finite number of books in the series—but for me, I see mostly positives. I know where I’m going, I have ample time to get there (so I don’t have to rush anything), and I can explore lots of different things on the way to the ultimate resolution of Victoria’s story. And I also have the thrill of writing different kinds of books within the series.
One of the things about writing a finite number of books is that I know when and where I have to have a resolution. Thus, I don’t have to play the PHs off against each other indefinitely. That’s a benefit, because each book will bring Victoria closer to her destined hero, and there’s no need for prolonging the agony as there might be in a series with no end in sight.
Of course, there’s a flip side to that: once the five books about Victoria are done, will my readers go with me to a new set of characters? I certainly hope so, and I’ve discussed just this with my publisher, and my intent to move on after five books, and my editor is wholly supportive. But I can see how sometimes it might be difficult to move into an “unknown” by leaving successful characters behind.
You’ve mentioned that your series is inspired by Buffy and that you envision the individual books as if they were seasons within a larger television series with a finite end. Do you think that current television has a greater influence on books, or vice versa?
Colleen Gleason: I don’t think movies and television have the luxury of looking at their series as a finite set. First of all, it’s too limiting. I don’t think NBC would have been delighted if LOST had been pitched to be only three seasons long, because how do you keep the audience when the three seasons are done? You can’t.
Perhaps that’s because in publishing, the fans follow the author, which is the most visible creative aspect of the work…whereas in the visual media, the public most identifies with the actor(s), and then the director and then the producer. These media require us to buy into a whole package, and if anything changes, there’s often an outcry and a loss of audience. It’s different with books, because, despite the number of series and interconnected books that are published, ultimately, it’s the author name that the readers relate to and buy. And that gives us a bit more flexibility than our visual media counterparts.
However, I think reality shows have demonstrated that the public can adjust to change as long as the framework of what attracted them in the first place is still there. Survivor and American Idol are excellent examples—the shows start each season with different characters and settings, but the framework, the basic story arc, is still there. Unlike the disaster that occurred when Friends ended and Joey attempted to take over….the viewers didn’t transfer because the framework had changed and there wasn’t enough of what they liked about Friends inherent in Joey.
And this is how I’ve built the vision for my series: by planning a finite story arc around a particular character to cover five episodes/seasons/books (whatever moniker you want), and then taking that same framework and changing just enough to be different, but not enough to make it unfamiliar to my readers. My goal is to meet the expectations of the readers who like Victoria’s story, but change the books following hers enough to be fresh and new.
Would that I had stuck to my guns on a finite number of books and the end of a series. I was asked to continue a love triangle, then Bombshell went bye-bye, and here I am with a dangling heroine and readers asking when they’ll find out who Pink winds up with. I had the 3rd book written with that question answered, and it didn’t end up that way. I did a major revision and left Pink hanging, as requested.
So – this goes to the larger question of reader irritability over love triangles. Do you suppose Evanovich wanted to end it and give Steph her man, but the publisher urged her not to do so? Perhaps not – maybe she planned it to go on…and on…and on.
At any rate, I think your finite number of books in this series can do nothing but appeal to readers. I know it appeals to me! I’m halfway through The Rest Falls Away and am just blown away, Colleen. Can’t wait to read the rest – and will be in line to get the second book when it’s released in June.
Nice interview, by the way. 🙂 Thanks SBs and Colleen!
Steph, I have your first book, but not the second. If I read them both, will you let me know who Pink ends up with?
Do you suppose Evanovich wanted to end it and give Steph her man, but the publisher urged her not to do so? Perhaps not – maybe she planned it to go on…and on…and on.
I personally think that Evanovich is a victim of fan interest in Ranger. It has felt to me so many times that she’s tried to sideline Ranger in favor of Morelli (how few sentences did it take for her to describe Stephanie’s first sexual experience with Ranger—IMO it showed a definite lack of interest in Ranger on Evanovich’s part). But now there’s a whole contingent of Ranger fans, and I think Evanovich is sort of backed into a corner. How many times will Ranger need to insist that he’s not commitment material for Stephanie and the Ranger fans to move on, I wonder? More importantly, how many more books will it take?
As for “The Rest Falls Away,” I have it in my Amazon cart right now. I’ve tried to restrain my book buying for a while, but I can see that’s not going to last very long. I adore this new trend of historical paranormals (blame Abe’s The Smoke Thief, which “turned” me).
Duh, I mean “Stef”—sorry!
No problem, Robin.
And there are 3 Pink books – with #4 in my head and not wanting to hit the computer screen in any kind of haste.
After I rewrote #3 and left Pink with two great possibilities, the one who won became, well, one of two who might.
So you see, I don’t know any longer.
Unlike Colleen, the wretch, who will never, ever tell me ahead of time who Victoria ends up with. Which is just as well – I don’t really want to know.
Much.
Oh, and I see what you mean about the fan thing – hadn’t considered that angle. I wonder if Colleen’s fans will pester her about who they want, and if it will give her any hesitation?
Colleen? Suppose you have readers clamoring for the guy you don’t have in mind? Do you think that would affect the way you write the next book in the series? Not the ultimate choice, but just the way you portray He Who Will End Up Without Victoria.
I ran a contest on my blog, to see which way readers thought I should go in Pink 4 – and it came out 50/50. But it would be interesting if readers picked the one you hadn’t planned on, wouldn’t it?
Sorry – that’s a killer question. Feel free to blow me off!
Thanks, Stef, for popping by…and Robin, for putting REST in your Amazon cart! I hope you enjoy it.
As for fans clamoring for the “wrong” hero…and whether it will affect how I write: well, I hope not. But I admit that one of my “first readers” ships for one of the potential heroes, and another one ships for a different one. So I get their perspective all the time.
But my goal is to get the reader(s) who root for the “wrong” guy over to the “right” guy’s side by the end of book four. (I’m currently writing book three.)
For an answer to whether a fan will follow an author they like after a stand alone, I say for myself, YES! If there is a back list that I haven’t read (like last year when I discovered Linda Howard ,after coming out from under a rock) I will happily devour it also…
this book sounds so promising and I want to buy it, I truly do. but… I am so burnt out on series that start out great and then go off to a whimper (or in strange places I dont want to follow)…
Truthfully, it taints my whole perception of the earlier books I might have loved (a la Laurell K Hamilton..
I hope this series goes on and becomes a 5 book gem that I will want to collect.
But right now… I am leery of putting my heart out there for another series that might go Kablooey.. When an author writes a stand alone I dont like, I will give other of her books a chance, but if the series doesnt work for me, I wont read further…
May I ask in what way the books relate to Buffy or the Buffyverse? I ask because such comparisons tend to make me reluctant about picking up new books (or watching a new TV show) because Buffy was so much more than just about the monsters – in my opinion, anyway – and I don’t get some of the comparisons out there (McKinley’s Sunshine being an exception).
The books sound interesting. I like series in which characters grow and change, but I also prefer books that stand-alone for the most part within a series (I dislike cliffhangers – and always liked that Joss, for the most part, wrapped up the main story-lines of a season, partly I think because he didn’t always know if he’d be renewed the next year), and it sounds as if this book does have its own complete arc.
To my limited knowledge of James Bond, though, he doesn’t have any long-lasting relationships with or hang-ups about any of the Bond girls. With Buffy, on the other hand (since she was brought up), I think all her relationships, however long or short or tragic or romantic, had quite a bit of emotional impact that carried on throughout the seasons.
I don’t know how I feel about the multi-hero (or heroine). I suppose it’s all in how it’s written, and if it seems to fit the story or feels dragged out and contrived. As for readers following, I think I’m fairly author-loyal and don’t mind or quite like when they write something new, so long as it’s still good (rather like following Joss from Buffy to Firefly to Astonishing X-Men and likely anything he does next).
I keep coming back to this, though I think I’m wandering off topic now, because I’d think people might be more willing to tune in if some shows had a planned ending, or didn’t drag out the seasons just because the numbers were still good (that said, I haven’t kept up with Lost – I think I don’t have the patience or attention span for JJ Abrams’s shows). And if networks didn’t keep on cancelling shows.
But, back to books… Evanovich seems to be quite popular, but I couldn’t get past the first few Stephanie Plum books – I think it was too much of the same, for me. I tried her “Full” series, but also didn’t read past the second one. But I’m still a fan of other open ended series, such as Laurie R King’s Mary Russell and Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak serieses (what is the plural of series?). As well as finite ones, but I can’t recall any off the top of my head right now.
and Robin, for putting REST in your Amazon cart! I hope you enjoy it.
The multiple hero thing sold me (I’ve never watched Buffy, so I don’t know about that comparison), and I bought it already. I hope I enjoy it, too.
Stef, I’ll push the first Pink book closer to the top of my TBR pile so I can get to the second and third installments. Then I’ll be bugging you for the reveal, I’m sure.
Sallahog, you mention, rightly so, one of the chances an author takes in writing a series: that if the first one doesn’t work for a reader, then it’s unlikely that reader will pick up the second one.
Very true, and I see little way around that unless one takes into account that sometimes within a series, the books are different.
Even with the same characters, for example, my first two Gardella books are different—the second one is darker and sexier, IMO, than the first. And the fourth, eg, will be a whodunnit rather than the scavenger hunt of the first.
So, yes, that’s a chance one takes when using more than one book to tell a character’s story.
Cassie, as for how the books relate to Buffy: really, only in a superficial way, in the sense that the main character is a female vampire slayer who has to balance her “normal” life with that of her slaying life.
What’s different is that Victoria is not the only slayer, and she’s not the same reluctant heroine that Buffy was, and there aren’t any vampires with souls lurking about, tempting her into the shadows.
What is also the same is that Victoria, like Buffy, makes mistakes, good and bad choices, and has to grow into her role as a superheroine. She has a supporting cast of characters that both complement and foil her, that add intrigue and humor and depth to her story.
Does this help?
Okay, now I get to do a fangurl thing. Colleen, I loved the book!
I may be way off base here, but I think multiple hero possibilities are almost *required* for a series like this. If the heroine gets her perfect match in the first book, I’m like…okay, yay for them, now I’m done. That’s just my personal take, of course, not a disagreement with anyone who’s already posted.
On the subject of “shipping wars” that happen in the fandom over who will end up together in the end of a series… as far as I can see, shipping wars aren’t problematic, I think they’re pure gold for sales and ratings!
Here’s my little example: I was trolling fanfic sites previewing stuff for my son who loves “Avatar: the Last Airbender” and I about lost my lower jaw in my lap when I saw how many Avatar fanfics were out there—many of them extremely, er, ADULT—for a show aimed at the 6-11 set.
Why all the fics? Because there is a question about the relationship of two of the young protagonists in the series, and a strong “bad boy” alternative for the love of the female heroine. There’s even a big ‘slash’ ficdom that pairs the relentless bad boy who hunts the protagonists, with the young male hero he’s hunting. (Sorry, that was kinda incoherent.)
Anyway, these fans don’t *want* resolution. They want to play with it for as long as they can.
When it comes to book series, I feel the same way. Just my .02
As someone who has read The Rest Falls Away, I have to say the multiple heroes REALLY works for me. I think they’re all believable characters who – as Colleen said in her interview – have their own dynamic with Victoria.
So hard to choose just one – I know how Victoria feels!!!
I really enjoyed REST and admit to shipping for one of the guys over the other. But like Stef, I don’t want to know yet. I want to go along for the ride because I know I’m going to love it.
As for Janet Evanovich, you all could be right about her wanting to wrap it up before now, but I don’t know. She has turned her Plum series, particularly, into quite the profitable enterprise—and I don’t blame her. I think when a writer hits on a series she loves, that her readers love, that’s going to make her tons o’ moolah, I say go for it. So many writers don’t get that wonderful chance.
I had seen this on the shelves at the grocery store and wondered about it. I read the review of it the other day and decided to buy it the next time I saw it. Tonight I went shopping and bought it, then came home and logged on and found the interview. [insert girlish squeals of joy] I love Buffy and if it catches the feel, I’ll be one happy camper!
Colleen, thanks for the reply. 🙂 it does help; I also read the excerpt on your website and liked it. I think I’ll add this one to the list of books to get the next time I go to the bookstore (which will hopefully be sometime this weekend).
Thanks also to the SBs for this interview. I’ve expanded my reading list quite a bit because of this site.
It’s 2:30 in the morning and I just finished the book – y’all really should read it. I mean, seriously – you really, really should. I couldn’t make myself get up long enough to take a pee break.
And as to reading the next one, I’ll be pre-ordering it.
Cassie and Berni—I hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much!
Stef, sheesh…I’m glad you couldn’t put it down, but you could hurt yourself holding all that in!
Great interview Ladies!
On the planned ending thing:
I totally believe in a planned ending … and not going beyond it! I think back to the sci fi show Babylon 5. After they resolved the major conflict that arched across seasons, the show wasn’t the same. It crashed and burned.
BUT, thinking about Rowling ending her series, even though the one major conflict- Harry vs. Voldy- will end and should end, I would definately like to see more stories featuring Harry and his own Scooby gang. Would it be the same without the ultimate evil as old he-who-shan’t-be-named? Proably not. But I’d like to see her try!
So though I i believe in “planned endings” there’s still a part of me they hates to see something good end. (ACK! I HATED to see Buffy end! But really, where else could they go?)
We’ve often discussed this at work- specifically over Lost. You can arch the show over several seasons but there is a delicate balance between resolving the conflict- which they don’t want to do because people will lost interest and not resolving it- which they also don’t want to do for the same reason.
The key is finding the balance.
Oh, and I’ve read it and enjoyed it as well … and yes I’m shipping too! hee