BUILDING BOOK TWO FROM BOOK ONE
When you discover the book you just purchased is actually part of a series and the book in your hands is Book Two, do you set it aside so you can read Book One first? I’ve done that, because like most readers, I want to read the entire saga in chronological order. I like being introduced to the characters and the events that brought those characters to where they are in the right order. Otherwise, I’m confused when I encounter statements or descriptions that don’t make sense because I didn’t read Book One.
I especially dislike dangling story threads that leave the reader hanging and biting her nails waiting for the next book to come out. Sometimes it’s almost a year until the next book comes out, for Pete’s sake!! I understand the reasoning: publishers want to sell Books Two and Three, and they think the best way to do that is to leave a story thread in Book 
One unresolved. Unfortunately, as a result of this practice, many readers simply won’t buy books that are part of a series. This is sad because they are missing out on some great stories. But I also understand the frustration of being coerced into buying the next book.
For that reason, many authors, myself included, write their stories as stand alones, even if they are part of a series. It makes no difference in what order they are read. The stories are tied together by the setting, the theme, characters’ occupations, personalities, or family members. So instead of the three or four books being a “series,” they are a “collection.” The fun thing about writing a collection is that the author can let the main characters from one book have a cameo role in another book while still making each book stand alone.
The collection I am currently working on is entitled Peace in the Mountains stories. All three books are/will be set in the same place, and the reader will glimpse characters they recognize from another book in the collection. Fun! Book one of my Peace in the Mountains collection is BREATH OF WATER, and follows the saga of Dulcie Chappell and her grandparents as they strive to maintain possession of the land that has been in their family for five generations.
Book two is going to release soon, and is entitled JOURNEY OF PEACE. As the title suggests, the characters in JOURNEY OF PEACE are seeking resolution to some very unsettling events in their pasts–like most of us. All of the books in this collection (I am currently working on book three) are set in the mountains of western North Carolina, the little town of Hot Springs, in the late 19th century. Some of the town folk the reader meets in BREATH OF WATER show up again in JOURNEY OF PEACE. But I promise: no unresolved plot lines, no untied story threads, nothing to leave the reader hanging except that (hopefully!) she will want to revisit the community and historical time frame again. It won’t be long now–keep watching this blog, and my Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/ConnieStevensAuthor for more updates.