Is There a Sequel Hiding in your Story? by Susan Payne

Welcome back, Susan. What are we talking about today?

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I love to share anything to do with writing.  An Unexpected Wife being released this month is a type of marriage of convenience story.  It was originally called Seven Brothers and concerned the marriage of the oldest brother, Luke, to a young woman who had found herself without funds or a home. Luke Foster brought Lorelei home to a passel of brothers who had lived without a parent for almost ten years. She filled in the missing piece each of them needed.

Not a duplicate by any means of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers as many of these siblings were too young for marriage, the story stayed with me. No breaking into song or dancing on the tables, though. But any large family has its ebb and flow and the Foster boys were no different.  What is unusual with this story is that it led directly into a story for the next youngest brother, Matthew, to find his one and only love. In From the Cold, an Alaskan adventure, will be released on September 13, 2021.

That is what I’d like to write about today:

When is there a sequel hiding in your story?

I mean it would be easy for a writer to introduce a spare single person in a story with no one the wiser that it was a set-up for the next book.  I am used to spotting those set-ups, but never felt the need to have one of my own.  This time was different since Matthew was such a good man and should have a life-partner to make him a better man.

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I didn’t want to leave Matthew and knew he was as ready for a wife just as Luke had been. It was an easy progression.  Besides, I wanted to know where Matthew had gone once he left the ranch and if he’d ever come home again.  In From the Cold answered both those questions for me.

Some writers like to lead into another story using a place or person to do so. Some use a main character, such as an old aunt who ‘visits’ relatives and each time facilitates a romance. Like Murder, She Wrote. Someone was going to die when the author, Jessica Fletcher, showed up. Others use a handy friend who would be “left” once the heroine/hero made their connection. Still others simply grab a character near the end of the story and leave a trail of crumbs indicating a possible romance between them and some other interesting character.

Whatever the means of doing so, I always like knowing how the original characters are doing.  Content in their choices and happy in their lives. You never need an epilogue if you’re writing a complete sequel novel that will tell you so much more.

The choice is always the authors – some of you will never write sequels while others will have story after story built from one original couple’s lives. I find I go where my characters take me.  I have given up trying to guide them…I merely sit back and enjoy the ride.

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