A question fiction writers are often asked is. “Will you be writng a sequel?” Some authors write sequels, or even an entire series of books. My first books were a series of novelettes I wrote in the 2000s as Gayle Martin. The Luke and Jenny series of historical novels for young readers was about two modern day kids taking a summer road trip with their mother. Along the way, they stop at historical sites where they traveled back in time to learn the real history of the American west. While each book in series was about a different historical figure, there was an overall plot line which carried over each book; the road trip the two kids were taking with their mother.
When I switched genres and started writing contemporary romance novels I made the decision to not write sequels. Sequels can be problematic. They tend to be redundant and are oftentimes not as good as the original. My books would be stand alone novels. Each story would end with complete closure. However, there were a few times when I created a supporting character who was interesting enough to have his or her own story, as was the case with Jeremy in The Reunion. He soon his own book, The Journey. However, The Journey was not a sequel to The Reunion. It was a spin-off.
Simply put, a spin-off is when characters from one story are put into a different story. The late producer Norman Lear created a television show in the 1970s called, All in the Family. It was a huge hit. Those of you born in the eighties and beyond have no doubt heard of it or may have even seen it. All in the Family soon had a spin-off called, Maude, which in my opinion, was a whole lot funnier. Maude was Edith Bunker’s outspoken cousin who was first introduced in an episode of All in the Family. Interestingly enough, Lear later produced a spin-off from Maude called, Good Times, which was also pretty funny. It was about Maude’s housekeeper, Florida Evans. All three shows had high ratings ran for several seasons.
Hey, if it was good enough for Norman Lear, then it’s good enough for Marina Martindale. Along with The Journey, I’ve written two other spin-off novels; The Betrayal, another Reunion spin-off, and my newest novel, which I’ve just started, called, Aquamarine, which is a spin-off from The Betrayal. It’s lead character, Tonya Claiborne, was a strong supporting character with a lot of potential.
Marina Martindale
Update. Aquamarine is now available on Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com, and with other online booksellers.
Marina Martindale writes and edits all of her blog posts herself. She does not use AI software or images of any kind. No part of this blog may be used or reproduced or transmitted in any form, or used in any matter by AI, without the express written consent Good Oak Press, LLC. Requests for permission must be addressed to Good Oak Press, LLC, P.O. Box 51244, Denton, TX 76206-1244