Y’all might wonder how a post this long can be a Tuesday Inspiration for the Muse post. The answer is near the end but it has to do with the making of a series, and some of you.
Howdy, Ma’am was going to be the only book when I wrote Caulder and Velia’s story.
No series.
One book.
One ending.
Though the first book is a full novel, complete in itself, the hero and heroine in the Bull Rider Series books had so much more to tell after the first book. Hey, Cowboy materialized when I neared the end of Howdy, Ma’am, and a two book series had been born. Can two books be called a series? Mine was called a series. Now, it could be called a trilogy, I suppose.
During the writing of Hey, Cowboy, all of my promo stated this was for the final book in the series. Doggone it, I began thinking about how I could write a third book if the mood struck me to continue the series—so I removed the words “final book” from my website. When I wrote the end to Hey, Cowboy, I truly meant it to be the “end.” But, I still kept an open mind.
Just in case, I laid the groundwork, and in the back of my mind, I knew which two characters deserved a story…if…if I made a future decision to include a third book, which I didn’t want to write. But, what if?
Back when this ide
a materialized, the idea of connecting these two characters was far-fetched, but my muse sat on my shoulder, tapping now and then against my temple. The taps turned to hard flicks and she hounded me, repeating on occasion, “Book three, book three.” You can imagine how I struggled with myself over this said third book, when there was only supposed to be one book and one ending.
After publishing Hey, Cowboy, Book #2, readers asked to see one of the other young bull riders get his own story. How could I say no? This happened to be the same bull rider I had imagined getting his own story early on. What could I do but sit down and begin writing? This was done before I announced a third book. I mean, what if I couldn’t write this character a whole story? No way could I tell readers I’d started a book only to learn I couldn’t “bring it”?
As it turned out, I almost couldn’t “bring it” due to being sick, blah, blah, you know the story. I suppose it was destiny to write a third book. These two characters didn’t get their own book, though, but instead they share their story right alongside Velia and Caulder in Christmas at Love House: A Bittersweet Interlude.
This week’s “inspiration” stems from fans of this series. Without you, Velia and Caulder’s story would’ve ended with Howdy, Ma’am. Bull Rider Series fans? This book was written because you asked for book three. Thank you.
Cover Reveal is Coming This Week!
Oh, by the way…
Cowboy Boss and his Destiny was only intended to be a short, sweet and sexy holiday tale about a single father who happened to be a rancher. One book. One ending. We all know what happened next…it became a series. If I had planned on a series, I would have plotted out the whole series in advance. Instead, I had to go back while still writing the first book, and fit in leads, plus add a couple more brothers to the story.
With the new spin-off series to the Double Dutch Ranch Series also coming out in 2016, I intend the first book to be part of a series from the beginning, and I have at least two other books planned. Personally, I love writing a series where my characters continue to pop up in the other books.
Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth
I have heard other authors say they hadn’t planned on writing a series when they had written the first book. This is probably common among some authors who have written a series, but of course, I can’t speak for other authors.
How about you, series authors? Did you plan out a series from the beginning, or did you get part way through the first book and say, “Hell no! There’s more to tell”? Or did your readers encourage you, too? I’m curious to know whether your series started out to be a series.
Check out the HOME page for a a quick glance at all my books. Thanks for visiting today. Have a super week!
the temperatures plummeted to the low 20s F. One of my cousins who lives “Up North” had eight inches of new snow. I had a dusting but more stayed on my car than on the ground. But, I did get a brand new heating/ AC unit in my apartment. Just in time for the cold to come back! Funny how that works.
I like to read what I write. Contemporary Western Romance. Cowboys. Horses. Bull Riders. Ranchers. This doesn’t mean I won’t read historical fiction. It also doesn’t mean I don’t read other genres. I have historical fiction on my “Want to Read” shelf at 
Hi there! I could’ve chosen cowboys, horses, my laptop or cameras, music, quotes, you, notebooks, or pens, which all inspire me to do what I do. But, today I couldn’t quite put my finger on what I wanted to post for my Tuesday Inspiration for the Muse post. Then, I came across the image below. The more I thought about it, the more this little quote made sense. It’s true. 🙂
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel 
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