“What three questions would we like to ask a favorite author?”
How about if I answer that with one question for three favorite authors?
One of the wonderful things thing that has happened to me is doing this blog, and the fact that I found that I love to interview authors. I have yet to be turned down. I have only not heard from one, but we are not ‘Friends’ on Facebook and I found that most people never look at their ‘Message request’ folder; many don’t even know that it exists. I forget to check mine very often.
On the other hand, there are some whom I have not invited, at least, not yet.
One of those writers is someone with whom I am quite acquainted. She was a best-selling author before I read or met her. She has several series, a couple of stand-alones and has been published in several anthologies. I found the first book of a trilogy and enjoyed it greatly. It started several mysteries within it. I hurriedly grabbed the second part, which took off on other tangents and introduced new characters. When I went to pick up the ending,(to find the answers to the original questions), I found that there wasn’t a third book! When I asked her, she apologized and said that she had every intention of finishing the trilogy, but her publisher at the time lost interest at the second book and did not continue her contract.
The author’s assistant got in on the conversation and suggested that she self-publish the ending. That did not make an impression on her. Several times over a couple of years I cajoled, hinted, etc., to no avail. She put up a page of FAQs, because she really has popular series and newbies ask the same questions of her, but one of the questions she asked and answered was, “Will there ever be a third part to the unfinished trilogy?”, and her answer was “NEVER”.
I’d like to ask her what she had in mind for the characters, but although I will not flatter myself enough to believe that I am a real friend of hers, I do believe that I understand her. She acts to tough, has a ‘smart mouth’ at times, but she has a very soft heart for people and animals, and I know that she is sensitive, despite her claims to the contrary. When the publisher put the kibosh on her series, it just plain hurt her feelings and she doesn’t think it is good enough; this is the reason that I will not name her in this post. I will not bring it up to her again, but gosh, I get wrapped-up in characters and would love to know about them!
Another writer with whom I would love to speak is Angie Sage. I have reviewed her Septimus Heap series here: Reviews and Recommendation Although I think there is real good in the Harry Potter series, I have to say that her books, even with its own ‘bad guys’, is in a gentler, kinder wizarding world. Yes, they are aimed at the Mid-grade level, but I adore them.
I would like to ask her why she ended the series at all. She moved on to the Todhunter Moon series, but it is set in the same world and indeed, Septimus Heap and a number of his surrounding characters entered into Tod’s stories…and that series also ended. I am very saddened.
I’d like to ask one question of Rachel Joyce, concerning another book which I reviewed here, “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”: Review and Point of View I picked the book up while taking an adult Summer reading program challenge to read a book by an author with the same last name. James was too obvious, so I grabbed her book off of the shelf and enjoyed it greatly. There is a wonderful death scene, (it isn’t a spoiler; you know the character is dying from the very beginning), one much like I would consider death. I would like to ask her what inspired her handling of the character’s last moments.
So, here are my questions.
Do you check your “Message Requests”?
Any comments?
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
Yes, I check my message requests when I notice them – but I only open them if I recognize the name or if we have many friends in common. As for your author questions, I hope you get the answers to the second and third. It’s really odd that a publisher would end a trilogy after the second installment!
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Not having the series finished would make me so sad. I can understand the author not wanting to revisit it though. Something similar happened to another author friend. She ended up self-publishing the third one.
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I do hope I get to speak with both Angie Sage and Rachel Joyce. They are both English. As for the other, well, If we could get back face-to-face, maybe I would pry it out of her, but alas, book tours seem to be quite rare and she never travels this far any more.
Being canceled after two parts of a trilogy was published happened to a former Fox.I don’t understand it myself. I don’t see how that can make sense to a publisher; there is no way they are going to sell any more of the first two books; surely a limited printing, or at least just an epub of the third, would be worth it just to keep some sales going.
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That elusive “hidden” folder of unsolicited incoming messages really threw me for a loop. This was back a few years and I was completely unaware of a spillover folder containing message (or attempted messages). When I finally stumbled across it, by accident, I found lots of the usual junk of course. But among them were two very important opportunities that I had completely missed out on. My efforts — so belatedly — to contact the originators of those messages led to nothing. I assume my message ended up in THEIR spillover folder.
I don’t know which author you cite in your first paragraph, but I can pretty easily imagine having a sort of “block” — caused, in part, by the trauma of the publisher/agent losing interest in the series. And I also can see reaching a point in a series where an author is simply unsure of which way to take those characters or use that setting. In my own case, I’ve had people kindly suggest that they’d like to see a sequel to such-and-such title. And while I’d love to rejoin those characters… I really don’t know where they’d go or what they’d do. And I have so many OTHER stories swirling about in my noggin, that the phantom sequels will simply have to wait in line.
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It’s not really a spillover folder, Jeff. It’s where they put messages from people who aren’t Facebook friends with you. This gives you the opportunity to ignore messages from people you don’t know.
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Jeff, it’s a fine line, knowing when to make a sequel or to leave them wanting more. So often, fans like the story and characters and clamor for more, but most often, it’s a mistake to go to go there. The idea is best thought-over by the “…Go to Japan”, as a sequel consideration.If it doesn’t come readily to you, and you’d have to stretch it, don’t ruin a good story.
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What great questions! I can see why you would want to ask what was intended for the series that did not end. That would probably upset me a bit too, not knowing what happens. I can understand why she wouldn’t finish the series though.
I check those messages if I notice them. Usually, it is someone looking for a different Angela Schroeder. One time it was someone offering condolences, I messaged her back and explained she had the wrong person and then told her that I was sorry for the loss of her friend’s mother.
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That’s nice, Angie.I answer wrong texts and I used to answer wrong messages left on my recorder.(I haven’t had any in a long time.). It’s the only decent thing to do, as far as I am concerned, but few do. I no longer see any notification that any have come in on FB, unless I purposely check it. Usually, it’s just a couple of gigolos.
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