On my monthly book review post, I’ve shared a bit about each of Kristin Wallace’s latest three-book series called The Heiress Games. I decided to ask Kristin to come and answer some questions I had about the series, and she graciously agreed. So I’m turning the blog over to her!
*****
Hello and thank you to Patty for inviting me to be a guest on the blog. I’m always happy to talk about this fun, unique series.
It’s called The Heiress Games and here’s what it’s about…
Heiress Victoria Armington loved two things in life. Her pet pig Matilda and her hometown of Palm Cove, Florida. So when she dies, she leaves her considerable fortune to Matilda and sets up a competition among the last three remaining Armington descendants. The prize? Custody of the pampered pig and control of the money. Enter the 3 women in the running for the fortune…and the 3 men helping oversee the competition not knowing it will change their lives forever.
So there’s the short story of The Heiress Games. Patty sent a couple questions that I thought were fun so I want to answer them…
Question: How did you come up with idea for this series?
I knew that I wanted to have an heiress leave her money to a pet. I could have chosen or dog or cat, but I thought leaving a fortune to a pig just had an extra jolt of fun.
Question: I know this series is quite unique. How so?
Well, all three books actually follow the same events, but readers see them from the POV of the different characters. There are many group scenes that appear in all three books, but readers get to see them from another perspective. If there’s a scene with several people in it, you can bet you’ll see it again later.
Originally, I planned to write only one book. However, once I came up with the three women who would be competing for custody of Matilda, I realized they each had a great story to tell. So, each one got her own book.
I felt that if I revealed who won the fortune in the first book, it might ruin the other two. So, I was forced to do a cliffhanger. I wrapped up the “romance” portion, but didn’t reveal the winner until the end of the third book. There’s also a saboteur at work and he (or she) wants to make sure no one wins the money. I couldn’t reveal that person’s identity until the end, either.
Question: I’d be particularly interested in your process: Did you write one story at a time, or did you write all three at once, covering each event from all three points of view before going to the next?
Well, I’ll tell you writing this series was a challenge. I started by creating an Excel sheet that outlined the action in all 3 books, side-by-side. This way I could keep track of where the various characters were at all times. I wrote each book on its own because it’s too hard for me to switch back and forth and not lose momentum. Sometimes, I would make notes about what the other characters were saying so I could add those in the later books, though.
The real challenge were what I called “mirror scenes”, which are the group scenes that show up in all 3 books. Even though you see them through another character’s eyes, the dialogue had to stay the same. As I wrote each book there were always things that needed to change, and that meant going back and updating previous books.
Question: The characters mention how different Palm Cove is from other more metropolitan places in Florida. Is it modeled after a particular place? Being from the north, it didn’t strike me as odd to have a square dance in the festivities, although Bailey mentioned it seemed out of place – to me, that’s a southern/country thing, and Florida is part of the south. Do Floridians not consider themselves southerners?
Palm Cove is entirely fictional. I don’t know if there is any town like it, honestly, although there are still places that have maintained the “small town” vibe. You have to go off the beaten path to find them, though.
Now, as for Florida and the Southern thing. Yes, geographically Florida is in the Southeast, however, for the most part it’s not what you’d think of as a “Southern” state. Actually, Florida is kind of like 3 states in one. The northern Panhandle is more Southern. Some people say it’s more like southern Georgia than Florida. The South totally disappears once you hit the middle of the state. It’s quintessential Florida, with places like Daytona Beach and Disney World. Then you have South Florida (particularly Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), which is almost its own country due to the numbers of Hispanics.
So there you have it…the scoop on The Heiress Games.
BUY LINKS:
Least Likely Heiress, Book 1 – Eve & Cam
Buy it at Amazon, iTunes, B&N, or Kobo
Not Quite An Heiress, Book 2 – Abby & Killian
Buy it at Amazon, iTunes, B&N, or Kobo
The Forgotten Heiress, Book 3 – Bailey & Jackson
Buy it at Amazon, iTunes, B&N, or Kobo
Bio:
Kristin is a USA Today Bestselling author of inspirational and sweet contemporary romance filled with “love, laughter and a leap of faith”. Growing up she devoured books like bags of Dove Dark Chocolate. Her first Golden Book led to Laura Ingalls Wilder, Nancy Drew, C.S. Lewis and the Sweet Valley High series. Later, she discovered romance novels and fell in love all over again. It’s no surprise that Kristin would one day try her hand at writing them. Aside from The Heiress Games, she is the author of two other series, Covington Falls Chronicles (inspirational romance) and Shellwater Key Tales (contemporary romance).
Kristin loves connecting with readers. Email her, check out her website, and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Bookbub, Pinterest, and/or Goodreads!
Welcome,Kristin! Patricia beat me to having you in; I thought for sure I had had you as a guest, since you’ve always been on my list.
What a fun series! I definitely have to see how these play out. I admire your drive to get all of the scenes, synchronized; it must have taken real work.
Also, I am glad that you made your own town and realize the differences in regions.I have ranted too much here about writers who make assumptions and don’t know what they are talking about, and don’t take the time to learn. Making a fictitious town in a region you know something about is the safest way to go. I wish you all the best!
LikeLike
I read these three books almost one after another, and it was fascinating to view the same scenes from three different points of view.
LikeLike
I’m glad you enjoyed the group scenes. Those were the most difficult because while I wanted to keep the dialogue the same, I still wanted those scenes to “feel” different if that makes any sense. They had to truly reflect the thoughts and feelings of those characters and not just be a “repeat”.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well, I do live in South Florida so that helps. I usually end up creating fictitious towns so they can be whatever I want. I naturally gravitate towards Florida because I live there, LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t have time to go back and check right this minute, but I could’ve sworn that Kristen has been a Guess Fox on Hound Day at some point. If so, it would’ve been 5-6 years ago, however.
Enjoyed hearing about the way you have the camera shift to a different heroine for each of the books.
One of my novellas was originally designed to have a “twin” novella in which the two main characters were the same individuals… but in one the guy was a good guy hero… while in the parallel story, he was a first class villain. As I was playing around with the way I’d have to tweak certain scenes and situations to arrive at the opposite mood and tension … I realized that it would require a very liberal-minded editor to work with me (not to mention a publisher willing to release both novellas at the same time in a linked package.
So I temporarily dropped that other half of the project.
But maybe one day…
LikeLike
Jeff, I did a blog search (there’s a search box in the upper right-hand corner of the blog) for Kristin and nothing turned up. So unless she was here and the person hosting her didn’t put her name in the post, she hasn’t been here. As for your twin novella idea, I’ve always heard that you write the book first, and THEN you look for someone willing to publish it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought for sure that I had had Kristin in, unless I realized that someone had had her recently before.I, too, did the search. We are all in agreement that we really wanted her here!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re right about a publisher being wary of a project like this. It’s why I self-published. I put out the 3 books 1 month apart so they came out April, May & June. I wanted them to launch close together.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These books sound so interesting and it seems like they were a little complicated to write. I’m glad you were able to figure out a way to keep it all straight. I look forward to reading them.
Do you think you’ll ever write another series similar to this with the point of view?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh Angela…I’m pretty sure I will not attempt something like this again, LOL I think the books turned out well, but they are tricky. And not everyone appreciated a “cliffhanger”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kristin, I’ve never self-published, and you inspire me to try one day. The books sound fascinating.
LikeLike