Sunday 5 May 2013

Series Order and Chaos



I've been getting asked more and more frequently these days "Is there a specific order to read your books?" and "Are they all part of a series?" and then they look even more confused when I reply "Yes and no."

So here's my attempt to explain the "order" of my chaotic series.

So far, I've written three racing romance novels: 1. At Long Odds, 2. Keeping the Peace, and 3: Giving Chase.

I'm hesitant to say they are all part of a series because the main characters differ from book to book, and in fact the racing disciplines also switch. BUT they are linked by the same timeline and usually cover one racing season each.

British racing is split into two "seasons": the flat season and the jumps season. The flat runs through the spring and summer, and the jumps run through autumn and winter (more or less).

So At Long Odds kicks off in the springtime of - let's say, Year 1 and covers the flat season until the end of summer. Keeping the Peace then picks up the reins in the autumn of Year 1 and covers the jumps season. Now it isn't unthinkable to read Keeping the Peace before At Long Odds because it is a whole new season in a whole new environment, BUT it is advisable to read them according to the timeline because there are little references in Keeping the Peace of At Long Odds when characters reappear in small cameo roles, and those potentially could act as spoilers.

Keeping the Peace and Giving Chase are a little easier to explain. Giving Chase covers the jumps season in Year 2, and while the main characters shift priority, it is very much set in the same world so there are many more spoilers if read out of sequence. Because of this they are categorised in the "Aspen Valley Series".

At the time of writing this there are plans for many more racing romance books, with the horizon dominated by the next novel to be published, the third in the Aspen Valley Series. After that I plan to return to the flat racing world and the characters of At Long Odds to continue that saga (which, just to confuse you some more will be called the "Caspian Chronicles").

So, if you want to get the most out of the books, here is the order I would advise reading them in:

1. At Long Odds ("Caspian Chronicles, Book #1")
2. Keeping the Peace ("Aspen Valley Series, Book #1")
3. Giving Chase ("Aspen Valley Series, Book #2")
4. Share and Share Alike [working title] ("Aspen Valley Series, Book #3")
5. Designer Genes [working title] ("Caspian Chronicles, Book #2").

Hopefully, that will have made things a little clearer... or maybe confused you even more. When in doubt go by the list just above this!

Thanks for reading.

Hannah
xxx

2 comments:

  1. I cannot wait for your future books! I'm dying to find out how Julien and Ginny make out. I just adored them. Also loved the Aspen series so far as well. I devoured these books and can't wait for more. I'd never read books about British racing, just American so these were a lovely treat.

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    1. Hi Corrie,
      How bad is blogspot for not telling me someone has commented on a post?! Apologies, it wasn't intentional! Wonderful to hear you're enjoying the books. The third Aspen Valley book will be out next summer, then a new 4 book series follows that. And those 4 books, although they are not sequels to At Long Odds, will let you know how Julien and Ginny are getting on! Watch out for those in Summer 2015.

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