Narelle here. I’m delighted to welcome debut author Iola Goulton to our blog today. :)
The Power of Collaboration
I recently attended a class on collaboration in publishing and was disappointed to find it was actually a thinly veiled sales pitch for a vanity press (boo, hiss).
But the class did get me thinking about collaboration.
As a reader, I tended to think of writing as a solo effort. The more I’ve got to know authors and the more I’ve studied writing and publishing, the more I’ve realised this isn’t true.
Writing is not a solo effort: it’s a collaboration.
Some authors say writing and publishing a book is like giving birth. As the proud mother of two, I have to disagree. I think writing, publishing, and marketing a book is like raising a child. And, as the old adage says, it takes a village to raise a child.
It’s collaboration.
In the case of my debut novel, Always By My Side, the most prominent members of the village—my immediate family and close friends—have been my fellow Trinity Lakes Romance authors: Narelle Atkins, Meredith Resce, Lisa Renee, Carolyn Miller, Jenny Glazebrook, and Sara Beth Williams.
We’ve shared planning sessions, settings, characters, and plotlines. While each of the stories are standalone romances, there are common elements between each of the books, including setting, characters, and even subplots.
The series name is a clue to the setting: the books are all set in Trinity Lakes, a fictional town in south-east Washington.
We’ve shared major characters: my heroine, Tabitha Thomas, works for Hannah Gilbertson (from Never Find Another You by Narelle Atkins), and they are good friends with Leah Thompson (from I’ll Always Choose You by Lisa Renee). My book also has scenes with Kyla (from The Ocean Between Us by Meredith Resce) and Josh (from Where Our Hearts Lie by Jenny Glazebrook), and several other series characters have walk-on parts.
We also share minor characters, including the pastors, the town gossips (Rhonda Ingalls and Rhonda Turner), and the Junk Man (a man with a hidden secret). Every good small-town Christian romance needs a pastor, a gossip, and a secret or two.
As well as writing our stories, each of the Trinity Lakes authors has brought something to the group:
Carolyn Miller visited Washington and had the initial idea to create a multi-author series set in the area, and to give the series a distinctly Down Under vibe by ensuring we each had an Australian or Kiwi as a main character.
Narelle Atkins has been our fearless organiser and leader, working with Carolyn to make a lot of the early decisions around worldbuilding. She has also formatted several of our books, including mine.
Meredith Resce is our resident expert on Aussie rules football. She brings decades of writing and publishing experience, and great contacts in Australian Christian bookstores.
Lisa Renee is a marketing whiz who has created many of our beautiful graphics. She also interviewed me on her podcast … which gives you a chance to hear the difference between the Aussie and Kiwi accents.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwnbVhwilXs
Jenny Glazebrook has loaned her eagle eye as a proofreader, but (more importantly) is our resident encourager and prayer warrior.
Sara Beth Williams has been our expert on all things Americana, answering inane questions like whether our characters go to college or university (serious question: in New Zealand, colleges are secondary schools aka high schools).
I’m the group editor, and I’m the odd one out in two respects: I’m the only Kiwi author in the group, and I’m also the newbie—Always By My Side is my first published novel.
And Always By My Side never would have happened if I wasn’t part of this group. If it wasn’t for the fact this was a collaborative project, I would have found an excuse to give up.
The Trinity Lakes authors are my author family, and I am grateful to be a part of the Trinity Lakes family. But there’s more to a village than a family. The rest of the village is you, the readers. Because we’re writing these books for you, people who love reading Christian romance stories … and especially people who might want to see characters from different places.
Here’s a question: do you enjoy reading books that are part of a single author series or a multi-author series, or do you prefer standalone novels?
About Always By My Side
A hardworking introvert meets a handsome adventurer longing to settle down.
Tabitha Thomas longs to leave Trinity Lakes and travel the world in honor of the beloved grandmother who raised her and her siblings. But she’s needed at home—she’s the responsible triplet, the one who stayed home to run the family inn while her brother and sister left to live their dreams.
Kiwi Logan Wylde doesn’t call any place home. When an injury frustrates his travel plans, he accepts an invitation to return to Trinity Lakes and recuperate at the Lakeview Inn, where he hopes to rediscover his purpose in life.
When Tabby and Logan find a property deed while cleaning out Gran’s rooms, Tabby embraces a new challenge—to solve the mystery of the floodplain and renovate the old boatshed. Working with Logan reignites long-suppressed feelings, but will their differences drive them apart?
An opposites-attract, friends-to-more, small town contemporary Christian romance.
Welcome to Trinity Lakes, a warm and welcoming small town in east Washington, filled with charm, family, and friends, where fresh starts, second chances, and romance abound. You’ll meet swoony bachelors, cowboys, and adventurers, sweet and sassy ladies, and your new best friends. This series of standalone Christian romances will warm your heart, inspire your faith, and bring a smile to your soul.
About Iola Goulton
Iola Goulton is the empty-nest mother of two who lives with her husband in the sunny Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, and writes contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi connection. She works part-time for a local company, wrangling spreadsheets by day and words by night.
She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Omega Christian Writers. Find Iola at www.iolagoulton.com
GIVEAWAY
Iola is kindly giving away an ebook copy of Always By My Side to a reader who comments on this post. The giveaway will close on July 14 and the winner announced in the Sunday Edition.
A fun loving Aussie girl at heart, Narelle Atkins was born and raised on the beautiful northern beaches in Sydney, Australia. She has settled in Canberra with her husband and children. A lifelong romance reader, she found the perfect genre to write when she discovered inspirational romance. Narelle's contemporary stories of faith and romance are set in Australia and international locations.
I like all of the above.
Hi Kim, I enjoy both series and standalone, too :)
Hi Iola, Thanks for visiting with us at Inspy Romance and offering a giveaway. 😊
I like both but will admit I often tap out of multi author series. I may start well but sometimes will buy the book but it doesn’t get read. I find especially if there is a book I don’t gel with. I am more likely to continue in a single author series where I love the first book. I know some multi author series will have a book a month or every 6 weeks or so but most that regular and continue over a year I admit I have rarely read. Or I will pick and choose.
Kim, I agree. For me, it’s all about the characters and the story.
Thank you for having me! It’s great to visit.
I hear you – a long series can feel like too much of a commitment. I enjoyed the Easter in Gilead series, which has been three books so far, with one or two more to come. But there are other series where I’ve only ever read books by one of the authors (and haven’t felt I’ve missed anything).
The whole process of making a series sounds really fun!
The truth is that in the Christian romance market I have heard a lot more of this “helping each other in community” thing than in the secular romance blogs that I follow.
I really need to read this book!! I have a niece living in New Zealand with her Kiwi hubby, Logan, and their three little Kiwi’s!! I like multi-author series, such as Tales of the Grace Chapel Inn, and I like series by single author’s, too. I’m not picky!
“ Every good small-town Christian romance needs a pastor, a gossip, and a secret or two.” I love this quote!
Like the others who commented I think I prefer single author series, but I have discovered some previously unknown (to me) authors , with who I have fallen in love, reading collaborative series .
Also some times single author series can become too much of the same, because their style doesn’t change like a multi author series.
I’m not sure I’ve ever read a multi-author series, but I do love a good series. It’s nice to see what happens to the supporting characters & it gives you a chance to check in on the main characters from the first book. Sometimes it’s just hard to let go of characters you love!
Hi Narelle and Iona from SW Michigan! I have been reading Inspy Romance blog for a decade. I enjoy reading multi author series and stand alone books. Before Covid there were many CCR multi author series. I prefer shorter series (10 books or less), which are released within 6 months – otherwise I loose interest or get confused with other books I am reading. Over the years there have been several fascinating inspiring multi author book series. My favorite series (2018) was Tuscan Legacy, which Narelle was a part of. Another IR series this spring was Easter in Gilead with Valerie Comer, Elizabeth Maddrey, Heather Gray, and Narelle Atkins. Today most Multi Author series I read are Historical Fiction.
As a retired high school teacher and since I am on multiple Readers Groups, I am aware of that authors collaborate with readers, proof readers, cover design, publishing and more. After reading your intro I wasn’t aware that New Zealanders are referred as Kiwi. Also while I am aware that most readers through Amazon are American / I wished more stories had international settings. While I have read books with Australian setting, NOT sure I ever read a book with a NEW ZEALAND setting. That is a reason why I enjoyed Tuscan Legacy series – the international settings. Best wishes to both of you and stay warm. Another rainy day in the Midwest. Farmers are so very thankful. It is blueberry and cherry season. Sweet corn was knee high on the 4th of July.
I will read either one, as long as it is well written and keeps my attention. I have really enjoyed the Trinity Lakes series. This is the first time I have read a book by some of the authors and have found that I like the way they write. Now, I look forward to reading more books by these authors.
Welcome Iola! I enjoyed your blog today. I have learned over the past year how much actually goes into writing and publishing a book. Even a standalone book is a collaboration between author, editors, proofreaders, publishers, etc.
I enjoy almost any book as long as it is clean and Christian. It doesn’t matter if it is in a series with many authors, in a series of 1 author or not a series at all.
I hope to hear more of you and your work in the future.
I like both standalone and series with one author and multiple authors.
I’m so glad you stopped by Inspy Romance, Iola! Congrats on your debut novel :)
I love each but I will say once I start a series its fun reading about the other main characters, how their lives are changing..their struggles, how many kids they have and so on. But after 5 or 6 I’ll usually move to a stand-alone. Having multi authors are great because so many times I’ve never read from most of them. I love finding a good Christian author…especially if their book is good❤️ Make my heart happy.
Hi Iola and welcome! I read both series and standalone, but I do like keeping up with characters in a series, if I really enjoy reading about a couple it’s lovely to find out more about them in later books in a series. I do enjoy multiauthor series. It’s nice to have different voices.
I love that all of you writing the Trinity Lakes series have worked so well together, it sounds a lovely community, looking forward to reading more from you all!
sounds interesting
Welcome to the blog. It is very nice to meet you. I enjoy standalones as well as multiple authors books. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
That’s so funny that you have a Kiwi nephew-in-law named Logan!
Yes, it’s been a lot of fun!
I have found the New Zealand romance-writing community very welcoming, inclusive, and willing to help, but I’ve also heard that’s unusual for secular romance.
Thanks, Jeannette.
I do hear you about the single-author series. I have a few of those on my bookshelf that are 8 or more books, but it must become a challenge to keep the stories fresh and original.
I think the first long(ish) series I read was the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke, and it was definitely hard to let go of Marty and Clarke :)
I enjoyed both A Tuscan Legacy and Easter in Gilead. I now have a lot more appreciation for multi-author series with a joint plot thread, like A Tuscan Legacy!
If you’re looking for Christian fiction set in New Zealand, check out Kara Isaac’s books Close to You (all set in NZ) or Then There Was You (set in Australia and NZ). They’re both excellent.
Thank you, Bonnie. I’m glad Trinity Lakes is introducing you to some new authors.
Thank you, Bonnie :)
Yes, “self-publishing” is definitely a misnomer, because there is a lot of collaboration required to produce a good book.
LOL! It’s all about the story, isn’t it?
Thank you, Valerie!
Hearing about the main characters in sequels is one of the reasons I love series books – it’s hard to say goodbye to a favourite (favorite?) character.
Thanks for visiting :)
Thank you, and you’re welcome :)
I also like keeping up with characters in a series. I hope you enjoy the Trinity Lakes Romances.
Hi Renate, If you’re looking for a CCR set in New Zealand, I’d recommend Close to You by Kiwi author Kara Isaac. It’s a delightful story set in Hobbiton, which isn’t that far from where Iola lives. :)
I like series, but I do not think I have ever read a multi-author one (except the Inca series, which is a 3 volumes novel written by three friends who gave each one of the name forming the authors penname, Antoine B. Daniel. But this is different from each author writing another book, which you are referring to, and this is something I have never read).
I enjoy a series like this because it can be fun having characters cross over from other books and you get to try our different authors too.
That’s what I enjoy as well :)
I’ve also read some books with co-authors, but this is quite different because each author writes their own book. I