There is a writing book called Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell. I confess I have not read it, but I do wonder how that works. I’m what they call a “pantser.” I write by the seat of my pants. I have characters and an inciting incident to start my books. Then I feel my way to the end. Sometimes I am amazed at how something I consider insignificant at the beginning of the story has great significance by the time I get to the end. There have been a couple of times I have a scene from the story come to mind out of order. I write that scene. Then I write the book to get to that point. However, most of the time, I write in linear order, from start to finish.
One of those scenes occurs in the first book in my Pinecrest series, Second Chance Love. The idea for the book came from a song, “Ain’t That Lonely Yet” by Dwight Yoakam. I knew somewhere in the story, my hero was going to say, “I’m not that lonely yet.” 
Here is part of that scene.
He grabbed them. “Go home, Jillian. You’ve helped enough.” He marched toward the deck. Before he started up the steps, he turned. “If that money from your foundation wasn’t going to help a bunch of needy kids, I wouldn’t take it. You can’t buy my love.”
She watched him go into the house as she covered her mouth with one hand. Tears running down her cheeks, she stumbled toward her car until she remembered she didn’t have her keys or purse. They were in the house, and she would have to get them. She sniffed and ran a hand across her cheeks to wipe the tears away. Taking a deep breath and straightening her spine, she walked to the house and up the steps. She stopped short when she heard the raised voices. Standing in the shadows on the deck, she listened.
“Mom, I didn’t mean to hurt her. She hurt herself. I don’t want to hear anything more about Jillian. You, Kim, and Jillian. All of you are trying to run my life!” Sam’s angry voice carried through the screen door.
“I thought you two were making amends. Maybe getting back together.”
“That’s what you wanted.”
“Yes, and I think that’s what you want, too.”
Sam snorted. “Not anymore.”
“She said she was sorry.”
“Okay, so she’s sorry. That’s fine. I’m moving on.”
“That’s what you’ve said for eight years. Give her another chance. Then you won’t be alone anymore.”
“I’m not that lonely yet. And you can tell her that.”
That was the “black moment” in the story. Of course, since we here at Inspyromance write romance, we know that there is always a happy ending. So what keeps readers reading when they know how the story ends? It’s the journey of the hero and heroine. It’s how they find their way to love. We love the journey to a happy ending.
In a round about way, I’m getting to my main point. Readers, do you ever read a book and then discover that it is part of a series, but there are three books in the series ahead of the book you have just read. If you enjoyed the book, are you likely to go back and read the previous books in the series?
In general, I like to read books in a series in order, but I am not opposed to reading them out of order. What about you?
I will be giving away an ebook copy of Second Chance Romance to one person who leaves a comment here. I will draw the winning name on January 27, 2024, at 9PM MST.
“Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.”
Merrillee Whren is an award-winning author who writes inspirational romance. She is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award for best inspirational romance manuscript presented by Romance Writers of America. She has also been the recipient of the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award and the Maggie Award for Excellence. She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of thirty plus years, and has two grown daughters. She has lived in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Chicago and Florida but now makes her home in the Arizona desert. When she’s not writing, she spends her free time playing tennis or walking while she does the plotting for her novels.
You got me thinking I know I have read a book further in a series and in some cases I did buy book one but I don’t think i actually went back to read it. When it comes to a box set where it’s multi author and not connected then I may read out of order. Or if its a multi author series where authors advertise them as being able to be stand alone I may just take them at their word if its not an author I am a fan of. When others in the series say they are connected I will try to read them in order.
It got me thinking in Sunday school they would buy a series and give one to each student in the class. I know I got the first Narnia book and friends got 2 of the other books but not in order one did get 2 but not 3. I had to read mine first to hand it on so I could read their book next. I am fairly sure I am the one who ended up buying the whole series and we shared it.
I love that excerpt! What a great black moment. I really want to read the rest of the book now, and I found it on Kobo Plus.
Like Jenny says, I often read romance series out of order, starting with the story whose premise piques my interest most. If I love it, then I might go back to the first book in the series and read in order.
As an author, I’m on the other side of the spectrum from you: I plot in detail. But what’s interesting is that with every book, I have the same experience you describe: there will be something I throw in without thinking which will end up becoming very important later. So, I’m coming to believe that the creative spark, that intuition that surprises us without warning, happens whether or not we plot or pants our stories.
That book by James Scott Bell is a fantastic help for anyone who gets bogged down in the middle of a story. The one novel I plotted using his method was the easiest one I’ve ever written. I should probably go back to using his approach again!
It happened sometimes to discover after reading that the book was part of a series. And if I loved it, I wanted to read the whole series. The first series which happened this way for me, about 40 years ago, was Jalna by Mazo de la Roche. I don’t remember exactly the name of the book (and yes, they were designed for independent read too) but it was the third or fourth in a 10 or so book series. But there were many more…
There is also the problem that the publishing houses do not always acquire and translate the series in order. It had happened enough times to have the second, the fifth and so on… then fight to find them in original (if possible), be it in print or in pdf…
It’s always so interesting to hear about the different ways writers work.
When I used to mainly read actual books, I read lots of series out of order – I would often come across a book in the library or second hand book shop that looked interesting, then if I enjoyed it I would look for other books by that writer – about 15 years ago my job meant working in different locations around the city and I loved that I could pop in to different libraries and see which books I could find by my favourite writers.
Now I mainly read ebooks either from the library or ones I buy, so I tend to read books in order in a series just because it’s so much easier! It wouldn’t bother me to read them out of order, but now I think about it it’s not something I’ve done in a while.
If I have all books in series I’ll read them in order if not then I read them out of order.
Hi Jenny,
Yes, multi-author series are different that a series by one author. In all my series, each book is a stand alone. It can be read without reading the others, but it’s fun to follow characters from previous books through a series.
I’ll go back and read the others in the series, most of the time! If I know they aren’t really related, though, it doesn’t bother me so much, and if I don’t feel like I haven’t missed something. I really like reading series in order, though, even if I don’t binge read the series, which I rarely do, anyway.
Hi Milla,
Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed the excerpt and found the book on Kobo Plus. I will have to get that book by James Scott Bell and read it.
Hi Marina,
That is quite a long series, ten books. It is nice when the books in a series can be read without having read the others.
Hi Ruthie,
I read mostly ebooks these days also. It is so convenient to carry hundreds of books on one device, especially when traveling.
Hi Kendra,
Yes, if you have all the books, I also like to read them in order.
Hi Trudy,
I do like to read books in order, but like you, I rarely binge read a series.
I’m a big fan of reading books in order! There’s just something in me that doesn’t like to do things out of order. I also usually wait until all books in a series are released so I can binge read them, in order, so I don’t forget details between books. I read 150+ books per year so if I don’t read them close together I will forget exactly what happened in the previous books.
Hi TexasMomma,
That is a lot of books in a year. I’m impressed. You must do a lot of binge reading.
I try to read them in order. There have been times that I have become a member of an ARC team in which the book is part of a series. The book is a standalone. Most of the time, I if I liked the book, I would go back and order the missing books. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
I prefer when they are stand alone complete books within a series. Not a fan of where in the series each book is like a couple of chapters.
I can read from anywhere within the series and if I enjoy the story then I will go back and read the entire series, though I prefer if the series is complete because then I can read the whole series.
Interesting when I was studying I could never start an essay or assignment and I discovered that if I start in the middle it was much easier for me, I always thought that this was a tad weird, and why I avoided writing, so you sharing has helped me and maybe I will give writing a go. Thank you for the inspiration. :)
I normally read in order. Occasionally in a box set I may not but I prefer to read in order. Of course sometimes I will read a book not realising its part of a series. Also if it’s multi author and if they are not all connected or if some advertise the books as stand alone I often will take the author at their word and may leave that book. Especially if the books are too close together. I read one or two a month if that and I like different genres. to read a series that comes out every 2 weeks or monthly I will get behind so if told a couple books are stand alone I don’t feel like I will be missing something important. If there is a bit of a mystery thread in the series I will read them all