Guest Blogger Biana D'Arc - Series Progression

Autumn is my favorite time of year and usually the season where I get the most writing done. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the colder weather that makes me want to snuggle up in a fleece jacket and sit at my computer by the window, watching the leaves fall while my imagination takes flight. Maybe it’s just that I stay inside more. I’m not really sure. But I do know that many of my books have been written in the Fall of the year and I feel especially creative now. 

This year, I’m tackling a somewhat odd project. Not just editing but re-editing works that have already been available for some time. It’s a little different and not quite as creative, but still satisfying to see things coming together. One by one, we’re going through the books that started my career back in 2006, my Dragon Knights series.

I love the world of these books and revisiting it is like going home to an old, familiar place. It’s funny how a book can transport you to another world, even when you wrote the book yourself! That’s something I didn’t expect and I’ve been enjoying the ride, looking at each of the previous six novels in turn and cleaning them up a bit here and there for re-issue. This is all in preparation for the new book in the series, Keeper of the Flame, which comes out in February 2013.

As it happens, the second book in the series comes out today. It’s called Border Lair and it’s one of the earliest books I wrote. Doing this re-edit and re-issue has made me see the progression of complexity in both my writing and the world about which I chose to write. As the books – and the years – went along, I think I got more involved with the world and hopefully learned more about the craft of writing. It’s a pretty cool evolution, though I’m not sure every reader appreciates it.

Not all writers can pop on the scene fully formed and brilliant in every way. Some do and we all know and love them. For most of us though, I think the writing life is a work in progress all the time. With each project we learn and grow both as people and as artists. I know it works that way for me, at least, and I’m really interested in the progression of a series from the early days and the germ of the idea, until the final book in the series, where the world is fully fleshed out and the characters are old friends in your mind.

Do any of you feel this way? Do you like series and worlds that grow gradually? I’m of the opinion that growing a world gradually also helps the reader not feel so overwhelmed by the “rules” of the world or long, boring blasts of expository information in the first book. But maybe that’s just me. And of course, this is more for books set in fantasy, science fiction or paranormal worlds that require more explanation than a contemporary setting. Just my luck, those are the genres I write in. J

I’ll be interested to hear your comments! And if you haven’t tried it yet, check out Border Lair, re-releasing today – or any of my other books. To make things interesting, if I get more than ten (10) comments on this blog, I’ll pick one random commenter and treat them to a free ebook copy of Border Lair!

You can read all about the book – and all my other books on my website at www.biancadarc.com. Many thanks to the Nine for having me here today! And since I mentioned it, here’s a bit more about today’s release…

Border Lair (Dragon Knights Book 2)

Hope returns to all dragonkind as enemies become allies…and lovers.

As a young widow, Adora raised her daughter by herself, never dreaming that love could cross her path again. But now that her girl is married to a pair of dragon knights, Adora’s eyes are opened to all the possibilities the Border Lair has to offer… including two handsome men who catch her eye.

Lord Darian is about to turn traitor, giving up his title, his lands, and his home in order to warn the dragons and knights of his treacherous king’s evil plan. But after he meets the beautiful widow, his sacrifice seems worth the cost. Meanwhile, Darian’s old friend Sir Jared, who lost his first wife and child to treachery, is shaken by his own intense attraction to Adora. But Jared’s broken heart is frozen in solid ice. Or is it?

As war looms on the horizon, the knights and dragons of the Border Lair rise to the occasion. New allies rally to their side, and romance blossoms and grows even as evil invades the land. The knights and dragons must stand fast against the onslaught, the beautiful woman of royal blood bringing them hope, healing and love.

Warning: This book contains a couple of meddling, matchmaking dragons who won’t stop until two sexy knights realize the lady of their dreams can love them both separately and together. Ménage a trois and a bit of exhibitionism compete with the dragons for smoking hotness.

Bianca D’Arc has run a laboratory, climbed the corporate ladder in the shark infested streets of Manhattan, studied and taught martial arts, and earned the right to put a whole bunch of letters after her name, but she’s always enjoyed writing more than any of her other pursuits. She grew up and still lives on Long Island, where she keeps busy with an extensive garden, several aquariums full of very demanding fish, and writing her favorite genres of paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi romance.