Thursday, October 23, 2014

Talking 'Seriesly' with Ginn Hale


My dear friend Ginn Hale’s much anticipated Champion of the Scarlet Wolf is out this month, so I thought it would be wonderful to have Ginn on the blog again. But she suggested we do a joint event, so we settled on discussing the challenges and pleasures of writing a series. The questions below are courtesy of my Goodreads group -- thank youse guys!

 

And another sincere thank you to Ginn.   If you’re not familiar with her work, well, shame on you! I can’t think of a better author of gay or m/m fantasy writing today and I can’t recommend her wonderful work enough. The Rifter is probably my all time favorite fantasy series.

 

So here we go…

 

Do you know in the beginning how many books the series will include? Or -- another way of asking this -- Do you plan a through line story and plan to stop when you reach the "end" of that plot for every series?

 

GH: I didn’t start out thinking that I was going to write a series. But part of my creative process involves making up the life histories of primary and secondary characters, as well as their world history.  So, I tend to create multiple storylines that reach far beyond the single book I’m writing.

 

That’s just how I work and I never thought much about it.

 

Then a few years back, I was chatting with my editor about the characters from Lord of the White Hell and I mentioned the lives that I’d made up for several of the secondary characters. Suddenly it occurred to my editor and me that I was describing a series.

 

JL: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I knew about midway through the first Adrien English novel
that it was going to be a series, not a standalone as originally envisioned. I didn’t know how long the series would be until I was writing A Dangerous Thing. Then I suddenly saw how everything was going to play out and that it would take three more books. The Dangerous Ground books were written with a series in mind, but more like TV episodes than with any great overarching storyline. So those could run forever or end any time. And then there’s Fair Game which was intended to be a standalone. In fact, I resisted the idea of a follow up for years. Then I suddenly wondered why, when it was such a natural for a sequel -- and now I know it’s the first in a trilogy.

 

 

Do you work with a time bar, or something like that?

 

GH:  Time bar?

 

I have no idea what that is but I’m imagining a dark speakeasy where you slink in through a dank underground corridor and the shadowy figure behind the bar serves you a smoking elixir brimming with contraband minutes and hours--for a terrible price!

I wish I worked with a time bar!

Sadly, I just have to be content with a lot of notes and outlines taped around my desk.

 

JL: LOL. Set ‘em up, innkeep!  Er, no. I probably SHOULD use a time bar, but no. I rely on notes. And not always thorough notes. In fact, there were definitely some timeline goofs in the original Dangerous Ground books.

 

Have you detailed notes for the characters? What they like or don't like, their looks, education, parents...?

 

GH: Yes. It’s all part of the way I build the world where I’m setting the story. Though looking back at some of my notes I’m often amused by what I thought was important enough to write down and what I ignored.  A surprising number of characters have only vague physical descriptions: “Tallish, dark haired, mediocre swordsman, good rider.” I’m not sure why I didn’t bother to note his eye color, manner of dress or even if he was handsome or hideous. However I did feel it was important to record that Atreau ‘loves and wears rose perfume as he unconsciously associates it with the mother whom he lost as a very young boy’.

 

JL: I’m pretty good about detailing the two primary characters. Here’s the cryptic entry on Kit Holmes, lifted straight out of my series file:

 

Christopher Andrew (Kit) Holmes - forty and feeling his age, medium height, reclusive, nervous and bad-tempered writer. Bad back, reading glasses, migraines, not strong -- doesn’t exercise and prone to gain weight (eats too much when stressed). Drinks too much when stressed -- and it hits him hard and hurts like hell. Red wine gives him a headache.  What remained was a forty-year-old man, average height, average weight, brown eyes, dishwater blond. Anti social - Irascible and sometimes outrageous sense of humor. Can bitch and complain and nag too -- just because he’s hypochondriac doesn’t mean he isn’t a little fragile. Dramatizes his woes a little. Can be tender, moved (blows nose rather than cry) and protective of J.X. Very well read - very well educated, stubborn and strong minded, smart ass -- gin and tonic drink of choice -- jeans, T-shirts, sweat pants. Sleep mask. Breakfast. BMW. No cell phone till BOY.

 

I’m not very good about detailing the supporting cast. And that sometimes presents a problem when I forget something crucial like...oh yeah, Rachel has a prison record!

 

Does it happen sometimes that characters go their own way? Can you be surprised how a character changes over the course of the books?

 

GH: I try not to be surprised by my own characters and keep them on course with the cruel shackles of my outline. J

 

JL: I usually don’t start writing until I know the characters pretty well. Plus, I think there are fewer surprises when you outline.

 

I know you do research for your stories. How you work with that? Only memory, or you are making notes, or both? How you organize your research?

 

GH: Oh, research, how I love thee!

 

I personally take copious notes and make ugly drawings and diagrams, all of which a tape into a notebook or around my writing desk. Just the sight of my resulting research piñata generally serves to keep the information floating around in my head while I’m working… even when cats have carried off the actual notes and mauled them.

 

JL: I love research because a lot of the plot points come from the research itself. Plus research is
a good excuse for buying movies and music and books and magazines, so that’s one of the perks of the job.  I am a voracious researcher. I use travel sites to chart drives or plane flights so I’ll know exactly where my character could get a flight on a Sunday night and where he would get his connections and where he would have to land on that particular date -- or if he’s driving, what the traffic is usually like at that hour on that particular day, where the likely hotels are, where the rest stops are, etc. All that stuff goes into one giant, running file. It would mean the death of a small forest if I printed it out, but I don’t. Everything stays on my laptop, including my notes on music and movies and etc. I am almost incapable of discarding research materials and I use an online backup system.

 

How do you interconnect series? I was just rereading the I Spy books, and I know that both guys end up going out to dinner with the guys from Winter. And like we have Adrien and Jake showing up in the Holmes series. Do you plan heavily for that, if you haven't completed a work with characters that will cross over? Or do these things happen more organically? Does this question even make sense?

 

GH: I’ve wondered about that as well. I’ve really enjoyed seeing Josh’s characters cross over and I’ve admired how he has balanced his “guest stars” so that they never play so large of a role as to outshine the major protagonists but do still serve an important purpose for the books.

 

In fact, I looked to Josh’s example when I needed to bring back the major protagonists from Lord of the White Hell as secondary characters in Champion of the Scarlet Wolf.

 

JL: The Boy with the Painful Tattoo is the first time I ever really planned to have two series intersect. The other times it just sort of naturally happened. In Haunted Heart: Winter, Flynn was from Virginia and I was thinking about the type of man, the type of doctor who would be both caring and shrewd enough to come up with “the agreement,” and I suddenly realized I already had a kind, perceptive doctor living and practicing in Virginia. That was a happy coincidence.

 

With BWTPT, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to cross sect with the AE series, but that I had to be careful. I didn’t want Adrien and Jake to either interrupt or take over the story, and I didn’t want it to be disappointing to readers that they only appear briefly. I think it helped that it wasn’t a stretch to get them into the story and I had a specific goal for their appearance -- show readers they were happy and moving forward with their relationship.

 

What is much harder is using one series as a vehicle to introduce a new series. I used to hate it when my favorite TV shows did that. Neon lights flashing SPIN-OFF ALERT!!! I think it breeds almost instant resentment and opposition to the new characters, though I’m not sure why.  But the way Ginn launched Champion of the Scarlet Wolf was perfect. We grew to care about Elezar through the series -- he was an integral part of the first books -- and we want to see what happens to him. We already care, we’re already invested, so it feels satisfying to follow his story.

 

Do you prefer series or standalone? Is one easier than the other or are the challenges just different?

 

GH: I feel comfortable writing a standalone but penning a series is still very new to me. I find it exciting but also extremely daunting.  Happily, seeing how beautifully Josh builds stories and characters over the course of a series has inspired me!

 

JL: I really do love standalone and I’d like to write more standalone novels, but both standalone and series present their own challenges and rewards. What I most love about standalone is the stakes are high, there are no guarantees, and you can throw in everything, up to and including the kitchen sink. And with series you have room and leisure to really explore and develop the characters and their relationships in a way that simply isn’t possible in a single novel.

 

Do you have any desire to just write the more traditional type of mystery or fantasy series (same characters, relatively static development that is less about reaching a point but just acknowledging the passage of time, plot heavier on the mystery than the people)?

 

GH: For me the character development is the whole point of a series. If the characters are static then no matter how many adventures they have or what they go through it won’t really matter because the author won’t allow anything to alter them. The beauty of a series is that it allows an author to explore great and more subtle way in which people change and grow throughout their lives.

 

JL: I agree with everything Ginn said there. That’s it in a nutshell. J     

 

 

Have you ever tried to after the fact to turn a standalone into a series?

 

GH: Yes this is the second attempt for me. The first time I considered writing a sequel was with Wicked Gentlemen. I had an outline and all the background history but in that case I’ve found that I had a really hard time putting the protagonists through more challenges and hardship than they’ve already endured just getting to the end of their first book. It was such a struggle for Harper and Belimai to reach a safe, good place that I haven’t been able to bring myself to take all of that away from them.

 

The Hellions from Lord of the White Hell however haven’t settled down and are young and strong enough that they can face the hardships of great adventures. For me they’re just a better fit for a series… even one I never meant to write.

 

JL: Fair Play. When I wrote Fair Game, I wrote it expressly to be a standalone.  In fact, I resisted the idea of revisiting the characters because it had been so clear in my mind FG was to be standalone. But then there were so many obvious and enticing threads to follow. It wasn’t essential to follow them. Fair Game was complete. But I was curious about what happened once Roland published his memoirs, and what would happen once Elliot and Tucker actually moved in together…

 

* * * *

 

Ginn and I will be popping in and out all day, so if you have other questions about series writing in general or particular questions about either of our series, feel free to ask below!   

73 comments:

  1. I'm really happy that Josh did decide to revisit Elliot and Tucker. After reading their holiday coda I couldn't help but wonder how all the different details of their lives would fall into place.

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  2. No questions right now, but thanks for this! Really interesting stuff, and now I'm going to have to look up some of Ginn's books! (Thanks for that, too - always looking for good new books to read!)

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    1. Thanks for dropping by!
      If you want to be safe, I'd say that you can't go wrong by picking up a copy of the Irregulars anthology.
      I contributed, but the book also contains a great story from Josh!
      (Not to mention stories penned by Nicole Kimberling and Astrid Amara.)

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    2. I second the recommendation for all the Blind Eye Books authors. I'm an unabashed fan of Nikki and Astrid as well.

      I think Wicked Gentlemen is a great starting place for Ginn's work. My absolute favorite is the Rifter series. It reintroduced me to my love of fiction, so I'm especially fond of it.

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  3. This is so very very wonderful and interesting! Thank you Josh and Ginn! :-)

    On the one hand, thank you dear Ginn for not putting the lovely Harper and Belimai through more hell, on the other hand, i love them so much, that any further glimpses into their lives would definitely be so very welcome.
    Champion was fantastic (and is it December yet?...) - i have a new favorite character! (Skellan, of course) and i've come to appreciate Elezar, i really like him nowadays; i'm glad he has his own book :-)

    And I read the word 'trilogy' and squeaked! Yay! Tucker and Elliot are such awesome characters, so very real, i love the relationship dynamics, loved the first mystery and Fair Play is just around the corner! :-) *happy-reader-dance*

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    1. I'm hoping that one day I'll get over feeling so protective of Harper and Belimai. (I did have fun writing about their holiday.) But I'm really happy that in the meantime you've taken to Skellan!

      As for Tucker and Elliot having a trilogy? I am right there with you, happy dancing and fist pumping while my cat just looks embarrassed to know me. :D

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    2. A sequel to Wicked Gentlemen is tricky because, as much as I would adore to read more of those characters, it does end at the perfect moment. And they've fought so hard for that perfect ending. So I'm torn as a reader.

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    3. That said, the threads of another story are there.

      Just sayin'. ;-D

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    4. I know, that's what keeps me awake at night!

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  4. I just discovered "Lord of the White Hell" two weeks ago when I had to get the Fanyons to help me get them loaded into my kindle. Thanks for that! I owe you all! I loved them. I look forward to reading your other books, Ginn.
    And as always, thanks to you Josh.

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    1. I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed the books!

      And I'm deeply grateful to all the fanyons out there, not just because they've been so nice to me but because of all the support they've given my personal favorite author--Josh.
      (You guys create an really wonderful community!)

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    2. I am happy to share my love of Ginn with the world. :-)

      I've never read anything by Ginn that I didn't thoroughly enjoy.

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    1. Thank you! It's always fun to chart with Josh
      ... though now I want to peek into his computer and read all those amazing notes of his...
      He's not here right now...heh heh...
      Damn it!
      The password isn't Joshrocks1. Drat.

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    2. Boy, that was really close on the password, Ginn! Now I'm going to have to change it!

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  6. Loved the interview. Love the authors. When I first started reading m/m books, Lord of the White Hell was one that was highly recommended to me. I kept putting it off. (blame Adrien and Jake for monopolizing my time. ;) ) I finally gave it a try and wondered what took me so long. I'm looking forward to the new releases from both of you.

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    1. Thank you Karan!
      I'd never blame anyone for putting off one of my books to read about Adrien and Jake--I've missed writing deadlines because I was reading about them!
      (Don't tell my editor!)

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    2. The thing about Ginn is how she keeps coming up with these amazing worlds and all that goes into them. All those details -- and it's all so completely believable and natural.

      And then her characters which I fall in love with over and over.

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    3. You're going to make my head swell up so big that my hat blows apart!

      (If anyone writes amazing characters it's you! Sometimes they feel so real that I catch myself thinking things like, "Oh now there's a book Kit would hate--wonder if he's read it..." and then I remember that he's fictional! Damn it!)

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    4. Ha! Well, I do the same thing, and I think maybe it's scarier from me since surely I know these characters are made up? :-D

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  7. TRILOGY!!! I felt that thrill right down to my toes. As always, it is fascinating to read about your writing techniques. Thank you both for an interesting interview. I've already pre-ordered Fair Play. I finished the Lord of the White Hell books last week, so I am ready for Champion of the Scarlet Wolf.

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    1. Aww. I'm glad. :-)

      Thank you for ordering and preorder the books!

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    2. I too have Fair Play on pre-order and plans to take the entire day off and just enjoy the read.

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  8. Great interview, thank you to both. So many interesting tidbits about your books and the way you work!

    I did a happy dance when I heard of the ''All Is Fair'' trilogy.

    But I went ''aargh!'' when I saw you have abandoned Belimai and Harper, dear Ginn! I hope you'll reconsider.

    I'm looking forward to whatever you two will create in the future because I know in advance that it will be carefully crafted, gripping and intense. Thank you for writing!

    Ciao

    Antonella

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed the interview! I loved getting insight into how Ginn works, and it's funny to me that I feel validated when I see that she does some of the same things I do. :-D

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    2. Right back at you, Lanyon!

      Fear not Antonella, Harper and Belimai aren't abandoned. I just have to find a way that works for me to tell more of their story. The holiday codas were inspiring so I'm thinking along those lines now.

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    3. Oh I loved those holiday codas!

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  9. Great article, Josh and Ginn. Thank you both. Lord of the White Hell was what first brought me to Strange Fortune, so in my head there's always been somewhat of a fuzzy link between you two. It's fun to see two of my most favourite authors joining forces. :)

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    1. Thank you Alison!

      I'm delighted that you found Strange Fortune through me! I personally adore Josh's fantasy writing. I'm particularly fond of listening to the audio books. It's wonderful to hear the character come to life all around you.
      (Or whispering through your earbuds, depending upon your mood!)

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    2. I think audio works especially well for fantasy.

      And I credit Ginn and the whole Blind Eye Book gang for getting me to give fantasy a serious try. I'd probably never have had the nerve to attempt a fantasy novel without their encouragement. Plus after reading Wicked Gentlemen I remembered how much I loved fantasy.

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  10. Thank you for the charming dual interview! (I had no idea that you were both such dedicated researchers!)

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    1. See! I know. It's those little tiny details that no one notices -- or cares about. :-D

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    2. I care!
      One of my favorite moments came when I was visiting a friend in Vancouver and realized that I was in the hotel where you set a scene from Green Glass Beads. You got it just right!

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    3. Thank you! And the ghost I used is really supposed to be there too. ;-) It's the official hotel ghost.

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  11. Great interview! I love a good series. I am beginning to really appreciate closed series, that actually have a resolution after a certain number of books.

    Not that the open ended ones aren't fabulous as well, but sometimes one needs closure.

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    1. Honestly, ending a little too soon is preferable to overstaying your welcome, I think. It's not easy though. Not easy to pull the plug on a going concern.

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    2. When a series ends with a few threads lingering I, as a reader, can imagine how it all turned out, but if things go on to the point where every character has had an evil twin and come back to life multiple times AND they've had to fight their long lost mother, father, various siblings and estranged hamster...
      Well, I tend to just shake my head, walk away and try to forget. :D

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    3. I think you've captured something there. I always want to leave readers with a sense that life is continuing for the characters. And to do that, there have to be a few tiny questions left, like in real life.

      Obviously it can't be big things -- the major plot points have to be resolved. But if you're going to write some epilogue where readers then find out how the trial turned out and when the wedding was and where they're buried...well, that's book stuff. That's not real life stuff. The book/series has to end while things are still in motion.

      Otherwise it's sort of a fictional biography and I HATE that. As a reader I hate it and I just won't do it as an author.

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  12. Thank you for the interview. I'm looking forward to the both Nov and Dec.

    The Rifter is one of my favourites as well although I think Champion of the Scarlet Wolf is a better crafted story.

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    1. Well, maybe that's true -- Rifter is a serial and that's always going to be structurally loose. But it has such a wild, kinetic energy. And there's an emotional power there that closes my throat just remembering it.

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    2. I'm just thrilled that anybody liked either of them!

      (Whenever I write a really long story--like Rifter or Champion-- I tend to become so exhausted by the end that I loose all perspective and ability to judge.)

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    3. Let me judge for you. They are equally wonderful in their different ways. ;-)

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    4. You're too kind!
      And your encouragement really did give me back my confidence in the Rifter.

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    5. I'm one of the worst for blethering about "craft" and "technique." Storytelling began as an oral tradition. Before the drawings on the wall, there were the stories around the evening fire.

      A story is powerful when it makes us care. When it moves us. When it lingers in our memory -- and even influences our actions.

      Those are the kinds of stories you write.

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  13. Hi Ginn,
    Great to see you sharing Josh's blog space. Having read Wicked Gentlemen and the amazing Rifter series, I know you have one of the most imaginative minds around. I am so looking forward to reading your latest, Champion of the Scarlet Wolf. Thanks for taking time for this extremely interesting interview.

    Hi Josh,
    Thanks for having Ginn stop by. Love hearing about the way both of you get yourselves organized to do series work. Seems like a major undertaking. So happy this the something you actually look forward to doing. And speaking of looking forward, you know Nov. 10 cannot come soon enough. :)

    Thanks again for a fabulous interview from the two of you.

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    1. Hi Susan!
      I'm glad you enjoyed the interview. (I'm right there with you awaiting the release of Fair Play-- damn it, Time, move your ass!)

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  14. Speaking of audio books, Ginn, is there any hope we might see The Rifter or Wicked Gentlemen in audio? Especially The Rifter. Well, all you're books really. But that one, I keep wanting to reread all the time! I would love to be able to listen to it on my walk home from work or while I do my dishes. I just think that would be soo awesome!

    And thanks for answering all of our questions, both of you. Your answers were interesting and fascinating to read.

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    1. Thank you!
      I've enjoyed Josh's books so much myself, that I've been seriously considering dipping my toes into the world of audiobooks. I'd likely have to start with something shorter like Wicked Gentlemen.
      (Though I would love to give John, Kyle, Laurie and Ji voices.)

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    2. I would love to see Blind Eye Books putting their titles into audio. And the thing is, Audible is not the only game in town, so if doing books through Audible is no longer profitable, there are still other options out there. It would be so wonderful to have these titles to listen to.

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  15. Josh and Ginn, thank you! That was a fantastic interview. The dog is looking at me funny, wondering why I should be laughing so loud when it's otherwise perfectly quiet in here and no TV is on...

    And I just want to jump up and down and say YES! The Rifter series totally rocked my socks. I, uh, did nothing for a week save read, eat, and sleep (even then, I was dreaming about the story). Thank goodness it was a light semester. Brilliant series. :)

    Super enthused about Fair Play. Fair Game is the second of Josh's books I read, and still one of my very favorites. :D

    Thanks again!

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    1. I think Josh will agree with me when I say that it's reader responses like yours that make all the outlining, researching and long, long nights worth it!
      Thank you!

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    2. Thanks so much, Christine.

      I'm excited for readers to finally have Fair Play, but I won't deny there's a little anxiety because it was so long between books. :-) But I *think* readers are going to enjoy this one.

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  16. Thank you for this wonderful interview, both of you. So much love shared in these comments already, but I still wanted to hop in and say that Basawar is one of my favorite places in the world! ;-) And that I'm really looking forward to start reading Champion of the Scarlet Wolf.

    You're both authors whose voice I adore and whose worlds and characters I fall in love with. Thank you for letting us see a glimpse of how series takes form — it was intriguing and fun! And special thanks to Josh for the 'Kit notes' part. :-)



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    1. You're with me on wanting to hack into Josh's computer and read all his secret files on our favorite characters, right?
      :D

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    2. What is so astounding about Basawar is we get glimpses of this world as it was, as it is, as it could be...it's so fascinating. I don't know how the heck Ginn kept any of it straight.

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    3. YES!!!

      That's me agreeing with both of you! :-D

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  17. Thank you for this interesting Q&A about your work process. I enjoyed The Boy with the Painful Tattoo very much and I can't wait for Fair Play! It's great to know that there's a third and final book planned in that series. Fair Game holds a special place for me because although I'd read a couple of your novellas before then, it was the book that made me seek out everything else you'd written. I read the Adrien English series right after. And Fair Game is one of the books that I recommend to introduce your work to others (ironically because it was a standalone).

    Since we're speaking of series, if you're taking requests, haha, or or just curious about reader interest :), I would love a sequel to The Dark Farewell.

    I also want to read more about the characters in A Limited Engagement. It was wonderfully written. I loved the story so much. I'd like to see how they make their passionate, somewhat dysfunctional, relationship work, with maybe more flashbacks. I also didn't quite understand and am curious about the story behind why a playwright in this century would feel that his life and career would be ruined if people knew he was gay.

    I'd also enjoy a full Heart Trouble follow-up.

    And please more from the Dark Horse series!

    I'm also looking forward to the planned second book in the Doyle and Spain series.

    Please never do a sequel to Come Unto These Yellow Sands (not that I think you ever would or intend to, but I just want to put that out there, just in case). It's a lovely, perfect gem of a book just the way it is.

    I also appreciate the way Out of the Blue ended. The odds are obviously against them, statistically speaking. And it's not "okay" (because of the sadness and anger for the waste of life and human potential in war), but it's okay in the sense that I'm left with the feeling that they will always be together no matter how things turn out. If one is shot down, I think the other would soon join him, not in a reckless, suicidal way, but in a brave, heroic, nothing-to-lose approach to missions. It's a satisfying, delicately balanced ending that lets me imagine any possibility. I'm not even particularly desirous of a coda about them, though I might enjoy one, especially if throughout it's left up in the air where they are/what plane (no pun intended) they're on.

    I love the codas in general, by the way. It's so generous of you to do them.

    And I just noticed a new novel, Jefferson Blythe, Esquire, on the roster. Yay!

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    1. You hear that, Josh?
      Get to work!!
      :)

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    2. And while Josh is working on that, maybe you'll consider a sequel to Feral Machines...

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    3. No worries about a sequel to Yellow Sands. I agree, that one ends at what I consider the perfect point. :-)

      The others...well, we shall see what we shall see. :-)

      I do enjoy writing the codas. Those are a lot of fun. I'm glad you're enjoying them!

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    4. Feral Machines! Yes. That's one that sometimes gets overlooked, but yes!

      Hear that, Ginn? ;-P

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    5. Whoa! I didn't think anyone had read Feral Machines!
      I have been kicking around a novella set in the same world...
      Damn it, now I'm the one who has to get to work!

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    6. Woohoo! You don't want to know how many times I've read that sweet little book. I want Gunner and Pokes to come live at my house.

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    7. Just don't let them bring their drums!

      I really didn't think anyone read that story! You've made my day--Thank you!

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  18. Ginn, if you're thinking of doing holiday codas you should definitely do one for the Rifter series - I've read the series so often John and Kyle almost seem like real people to me. I'd love to catch up with them. :-)

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    1. Happy hum... Wednesday! :)
      I did write a little holiday coda for John and Kyle. It's on my website and completely free.
      (I hope you enjoy it!)

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  19. I love this interview. Many questions are answered ! And Josh thank you, that you recommended authors to your readership. Through this I have read The Rifters and now ( second book) Joseph Hansen. You are are really someone , who opens doors. Thank you both to give us inside to your work-method, it is fascinating.

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    1. I think you've landed the hammer right on the nail, Sabine. Josh is amazingly generous and supportive of other authors.. and not just in blogs but in his books as well. I love that I can be reading one of his mysteries and slipped in with the murder and romance is an awesome book recommendation, (in the character's voice, no less!).

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