Fantasy, such as Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy, seems to attract the writing of series.  Inevitably in a series, a story arc (which could take a number of books) closes and a new story arc begins.  It’s the choices that authors make at this critical time that will either keep readers loyal to their series, or will disappoint them.

Once an author builds their world with its detail and complexity of culture, mythos, politics, creatures, religions etc the author has a canvas upon which they can develop multiple plots and characters. If readers love the world building and the main characters then they will keep with a series. 

But what happens when a story arc in a series ends?  It could be that the main characters have finally fallen in love, or the main opponent has been vanquished, or a war ended.  When an author has a major theme in the series resolved, they need to find a new theme, or arc, that will continue the main elements but add a different twist that can last over the next number of books.  If an author changes elements too greatly they could damage the magic of the overarching story. If they don’t change enough elements then the backstory will get stale and predictable.  Two paths, and both can lead to readers getting bored or disillusioned and turning away.

I’ve been mulling this problem for the past couple of weeks, particularly as two of my favourite authors, Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews, have both started new arcs in their series, with River Marked and Magic Slays.

These two series are both urban fantasies.  

Mercy’s world is our modern world but one where the fae and shifters have come out to the public, while other species remain secret.  There is magic, but the most pervasive danger comes from the different powers of the various creatures. In contrast Ilona Andrews’s Kate Daniels operates in a post magic-apocalyptic Atlanta.  Magic has erupted and waves of it still pulse through the world, destroying technology and bringing the world of magic and magical creatures out into the open.  There’s a definite dystopian feel to her world, with a dark urban edginess that sets the tone perfectly for gritty and dangerous action.

The strongest parallel for both authors is that their two main characters have established their relationships solidly. In their series up to now, Mercy and Adam and Kate and Curran have battled through dangers and dramas, faced some delicious twists in their relationships and have had more than a few wonderfully hot and sexy interludes. At the end both pairs have emerged strongly in love, with Mercy and Adam engaged and Kate and Curran married.  In another strong parallel, both Mercy and Kate are now the mates of the Alphas of shifter packs and have made progress in finding their political position in the packs.

And, at this point, with the relationship question settled, both Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews started new arcs in their series.

In River Marked Patricia Briggs decided to take Mercy and Adam on their honeymoon, away from their usual family, friends, colleagues and enemies. Being a honeymoon a great deal of emphasis is placed on their personal relationship as well as a focus on Mercy’s origins, both her Indian roots and in finding out just who her father was. To spice things up she also adds in some deaths, drama a slew of new characters to round out the mystery.  However the main issue is that we have stepped away from the usual environment and characters and taken a more personal look at Mercy’s Walker origins.

With the new arc in the Kate Daniels series, Magic Slays, Ilona Andrews decided to keep the known environment front and centre, but changed Kate’s job so that she is now a private investigator and therefore faced with building her street cred as well as trying to take her place within the pack. The dangers she comes across are both cataclysmic and deeply personal.

But what is missing in both River Marked and in Magic Slays is sexual tension, and it is this lack that takes away a great deal of the suspense of the earlier books in both series. 

I’m left more aware than ever that while we might want Happily Ever Afters for the characters that we have come to love in our books, if a series is continuing then what we need is an almost-HEA that still make us just a little anxious about whether or not they’ll make it. Think about the success of JD Robb – the murders still need to be solved, but the soul of the books remains the problems and successes in the relationship between Eve and Roarke.  They aren’t HEA. They fight. They hurt each other. They face dangers alone and together. They love each other but their HEA is very much a work in progress.

So, when an author embarks on a new arc in a series they can change the environment, the villains, the emotional themes, but what they must preserve at all costs is the mystery of the primary relationship. The tension needs to remain between the main characters, because is this is weakened then the emotional connection with the reader is also weakened.  

To keep a series strong we need to be continually teased with possibilities, especially between the main characters.  Show me the HEA is coming, but don’t deliver it just yet.