Lucinda Riley Discussing Her New Series

 THIS INFORMATION IS FROM THE PUBLISHER:

The Challenges of Writing a Seven Book Series

 

by Lucinda Riley

Surprisingly I don’t feel overwhelmed by the prospect of writing an internationally based seven book series. If anything, I see it as a gift – because unlike when I normally finish a book and feel bereft that I have to leave my characters behind and then wonder what to write about next, I am excited by the thought that I will develop the same characters further and know exactly where the story is going for a number of years.

I simply see ‘The Seven Sisters’ as one huge 4500 page book (1.2m words..) split into seven books, each a stand-alone story in its own right.

Writing a book set in all kinds of locations around the world certainly isn’t an issue. I travel extensively to promote the books and the places I see and the experiences I have whilst travelling then ignite my passion to write about them. For example, I went to Rio in Brazil to promote ‘Orchid House’ in 2011, and there I met the great granddaughter of Heitor da Silva Costa, the creator of the ‘Christ the Redeemer’ statue that overlooks Rio. She told me the story of how the hands and head were sculpted in 1920’s Paris, and the mystery of which woman was supposedly the model for his elegant, long-fingered hands. This was the inspiration behind the first book of ‘The Seven Sisters’ series.

I have always written about exotic and fascinating locations – places my readers, and I, want to escape to, and the second book in the series, ‘The Storm Sister’, contrasts strongly with the heat and vibrancy of Rio – it is based in the frozen but beautiful Norway and also in Greece. Later I will be off to the Lake District and great country gardens of England, Ayres Rock in Australia and The Far East.
The actual process of writing and editing a series does provide a few challenges, but generally they are challenges that exhilarate and excite me. I have to weave the overall plot through each book and keep tabs on each sister and when and where they are. This gives me sleepless nights – I must make sure that as I write each book, I  think back to previous stories and forward to future ones to ensure I don’t contradict myself or find the plot line I wish to take is blocked by circumstances I had not foreseen.

Each sister’s story has to start concurrently and with the same line ‘I will always remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard that my father had died’. This all remains ‘on file’ in my head; I rarely write things down.

The astrological and mythological links add other dimensions to the series, and the use of anagrams makes it even more enjoyable for me. Despite its challenges, ‘The Seven Sisters’ actually feels like quite a selfish project because adding these elements is what I have always wanted to do.
There is also a hidden plot line going right through the series like an invisible thread, and I have to ensure the clues are suitably subtle and consistent across all books. I won’t say too much more but it surrounds the mysterious father that adopts the sisters from all across the globe. I am thrilled to see extensive social media speculation already on ‘who is Pa Salt’.

So, although I am enjoying the whole project immensely, the series has worried some others – I have an 80yr old fan from Norway who wrote to me concerned that she might not live to read all seven books. Also my publishers ask me ‘what happens if you die half way through the series, Lucinda?’ I say I have told the plot to my husband – but in reality I suspect that he has forgotten it all already!

THE SEVEN SISTERS by Lucinda Riley
Atria Books | 480 pages | 978-1-4767-5990-6 | May 5, 2015 | $24.99

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lucinda Riley is the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Orchid House, The Girl on the Cliff, The Lavender Garden, and The Midnight Rose. She lives in London and the English countryside with her husband and four children. Visit her online at LucindaRiley.com.

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I have read EVERY book Lucinda Riley has written and have loved them all.  My favorite was The Lavender Garden.