The first books I remember reading as a kid was a series of Felicia Cartwright books in my teens. Yes, I’m sure I read books before those, but they are the first ones I remember. My grandmother would buy these for me at Christmas and birthdays, and sometimes I would take a bus ride with her to the book store to pick out the next new one I wanted. Of course back then, you couldn’t just look them up on the web and read a blurb about what was avialable.

I read a lot of series books today, too. Authors like Gena Showalter and her Lords of the Underworld series, and Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series. There is comfort in reading a series because you know what to expect; you know the style of the writer and you know the characters.

In the case of The Daughter who isn’t a big fan of reading, when I find an author she likes, I buy every book that author has written. Hence how I had an excuse to buy and read The Hunger Games and Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamer series. (Having a teenage daughter is a bonus…because, of course, I’m buying those books for HER not for me. Right?)

But to write a series?….no way! I don’t know how they do it. Maybe it is because I’m restless by nature. I don’t just have one craft on the go right now, no…I’ve started a quilt, I’m one-fifth of the way through a cross-stiitch, I’m crocheting a scarf, and I’m about to begin to knit my first pair of socks. And when it comes to getting stuff done on the weekend, I’m doing this-that-and-theotherthing all at the same time, and cannot understand why The Hubby can’t multi-task. (Side note: some of us mom’s at volleyball last night were discussing how it is that most men can’t figure out that multi-tasking thing! but maybe that is fuel for another blog.)

That “restless by nature” is also why I find short e-books very appealing. (I did mention I’ve written a novella, right?) Sometimes if I can’t get a book read within a couple of days, I put it down and move on, sadly forgetting about the book and the characters. Series books are like taking a long vacation, while non-series books are like a day at the spa, and novellas are like a long bubble bath or going to get your nails done. Sometimes we don’t have the time or money for the longer stuff, and there is certainly nothing wrong with a “little” pampering. Even a little goes a long way.

Speaking of a little…I really need to go and get my nails done.