Writers Wrap Up - The Changing Tide of Series Lines

There's this thing about me and Saturdays. I work a morning shift at the outside job, and then I usually take care of errands so I don't have to do them later in the weekend. By the time I'm home and have done a few chores around the house, all I want is to sit on the sofa and rest. So -- today I let myself, picked up my PDA, and read my way through a Harlequin Intrigue.

This got me thinking about the way lines within the Harlequin framework can change. I think the Intrigue line has changed somewhat in the past couple of years. The heroes are different, not as hard-azzed and silently stoic about their emotions, I think, so there's a different feel to the stories. A bit of a softer touch. At least that's what I've found with the stories I've read in this line over the past year or so.

It can happen with any series line, can't it? And sometimes we like the changes, sometimes we don't. Have you noticed changes in any of your favourite lines? Maybe missed a line that closed down altogether, or loved the changes or developments you've seen in a current line? If you're a writer, have you thought about how you might roll with changes if you started working in a line and the tone changed? I think about this -- a lot -- and hope I'd be able to continue to meet the current demands of the readership.

I confess I kind of miss those silent, bullet-dodging guys in the Harlequin Intrigue line, but leave it to an author like BJ Daniels to keep me intrigued (no pun intended) with a whole new breed of Harlequin Intrigue story.

I'll leave you with my review of BJ's book, 'Classified Christmas'. And who knows? I may be back tomorrow with another book review - or to tell you I've been writing all day until my eyes crossed. I do owe myself a really solid writing day....

Classifed Christmas by BJ Daniels

I've been a fan of BJ Daniels' stories for ages. I greatly admire the way BJ manages to litter her books with twists and turns and red herrings so that even if you're all but certain you've worked out 'whodunnit', you can't be totally sure and there's usually a twist at the end that you couldn't have anticipated.

Classified Christmas had a huge cast of secondary characters, all with possible ties to the mystery elements and the odd murder or three. There was a secondary family that I didn't like one bit, and I'm guessing they'll have a role to play in upcoming story or stories in the series. I enjoyed reading about Montana and ice fishing - to me coming from where I am in Australia and having only seen snow a couple of times in my life, the setting was very exotic. It made me long for winter.

Jennie