HarlequinTEEN author Julie Kagawa has a message for you: second books in trilogies don’t have to be slow! Julie blogs at Harlequin’s Paranormal Romance Blog about how she avoided “Slow Second Book Syndrome” for her new YA faery novel The Iron Daughter, book 2 in her Iron Fey series…
by Julie Kagawa, author of THE IRON DAUGHTER (book 2 of The Iron Fey series, August 2010)
Second books in a trilogy have gotten a bad rap.
The first book opens with a bang, introducing the characters, the world, and the problems the hero/heroine will have to overcome to triumph in the end. The first book has to grab the readers and not let them go. The third book is the climax, where everything finally comes together, the last battle or final confrontation, where the characters go off into the sunset of their Happily Ever Afters, or however the series may end.
That leaves the second book, the book that has to bridge the gap between the two, the book that, if not handled well, can sag, droop, or drag in the middle. This isn’t to say all second books are droopy or slow (The Two Towers was just as thrilling as the other books in the trilogy, and lets not forget the most famous second movie of all time: “Luke, I am your father.”), but it’s happened often enough that a phrase called: “Slow Second Book Syndrome” has popped up on several review sites.
So, when I started The Iron Daughter, book duos of the Iron Fey trilogy, my first thought was how I could avoid the dreaded “slow second book” syndrome and write a sequel that could stand up to The Iron King. Just as in the first book, Meghan and company have a clear goal and a villain to defeat before the end, but this time around, the stakes are higher, and the hints of romance in The Iron King have twisted into heartbreak. Meghan struggles with her feelings, with rejection and a broken heart, and the love triangle between her, Ash, and Puck intensifies. All the while, she must figure out a way to defeat the newest evil in her life, deal with the appearance of someone from her past, and stop a war between two powerful faery courts. And this time, the choices she makes will not only affect her, but everyone around her as well.
Heartbreak, impossible choices, and a talking cat. Book two of the Iron Fey, The Iron Daughter, releases this August, and will (hopefully) put the Slow Second Book syndrome to rest.
Julie Kagawa
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While that does seem to be the case in some series, it definitely is not with The Iron Daughter. If anything, The Iron Daughter is much more exciting and addicting than The Iron King!
Hi Julie: *****
I’m not sure it is a good idea to announce that a book is part of a series to begin with. Better to leave the reader ‘hungry’ for a sequel. *****
What I object to is a trilogy that really should have been one book. I think that is cheating. Three stand alone interrelated books as a trilogy are fine. *****
I don’t think the ‘slow second book syndrome’ is any different than the so-called ‘sagging middle’ of one novel from a creative POV. What I always try to do is introduce a genuine surprise in the middle (or second book) which was not originally planned. This should delight the reader. It should have a ‘Wow’ factor to it. And it should still be woven seamlessly into the story narrative. *****
Is this difficult to do? Yes, but if it was easy, anyone could be a writer! : )
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