Cats, Roses...and Books!: Ten Reasons Why Readers Like a Series by Karen Rose Smith

I've been writing books with continuing characters in small towns for years now because my readers seem to like them best. Here are the reasons why.

1. The characters become friends from book to book. Readers become attached to them and look forward to what happens to them in each book.

2. More is revealed about friends and relatives of the main character in each book.

3. The life arc of the main character expands and changes in each novel, keeping her or him interesting.

4. Settings and businesses in the town become familiar, like the feeling of going home.

5. Reader have the chance to see different seasons of the same setting.

6. The continuity of a series provides satisfaction and fulfillment.

7. Knowing there will be another good book by a favorite author without searching high and low for the next one.

8. Back story continues through all the books affecting what happens next.

9. Secondary characters have a chance at their own story.

10. A series allows the characters to live on in readers' minds much longer.