Introduction – A Series is born.
When I started writing Brazilian Quest (Olivia Plymouth Book 1) in 2002, I never envisioned it would turn into Olivia Plymouth: International Traveler & Fashion Consultant and have five books plus a short story. It was never a straight line and a good deal of time elasped between authoring and publishing some books.

[Also see Organizing Olivia Plymouth for more details on some of the challenges creating the series.]

Some authors like to milk everything they can out of a series and keep writing after the original themes have been explored to death. But after some point, the freshness is lost and some scenes are recycled material.

Other artists had the vision to cover their character from their peak until their aging. That is a good progression if the character is interesting.

With Olivia, I covered from early career to the start of motherhood. (Although her time past that is mentioned in passing.) And that seemed just enough. (A last book covering her life from the perspective of friends and family is planned.) Before ending a series, you may want to ask yourself:

– Have I done everything I wanted to with the character and situation?
– Can I write a list of five things I still want to explore further with this series?
– Is the series still fresh and original?
– If I do another book, is the effort worth the resulting product?
– Do I need a break and revisit later?

Why Next Gen?
As far back as two months ago there was no Generation 2 books planned. So why did I decide to go forward with the project?
– The framework and premise are different. We see fashion in a very different way. Away from the established fashion world to one that’s edgier. There is also a look back at fashion’s historical past. A new framework allows for new possibilities.
– It allows for a rich mother-daughter dialogue and for the reader to see Olivia as a mother. And we what her child learned from the mother. As well as those things that she does differently.
– Olivia’s family and friends had children. And these offspring make up the daughter’s world. Olivia’s child owes her mother so much. From those lessons and contacts, she is able to grow up faster.

I will write more about “NextGen” when around the the 10,000 word amount. (Right now at 7000)