Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion

My debut urban fantasy romance is out in October and I have a few ARCs left. I've gotten some great suggested reads here so hopefully I can give a good read back :)

Respond here for a chance to win. And I have a question, if you'd like to answer: Do you like free reads from an author between books? If so, what kind? Stories from the world of the series, or something different? How long? Can you suggest a few you've particularly liked?

Thanks for checking out this post. I'll have random.org pull a winner next Friday at midnight.

Jessa Slade
http://jessaslade.com

Hi Jessa,
Good luck with the book. If an author is going to write stories between books then I usually like them to be in the same world and even sometimes about the same characters. Jim Butcher publishes Harry Dresden stories in a number of anthologies and I always look for those. I don't have a preference for story length - I wuld rather read a very short story that's good than a long story that isn't.

hey Jessa, it looks really good! Somehow I missed this one in my Amazon searches.

I don't usually like to read stories on my computer but if it is related to a series I already read then I am more likely to read it. I'm already invested in the characters.

I guess I didn't miss it. I just found it on my GR wishlist shelf, lol!

Congrats, Jessa, and good luck!

I love freebies and short stories in general. I especially like those that pick up a side character of an existing series and expand the universe. Off the top of my head, Karen Chance, Charlaine Harris, MaryJanice Davidson, and Sherrilyn Kenyon are great for writing short stories that add to their universes, but aren't required reading for understanding the series as a whole.

Chance has one of her stories, Day of the Dead, up on her site. It's about a character we lost touch with in the second book and lets us know what mischief he's been getting up to in the meantime.

Making the stories freebies as opposed to anthology-only feels like a reward for being a good lil fan. Accessibility is a wonderful thing.

Making the short an add-on rather than required reading means you don't alienate someone who's reading the series but hasn't read the short. I've been reading Murphy's The Walker Papers and was confused as hell at all these references she was making to a banshee...until I realized there was an under-advertised novella I'd missed! Frustrating.

That's my 2 cents. Best wishes for success!

I agree about making it an add-on instead of a plot point or something required to understand what is going on in the story in the next novel. I remember reading one of the sookie stackhouse books and feeling totally lost and frustrated about what was going on...then I did some searching and found out there was a short story in an anthology that happened between the two books that explained it.

Ah, the Hadley story in Bite. The one time Harris confused us!

Making the short an add-on rather than required
reading

This makes sense. (Making notes to self.) I too have missed anthology stories that bridge the time gap between books and I flailed to keep up. I liked that the Firefly comics that came between the TV show and the movie were standalones. They deepened character but weren't vital to understanding the world.

I just found it on my GR wishlist shelf Yay! :)

I have to admit, too, that I don't read a lot of fiction online, mainly because I have so many books that still need to be read, heh. But I do like the idea of add-on stories that expand the universe but aren't critical to the plot of the larger series.

Congrats Jessa :D

I love stories that add to the world. Harris, and Kenyon are really good at that :D

I love free reads between books, especially if they tell me more about the characters and world.

I took a roll on random.org which pulled message 7 Michelle M as my ARC winner.

Thanks for the feedback, everybody. I just finished the prequel teaser a couple nights ago and it's off to the editor on Monday.

Whoo hoo! That's awesome! Thank you, Jessa!

Congrats Michelle!

Dang, I was soooo close... :)

Jessa, got the book last week, but forgot to write. Thank you!! And for the sugar rush. Oh, and the man on the cover/bookmarks is pretty darn hot.

Looking forward to reading it!