One or Both?

Having recently released the Blessing or Curse Collection, I find myself in between books. I'm promoting my current release, yet know I have Always Young to finish and complete the Always Young Trilogy, which began with Forever Young: Blessing or Curse.
Though I strayed somewhat from the thriller genre for the second of the series and made Blessing or Curse more a relationship/romance collection, the third will definitely be a one story thriller.

In the meantime, I'm tempted to start A Perfect Angel, which would be the sequel to my romantic comedy, Her Handyman, since one of the secondary characters is begging for attention. I don't blame her, since she did get a rotten deal, which needs to be rectified.

Should I work on both books now, or one at a time?

Maybe I'll try the thriller when I feel in a dark mood, and the romantic comedy when I want something light.

What about you? Have you ever worked on two books at once? Is it a good or bad idea?

Morgan Mandel
Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/morganmandel
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/morgan.mandel
Twitter: @MorganMandel
Morgan's Book Links Blog: http://morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com

Why Should I Care?

The other day I saw a kid on a skateboard dart in front of a car near our local food store. Though I didn't know him or the driver, I got mad, thinking he should have known better than to jeopardize his life. Also, what about the driver? Imagine what hell the driver would go through if he'd hit the kid.

I often seen people on bikes with child carriers attached to the back, and I wonder why those parents think so much of their own exercise at the expense of what could happen to the child. Again, I don't know these individuals, but they still aggravate me. I can't figure out why children must be buckled up in special car carriers, yet can be so out in the open in the flimsy ones in back of bikes. It doesn't make sense.

Those are actual examples, and there are so many more, where my emotions are affected by people I don't even know.

Why am I mentioning this?

It leads me to one responsibility of authors. Yes, books should be technically correct in grammar and formatting, correct wording, sparse adjectives and adverbs, and all those other items that spell a quality read. However, a book can look correct, but still not engage the reader.

It's the author's duty to make the reader care what happens to the characters, or the reader will feel cheated and bored. Not only must we get into the characters' heads and think the same, but it's also important to share what we feel with the readers.

There are many ways to do this. Some are:

Dialogue, internal or external - What's said or omitted
Mannerisms - Biting a lip, tightening jaws, frown, smile
Another character's observations about the appearance or mannerisms of one of the characters.

These are some techniques. You may know others. If so, please share.

The main thing is to engage the readers. Make them care!

Morgan Mandel

Morgan Mandel is a past president of Chicago-North RWA,
was Library Liaison for Midwest MWA, belongs to Sisters in Crime and EPIC.

Her most recent releases are: Her Handyman, a romantic comedy,
and the thriller, Forever Young: Blessing or Curse.

See all her books at
http://amazon.com/author/morganmandel
Excerpts & Buy Links:
http://morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com
Twitter: @MorganMandel