I think a lot of the series writers don't understand two concepts - the characters need to grow/change and when they grow and change the relationship to the beginning character should be seeable.

Anne Rice has this problem, too. In fact, I think Anita Blake's characters are recognizable as the same characters who started out in book 1, but I sure don't feel that way about Rice's characters.

I really liked the character in LKH' s series. - not identifiy, but she rang True. But It seemed to that she had to cross a line in evrybook. There don't seem to be anymore lines, so the books are boreing

I agree with you. And then when she started the Gentry books, she just made an elven Anita who didn't have the lines Anita had to find and cross, so she just fucked and got more and more powers.

If I ever finish this succubus book, please kill me if my character acquires a new power every other chapter. I mean, what's the point? If there's no weakness, then there's no conflict, right? And that's where the Anita books have gone wrong: there's no moral quandry anymore about killing or sex, or her love triangle. And there's no actual PLOT anymore -- when's the last time she had an actual CASE?

I always thought that a series that becomes boring often suffers from an author who started out crafting the first novel with great love and enthusiasm and ended up making a lot of money. Then author becomes distracted by the pleasures of wealth and devolves into ho-hum, crank out another one on schedule, I'm so important, pass me a scone.

edited, in an attempt at grammaticalness

And there's no actual PLOT anymore -- when's the last time she had an actual CASE?

You mean, waste time working when there's boinking to be done?

Yo. With a PRETURNATURALly well-hung hottie.

The porn lost me on the cervix-bumping explication in NiC. Ew. So not sexy.

Then author becomes distracted by the pleasures of wealth and devolves into ho-hum, crank out another one on schedule, I'm so important, pass me a scone.

I would distribute the responsibility for devolving series among publisher, author, author's credit card company, and fans. What do you do when you have a contract and no ideas for the series? I imagine LKH is just as frustrated as we are.

I imagine LKH is just as frustrated as we are.

Well, at least she can drown her sorrows in a paycheck.

Yo. With a PRETURNATURALly well-hung hottie.

Mmmm, effulgent.

What do you do when you have a contract and no ideas for the series?

Part of the reponsibility is purely on the author. If she knows damned well she's out of steam, she'd best say so. If the series has made her rich and famous, her publisher will usually be thrilled when they get the call from her agent to tell them "Ms. Blingle has an idea for a Brand! New! Series!"

Part of it is on the publisher, and they're usually pretty good at it, because, well, declining sales means the series is running out of gas.

And part of it is certainly the fan base. Because no matter how much private kvetching the fans do about a series? So long as they keep buying it, so will the publisher.

Sigh. I am enabling LKH. And I can't stop.