Thursday, May 16, 2019

The Making of a Book Series with Kimberly Rose Johnson


 Have you ever wondered what goes into creating a book series? 


The very first series I ever wrote took place in Leavenworth, Washington. My agent at that time had asked me to "write to market" which meant, I needed to set aside my desire to write romantic suspense and write a contemporary romance. Then it hit me, people love Christmas books and there is no better setting, to me at least, then Leavenworth, Washington.

I had first been introduced to Leavenworth by my then boyfriend now husband, one Christmas break back in 1989. He took me up there to go cross-country skiing. He has relatives there who set me up with skis. J I fell in love with the town.

It had been a long time since I’d been to the quaint Bavarian village called Leavenworth, so I knew I needed to go back. I checked the Amtrak schedule then talked my mom into going with me, and arranged to meet with my husband’s extended family. The train ride inspired another series, but that’s a story for another blog post. While in Leavenworth, I was able to sit down and interview my husband’s family about the town. They took us all over, and shared lots of stories. After my first day there, I knew my heroine would be a candy store owner and my hero would be a veterinarian.

A Christmas Promise now renamed A Christmas Surprise was born during that trip, but my agent wanted a series. So I came up with two or three more book ideas. My memory is sketchy about how the forth book in the series came to be. I believe it was contracted later, but I can’t remember.

One of the biggest compliments I get about this series is from locals who say they see Leavenworth when they read the books and that it really feels like their town. I love that! I believe it feels real to the residents because many of the scenes were inspired by real events that I personally experienced while there or real events I learned about from my husbands family.

Here’s the blurb for A Christmas Surprise.

Veterinarian Pete Harding doesn’t date single moms.
After showing up to a blind date to find he left before she arrived, Keira is reminded why she doesn’t date. She had true love once but a tragic accident ripped him from her and their son, who’s now four and only wants a puppy for Christmas this year.
Although off limits since she’s a single mom, Pete determines to help Keira find the perfect puppy for her son.
Keira wonders about Pete. He says he doesn’t date women with children, yet she can’t help but notice he behaves like a man who has more on his mind than finding a puppy.
Will love break down Pete’s walls and bring more than a puppy for Christmas?
I hope you enjoyed this peek into the making of a book series. Every series creation has been slightly different for me. I look forward to sharing each of them with you in the future.
I realize we are well past Christmas but since the first book in this series is a Christmas book I’m curious if there is a place that screams Christmas to you?
The Festhalle where the Christmas Ball takes place in The Christmas Surprise.


My husband and his great uncle walking along a trail by the river that inspired a scene in book 2.

The gazebo that appears in every book in the series.






16 comments:

  1. The place that screams Christmas to me is McAdenville, NC, or Christmas Town, USA. The entire town puts up Christmas lights displays, and it is beautiful!

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    1. It sounds pretty! I love Christmas lights.

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  2. Love Christmas town! Walking through was amazing

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    1. It sounds like I need to google Christmas town.

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  3. Helen Ga. Small Alpine Village that is beautiful at Christmas.

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    1. I was just going to say Helen, GA. :)

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    3. Helen, GA sounds a lot like Leavenworth, WA. :)

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  4. Neat story about how you came to write this story.

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  5. Santa Claus, IN! Although, I've never been there. It would be fun to go and we don't live that far away from it. Maybe someday!

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    1. What a FUN sounding town. I've never heard of it, but based on the name of the town, I imagine they know how to do Christmas. :)

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  6. Such a Beautiful cover and sounds like a great book!

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    1. Me too, Donna. Do you prefer ones that continue with the exact same H&H or do you like having a different H&H with each consecutive story? I used to dislike series because in order to know what happened to the original characters I had to read the entire series. I literally stopped reading them until they changed to what is typical of a series today--a new H&H for each book.

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