I've got a Romantic Suspense series going. Book 1, which is published, ends with the protagonist couple getting engaged. My WIP, its sequel, gets them married, but throws them into another crisis/suspense plot, such that their relationship, etc., is endangered. I've projected two more novels after that, based on the same principle. That'll be four books, all RS. However, I'd like to do an origin story on my female protagonist, before she meets the MMC. I have most of the material for it, it just needs to be knocked into shape. Trouble is, while there will be romances in it, they all end badly and aren't the main point. I could throw a suspense subplot in, but the stakes would be low-level and again, not the main point. The genre I'm looking at, really, is Women's Fiction, New Adult, or, most likely, Coming of Age. How do I brand it so my RS readers won't throw it across the room? In the same way, I've come up with a cool idea for an new Suspense story in the same universe. It will overlap in time with my WIP, but feature a secondary character as the protagonist. But I can't see forcing a romantic subplot without being cheesy. Can I make it Book 3 in my main series, even though it's Suspense/Thriller only? Or should I put these secondary character stories in a second, related series, branded so readers don't expect Romantic Suspense? I'm concerned that having started my universe with one genre, I'm doomed to continue with it and it only, now and forever, amen. Which drives me crazy. Can anyone tell me about other, successful, authors who have done more than one genre in a single universe and made it work?
Alien was a horror movie. Aliens was all-out war on the Xenomorphs. Alien 3 was—um, a prison drama? Something like that anyway. And Alien Resurrection was a strange comical romp that almost defies categorization. But of course, this was built in from the 2nd movie on. I think it would be a lot more difficult if you've already done 4 books in a particular genre. The readers now see it as locked in to that genre. The same is true about the Hunger Games books, each is a different genre or at least sub-genre I think. Though I couldn't tell you what those are (except that they're all Dystopian). I just read that they're all different and appeal to different readers. Maybe the one saving grace is that it's the prequel. I think if changing genres is allowed anywhere in this kind of situation, it would be in a prequel or a continuation after the main series seems to be finished, like several years or a decade later. But I probably shouldn't even say anything, I know next to nothing about this aspect of writing/publishing.
Hmm. Going by this, maybe if I'm going to genre-bend I'd better do it now, with only two books in the series written, and only one published. I'll think about it.
I would create a sub branding for your side stories. Maybe even literally <Main title>: A <world name> side story (like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Rather than the word "story", you could substitute something that describes the genre so readers know what to expect, like "mystery", "thriller" or "adventure".
In Juliet Marillier's sevenwater books... The genre jumps around too. The first book was almost like a fairytale (brothers cursed by a witch, the sister left to break the spell). The second book was a forbidden Romance (the daughter of the MC from the last book, falls in love with a mercenary), the third book was heavy on irish folklore (the fairy prince stole the Lords child and left a foundling in its place, and the daughter must go into the fairy realm to negotiate with the fairy prince to get her brother back).... So on and so forth. Heck, my current WIP is skewed more fantasy. The sequel will be more science fiction/space opera-ish. I dont have a problem with reading genre jumps or writing genre jumps
China Miéville's Bas Lag trilogy are three distinctly different novels in their tone and delivery. Perdido Street Station is a steampunk horror/romance. The Scar is a dark high seas adventure. Iron Council is a political western.
I was thinking something like that . . . It will take a bit of work with the phrasing, though. My series name is "The Architects," and that article kind of screws things up. The Draftsman's Revenge: A The Architects Suspense Novella doesn't exactly make it. But theoretically I'm an intelligent person, and will think of something.
See that might get me to read the other two. I have an "insane Stan-boy love\hate relationship" with the works of Mr. Mieville. The ones that don't do it for me really don't do it for me.
