Companion
Novels
It sounds so sweet,
companion novel. But what is it? A companion novel is a book that is only
complete when it is paired with another book. They are never meant to be read
by themselves.
Another unique
attribute of companion novels is the size. The official term is “novel.”
However, their word count is usually between 14,000 and 25,000 words. This is
typically called a novella. I suppose if we can call Pluto a planet, we can
call these companion “novels.”
Their numbering in
the series easily identifies them. Most are labeled with a .5 or ½. (i.e. 2.5
or Three and a half) I’ve heard other authors publish them to keep readers
focused between major books in a series.
I’ve decided to release a companion novel of my own, although not for
the typical reasons.
Prophecy of the
Flame: Two ½ - Love’s Reward was created because Book Three in the series was
becoming too long. I had several
chapters that were flashbacks. After attending a writing convention and hearing
about this new trend I began working on Book Two ½.
It has been 2
years since I released Book Two in the series – that is a long stretch. I hope
my fans are still out there. I promise to be more timely with my books in the
future: I got distracted with the screenplay for Book One. Now the screenplay
is complete and Book Three will finally be released this winter.
Love’s Reward
is a typical companion novel: A collection of short stories – less than 20,000
words. It could never stand on its own, but it will add not only more insight
into the characters from Book Two but a layer of depth to Book Three, soon to
be released.
If you would like to know more about the
movie based on Book One there are several post about the Dream Cast - Click Here.
Here are a few more links you may
find useful:
