<<<Perhaps, Parker has started new series because he
realizes he really has written all he has to say about about
Spenser, but either financially he doesn't want to stop or
has bowed to his publishers who want a long series that will
be presold. Maybe he has tried to fully explore Hawk's
origins as Robert Crais did with Pike or kill off Susan as
Healy did with Nancy Meagher. All we can judge is those books
in the Spenser series that have been published.That is why
the idea of peak/career as a way to compare authors seemed
ideal when I thought of it.>>>
All this reminds me of an article I read in the Cincinnati
Enquirer about a year or so back. (I'll have to dig up that
link and post it here.) It was an interview with Jonathan
Valin. Valin says that, someday, there will be a Harry Stoner
novel, but he doesn't know when. He said he'd reached a piont
where he starting to repeat himself, and that Harry needed a
break.
Unlike Parker, Valin didn't have to worry about his publisher
crying over the phone, begging him not to do away with Harry
or put him on hiatus. Parker, otoh, said at a recent signing,
that what he really wanted to do was write stand-alones like
"Wilderness," "Love and Glory," "All Our Yesterdays," etc.
Even with his recent western novel, his publishers screamed
bloody murder. ("Hey! You're killing the cash cow!") I
believe he still likes writing Spenser, but it's gotten
automatic.
Unlike a lot of other eyes, like VI Warshawski, Spenser
hasn't had a break in years. The result shows. Spenser got
really stale after "Valediction," although there were some
bright spots. In some cases, he repeats himself or retells
old tales. ("Thin Air" sounds too much like "Red Harvest,"
which I just reread recently.) I haven't read Jesse Stone
yet, but the word I've been getting is that it's much closer
to Parker's early work than the recent Spensers, at least in
quality.
Me, personally, I don't think I'd want to carry a series
character beyond 7-10 books, and I'd write something else
entirely while I was doing them. That seems to be the best
way to stay fresh. That, or, as Elmore Leonard once said,
just don't write series characters. At the very least, a
writer needs to take time away from a series.
J
"[For the Browns] With Pittsburgh, it's a rivalry. With
Baltimore, it's a JIHAD!"
-Les Roberts
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