Happy Friday everyone. Please be sure to visit me over at the Scribes today where I explain why – I’m an Incubator.

I don’t have much to say today. My mind is otherwise occupied with Mystic Storm (check out my post yesterday – Lucky Seven for quick glimpse). But working on a sequel has me thinking about when an author decides to end a series. Or at least move onto something else with the promise of another book in that universe down the road.

I’ll admit it, writing another book in the same world as Mystic Ink is not easy for me. It’s not because I don’t love the setting or the characters, but a tiny voice in my head knows that after Zephyr’s and Devlin’s book, I don’t see any more in the future.  That doesn’t mean there never will be anymore, it just means I have other stories to tell.

I might be better suited to writing standalone books (like Kristan Higgins), but in the paranormal romance universe that usually doesn’t happen. I can tick off a list of authors whose books are in the teens now or close to it. Some of them, I have long since stopped reading. They all started to sound the same after a while or the characters never seem to move on (or if they do it’s in a negative direction.)

One author I totally admire (and she was the impetus for this post) is Gail Carriger. Her latest release – Timeless –  is book 5 in her Parasol Protectorate series. It is also the last book.

As a fan, I should be crying.

But I’m not.

The books have all been fabulous adventures. Yet, I’m relieved that she stopped the series at a high point. (I’m not going to review her book. Instead, I invite you to visit Penelope’s Romance Reviews for her take.)

In my opinion, too many series have run into the ground with characters or plots that should have given it a rest a long time ago. I’m not going to pick on specific authors or series, but I’m sure everyone has at least one or two they can think of that fit this description.

Gail has another series coming out (The Finishing School Series) and I’m looking forward to it. I admire that she is working on something else and is not being “typecast” into one kind of book. I don’t know the reasons behind the decision (that it was hers or the publisher’s), but I applaud it.

Thank you, Gail! (and if its not too much to ask – I hope someday we get to see more of Lord Akeldama!)

What say you? Do you like never-ending series by your favorite author? Or would you rather they wrapped it up?