Robin Paige Series

Quite a few readers have written in the last couple of months, asking why Bill and I decided to discontinue the Robin Paige series. Here's an answer to that question--now, when people ask, I can just give them the permanent link to this post!

Bill and I started work on that series in 1992, right after the first China Bayles book came out. We'd been writing young adult books together since 1985, and both of us enjoyed the process of writing together. So we came up with several ideas for a co-authored series. After much energetic back-and-forth, considering various options, we decided to set the series in England in the late Victorian-early Edwardian period. There was so much going on at that time, politically, socially--and especially forensically. Fingerprint identification was just becoming available, and there was forensic photography, ballistics, toxicology, serology, and so on. So it was an ideal setting for an investigative series.

We also decided to use real people in the series. The second book, for instance, featured Beatrix Potter. The sixth, Jennie and Winston Churchill. The twelfth, Guiglielmo Marconi. This proved to be a very good idea, and really kept us interested in the series. Readers have liked it, too, for each book introduces them to a new segment of English society, to a new set of issues, and new points of view. But it also proved to be exceedingly difficult, for each book required not only the usual background research, but also specific biographical research about the person we chose as our "featured" character.

The series originally went as paperback original to Avon, but they were having troubles at the time (the mid-90s) and didn't do a very good job getting the books out there. We moved the series to Berkley, where it has been ever since, very happily. We've loved working with our editor, Natalee Rosenstein. The series went into hardcover with the seventh book. We've discontinued it with the twelfth--Lizard (originally in hardcover in 2006) will be out in paperback in July. When we started, we thought we might do ten books. The series went to twelve because we enjoyed the collaboration so much.

I say "discontinued," because it's always possible that something will come along that will make us change our minds. We left some plot threads hanging, just in case we want to pick it up again. But there's no "next book" in this series on our horizon. The reason: the research load is very heavy. It wasn't so much the background research in the period--that was entirely manageable. It was the biographical research on the individual characters and their world that made it difficult. For Marconi, for instance, we worked our way through all the available biographies, plus books about the telegraph, the wireless telegraph, and radio. And believe me, there's a LOT of stuff out there. Bill spent a couple of months on the research and we each put in three person-months on the writing. By the time all was said and done, we'd put a full year into the book.

Yes, we probably overdid it. We might have gotten by without doing so much. But we loved the learning (that's one of the reasons we're writers). Readers, too, have appreciated that level of specificity, and once we began creating these richly-detailed worlds, we really couldn't go back to a more general, non-specific kind of writing that so often passes for "historical" fiction. Readers would have been disappointed, and we wouldn't have enjoyed the work nearly as much.

That's it, gang. That's why we decided to discontinue the series. I'll continue the China Bayles books indefinitely (as long as you keep reading), and hope to do a short story collection and a cookbook in the series. There will be four more books (eight altogether) in the Beatrix Potter series, and maybe a junior biography. I'm working on a memoir project now, and have a novel in mind, to be written sometime in the next couple of years. Bill and I miss the Robin Paige collaboration, but now we have time for other things we want to do together, so it all balances out.

If you've been a reader of this series, thanks for your support. Please know that you belong to a relatively small and select group: there are many fewer readers of historical fiction (particularly the non-bodice-rippers), and they don't network the way readers of other mysteries or romances do. So it's harder for an author to reach you, or to develop an effective "marketing program." Also, as a group, you are demanding: you know your history and you want your history done right. Bill and I hope we managed to do that.

Comments

[Judy Hoff]

I am so sorry to hear that the Kate & Charles stories have been discontinued. I devoured all twelve in little over a week. Rarely does a series capture my interest as this one did. I have never been much of a fan of history, but your inclusion of actual historical persons inspired me to do a bit of research on the real characters such as The Countess of Warwick, The Churchills, and especially the British Royals. I found that historical information can be quite fascinating and entertaining.

I do wish Robin Paige would write at least one more book, perhaps centered around Bishop's Keep (since that's where the series began) and tie up any loose ends to give a finality to Kate & Charles settling down to a more sedate and less eventful life together.

Thank you for a delightful series filled with exceptional characters, wonderful locations, and incredibly entertaining storylines.

[lynda citera]

I recently discovered the Kate and Charles series while on a trip to NYC...happened upon the first book and decided to give it a quick read on the trip home. I was immediately hooked and have now acquired all of the volumes. As an Anglophile with a degree in history, and having visited many of the areas and "stately homes" described in the books, I am very impressed as to the research and accuracy employed...especially fascinated by the way the historical figures blend so well with the imagined. I do hope that after a rest you decide to bring back to us Sir Charles and Lady Kate...they are classics!

[Shannon FOree]

I just happened to pick up one of the Robin Paige books at the library. I was looking for a good mystery, and I have been reading them every since. The public library only has the first 7 so I'm going to see if They can get me the rest to read from a different library. But thanks again for the great stories.

[Linda Geiszler]

I was so saddened by your decision to discontinue the Robin Paige Victorian Mysteries. I do see your point though. I do wish you would write one more, light on the history etc. to let us say good-by. But don't you dare kill them off so there can never be another book. Please! Also I love the Beatrix Potter books. I have always like her books and your books bring her more to life. Thank you and keep up the good work

[Valerie Da SIlva]

I really enjoyed this series and I am disappointed that you have retired Robin Paige. But on the other hand I understand the work that had to go into each book in order to keep the historical character authentic. Nevertheless, I am hoping for a thirteenth book or more
Let's hope a new idea blossoms.

Of course the China Bayles books are just great and I have read every one of them. Thanks for hours of wonderful entertainment.

[John]

Thanks for the Robin Paige series. The amount of research you did on each book was evident from the start, and the books got better and better over the series because of it. I would put that series in the same league as PD James and the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie. Once sales reach a critical mass, I hope you will have no choice but to take the same path as Conan Doyle did in your Dartmoor book. LOL!

[Randal Oulton]

In Death on the Lizard, I noticed somewhere in first few chapters that Kate was referred to as "Lady Sheridan Sheridan." I thought perhaps this was a one-off typo, but now on page 96 (of the paperback), I have just come across that again. Is this a typo, or deliberate? Have I just not noticed it before because I bought all 12 books at once and have been racing through them?

p.s. I understand that after 15 years of hard slogging, you need a break. But I hope that as word of this series picks up steam, your publishers won't take no from you on a 13th book! LOL! I shall be recommending them to my friends here in Toronto.

[sesgaia]

My husband is a photographer and I'm a writer so this series has delighted us both- we handed the books back and forth until I, like others on this list, looked for the 13th book, only to find this post. SO SAD!!!! Please reconsider some time in the future!

[Dolly Prenzel]

Dear Susan and Bill, I will miss this series so much! Your books have gone to my friends, who also love them. I have especially appreciated the historical research, the "clean" and compelling tales, and the fascinating characters. And I was looking forward to learning about Kate's relatives in America ... I hope we will find out! Thank you for the hours of pleasure you have provided to me!
Best wishes for your continuing success and happiness.

[Arlene Crumrine]

I love all of your books, both my husband and I read them as soon as they come out. I love the Robin Paige historical ones, they are so interesting. I'm sorry to hear that they are ceasing. We will miss them. Your son also writes very interesting articles, he does a column in our local newspaper here in Juneau. Have you ever been here?

[Desiree]

I just looked on the site for the thirteenth book and found that you had decided to discontinue the series. I do hope that you will reconsider. I appreciate all the hard work you've done. As a fledgling writer I know it's hard to keep up with research all the time. But you shouldn't feel that you aren't getting good circulation. All of your readers (and there are plenty of them)will be standing in line to read a new novel concerning the Sheridans, and I will be among the first in line. Kate and Charles are so realistic that I feel as if i know them personally. That is one of the main reasons I have been so keen on them. And they're so clean. It's refreshing to read a good, well-written mystery that doesn't have to depend on bad language or graphic violence. It's a series everyone, including children, can read and I haven't found one of those in while. And I say all this without even mentioning how much I have learned. I honestly feel as though I could answer a whole Jeopardy category on England in the 1880-1900's. I will be reading your China Bayles and Beatrix Potter series next, but I sincerely hope that you will at least try one or two more from Kate and Charles. Thank you so much for the hours of enjoyment i've had, and please continue, especially on the Robin Paige series.

[Dawn]

Thank you so much for this wonderful series. I started reading mysteries in 1985 and have fallen in love with one's set in the British area. I first started reading the Potter books, and now have completed the Kate and Charles books. As many readers have said, I am so disapointed that it has ended. But look forward to the next four Potter books.
I first became a lover of MC Beaton's MacBeth series, then Rhys Bowen's Evan's series (which ended also, then the Betty Rowland's Melissa Craig series. Do any readers out there have any other suggestions as to series like these? I would love to know as I am disabled and bedridden in pain, and reading is an escape for me. Thank you again, Susan and Bill, you are both an amazing gift.

[Lucy]

My mom and I both love the Robin Paige series--as well as the China Bayles and Beatrix Potter books--but the Robin Paige series is our favorite. We have both been recommending it to our friends since we discovered it. We certainly hope you do get inspired to write more in the series! In the meantime, I'm looking forward to starting on some of your non-fiction. Thank you for the countless hours of reading pleasure.

[Sam Geddis]

My heartfelt thanks for your Robin Paige books! I have only now just discovered them (thanks to a recomendation from Amazon.com, in case you're interested about where we hear about your books). I am a huge fan of Victorian Mysteries specifically and British mysteries in general. The fact that so many series are written by American writers is so interesting, don't you think? Your stories are so engrossing that I have trouble putting them down to go to sleep at night. I have finished the first four and will progress on to the rest of the series over the next couple weeks. I read several books at one time and love to "get lost in the story" especially when it's so interesting! Please don't compromise your research and integrity just to put out another one in this series. I can wait until the moment may strike you again since you have said that you aren't saying "Never." What a team! I can hardly wait to begin the China Bayles series! Thank you again for hours of enjoyment and thrills along with historical information in a palatable form! Never has getting an education been so much fun!

[Barb]

I am really sorry you are retiring these delightful detectives....I was looking forward to a book about the sinking of the Titanic, which I was sure would have a mystery for them to solve, with the sinking as background material!

[Brenda Miranda]

I can only reiterate the previous comments about Kate and Charles Sheridan. I read the first one and was hooked, I had to buy all the others in the series. I understand the burden of research and just want to thank you for the hours of enjoyment you have given me and thousands of readers. Of course I will continue to read about China and I look forward to reading Nightshade.

[Robin (seriously)]

I have loved this series. It's taken me awhile to read it because I spaced them out so I would have something I knew I would enjoy in between some dubious book club selections. I enjoyed taking Kate and Charles on vacations with me and couldn't wait to find out which historical figures would turn up in the stories. So, I bid a sad farewell to the Sheridan's and Robin Paige. Thank you for much enjoyment and for some great suggested biographies! I hope that "something" comes along at some point and we get another story one day.

[lesley-malden, mass]

i write for myself and my 3 sisters-we will sorely miss Charles and Kate. The novels were so informative and interesting. We love the China Bayles Series and will continue to await them with "baited breath" Thank your husband for his contibutions as well. It was a pleasure to have met him at "Malice".

[Diane]

I have been reading Robin Paige books for about 6 weeks now and just finished Lizard. I logged in to identify the title of the next (13th) book only to learn that you are planning to discontinue the series. I honestly wondered if you were planning to do so as I read the last chapter...Kate had moved on ?without Beryl?

I've just read most of the blogs and concur with what they've said. I really like the idea that I could read any of the books to my 9 year old granddaughter even though they are adult books. Thank you. I am definitely in the market for wholesomeness without tediousness as a lifestyle that promises love, honor and deep contentment. And each novel seemed like an honor's class in history.

Blessings on whatever you choose to do from this point on. I will watch for any of the three names by which you two have published.

[Dawn]

I want to add my thanks for a series well done! I also want to address the issues brought up at the end of Susan and Bill's discontinuation of Robin Paige series post.
"Please know that you belong to a relatively small and select group: there are many fewer readers of historical fiction (particularly the non-bodice-rippers), and they don't network the way readers of other mysteries or romances do. So it's harder for an author to reach you, or to develop an effective "marketing program."
Does anyone have any suggestions on how correct this or make it better? How can we readers prove to the publishing world that historical fiction fans are a fervently devoted group?

[Lori]

I am SO disappointed that this series of books will not be continued. I am an avid historical fiction fan and this is by far one of the best series I have ever read. The quality and detail is unmatched. I absolutely loved the characters and I couldn't wait to get the next book as soon as I had finished the last. I do hope you will reconsider.

[Isabel Leininger]

I have been wondering when the next Kate and Charles book would be out, and alas, now I know. I do hope you will reconsider. There are so many fascinating people still to meet and so many inventions and historical developments that would be fun for Charles and Kate, and your readers! I very much enjoy the detail and the authenticity your extensive and careful research gives the books. The books are wonderful and delightful, and I do sincerely hope you will do one occasionally. They are living in such a fascinating period. Charles and Kate in World War I? There are wonderful possibilities. Thank you both so much for giving us such great delight. The Beatrix Potter books are wonderful, too.

[Margie]

Amen to all the other comments! My garden is closed down during our midwest winter, so I've been re-reading China and K & C. for the umpty-umpth time. I had no idea you were shutting the door on Robin Paige until I came on your site just now to find the next one. Nothing can replace K & C.

[Althea]

So sorry to find that the series ends having just found it and bought every book. My oldest daughter and I would stay up all night to finish a book if need be. I hope you decide to do more in the future. Thank you for the hours of enjoyable reading.

[Laura Ray]

I started this series with the first three a couple of months ago. I was immediately "hooked". I love this series and have finished every book except Death at Whitechapel, which I have ordered but haven't received as yet.

Please, please write more about Kate and Charles.

Have a very Happy New Year 2008.