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October 2026
My family and friends know I am a dedicated reader of book series. What is a book series? According to Wikipedia, “A book series, or a novel series, is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publisher.”
For fiction, those elements typically include character development, setting, and plot development. When I was younger (a lot younger) I enjoyed daytime soap operas. I loved how I could feel a part of the lives of my favorite characters, for better or worse. A book does the same thing without the commitment of scheduling an episode or even streaming it. A book can sit by your bedside and be available at a moment’s notice. Over the course of a long series, you can observe the characters as they grow older, encounter major events, fall in love or lose those dear to them, and become the people they truly are, also for better or worse.
The books’ settings can change if the character moves for work or pleasure. Or they can remain comfortably the same, so the place seems like home to the reader.
The overall plot will change. Small sub-plots are followed and concluded, happily or unhappily. Longer plots can travel from book to book with only partial resolution, making it preferable for a reader to start at the beginning with Book One.
Because a series can bring a sense of the reader being a part of the novel’s universe, reading these can be quite comforting and satisfying. I find most of my book series through a newsletter offered by Book Series In Order.
Their weekly newsletter covers a variety of genres and introduces the first book in each series. You can also search for specific authors and find out the chronological order of their books. One of my writing goals is to be listed on this website… but first I must complete book two to have a series, so I’m working on GALVESTON GAMBIT as you read this newsletter.
Please continue to support your indie authors by leaving a brief review where they market their books. You can leave me one at Amazon.com.
I’d also appreciate your encouraging friends to sign up for my monthly newsletter at carolbennetts.com.
September 2026
When my GALVESTON GODDESS character, newspaper advice columnist Sandra Dunne (who is also a licensed mental health professional), advises her readers to seek counseling, what does that mean? As a retired licensed professional counselor myself, I would like to point out some important differences between advice-giving and professional counseling.
Advice-giving is probably as old as the spoken word. Who doesn’t want to help a friend in need or straighten out someone who appears to lack common sense? When we advise others, we synthesize several factors: our own experiences, our personal beliefs, our understanding of the world in which we live, our relationship with the advice receiver, and our motive for giving advice. There are many other variables that influence the process, but let’s consider these.
We give advice because we’ve lived our lives and have encountered a wide variety of situations depending on our age. We experienced the years in which we formed our sense of values, morals, and beliefs. The world was and is assessed and understood through our own lens. In a personal relationship, the decision to give advice is carefully weighed for its potential impact. In an advice column, there is no personal relationship, and readers must evaluate the wisdom given against their own opinions. Giving advice is free, subjective, and can be accepted or rejected.
In therapy, the goal of the professional therapist is not to give advice but to support the client in improving their life. The therapist typically 1) learns about the concerns that bring the client/patient to the office, 2) helps the client set goals for the therapy, and 3) evaluates issues and obstacles that influence the client’s ability to work on self-improvement.
This field includes individuals with master’s or doctoral degrees (and licensure/certification by their locale). There are Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC), Psychologists, Therapists (Family, Art, Music) and Social Workers (LCSW). Psychiatrists, who are Medical Doctors (MDs) also do therapy and are able to provide medication support.
One important note when considering counseling: the client must agree to the therapy with written informed consent. This is not just a document but an ongoing process that acknowledges therapy is voluntary, has benefits/risks, etc.
Sandra enjoys giving advice to others, although she’s slow to accept it from her friends and family. In my next book, GALVESTON GAMBIT, she will balance her personal quest with involvement in a new crime that involves her friends and estranged family.
Please continue to support your indie authors by leaving a brief review where they market their books. You can leave me one at Amazon.com.
I’d also appreciate your encouraging friends to sign up for my monthly newsletter at carolbennetts.com.
August 2026
Please check out Crossing the Finish Line, my blog on the Mystery Writers of America Southwest Chapter website!
A Microsoft Co-Pilot search explains why heroines in cozy mysteries sometimes have side gigs: specialized hobbies.
“Heroines in cozy mysteries often have hobbies that are both charming and relevant to their small‑town or close‑knit community, such as baking, knitting, gardening, bookbinding, tea‑drinking, and animal care. These activities not only make the characters relatable but also often tie into the plot or setting.”
When I wrote GALVESTON GODDESS, I naturally gave Sandra, the heroine, a personality similar to my own (go with what you know, right?). As the story progressed, I found she was my least interesting character, so I gave her a makeover: younger, fitter, and out to create a new life for herself. However, I kept one aspect of her personality like my own: she loves reading advice columns. In fact, so much so that she takes a job at a local weekly newspaper as their advice columnist.
She earns the job because she is a trained, licensed professional counselor in her previous career. However, counseling and advice giving are two very different kettles of fish. One of my favorite quotes about advice giving is from Agatha Christie: “Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that’s no reason not to give it.”
In the Houston Chronicle on July 27, Jeanne Phillips, aka Dear Abby, informed her readers that after 39 years of giving advice, she was retiring and leaving the column to her capable editorial staff. I’ve enjoyed reading her columns over the thirty-nine years she was in charge, having inherited it from her mother, Pauline Phillips, who penned it from 1956 to 1987.
I hope Sandra keeps writing her column, “Dear Sandy Beaches,” in the fictional Galveston Gazette for years. But I think she’s eventually going to get a day job to keep up with her island lifestyle in book two: GALVESTON GAMBIT.
In the September newsletter, I’ll discuss the differences between advice-giving and professional counseling. Feel free to share this newsletter with friends. They can sign up to receive my monthly newsletters at carolbennetts.com
One last word: please support your authors published by independent presses by leaving reviews for them; that’s how they get noticed.