As a reader of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, I am well aware of how frustrating it can be when an author begins a series but then shows little sign of finishing it. If you enjoyed A Most Personal Property, you may be happy to learn that the remaining three books of the Ganymede Quartet are written and essentially complete but for final editing.
The Ganymede Quartet proper is made up of the four main books, which cover just 10 months of Henry and Martin’s story, and there’s currently the first side story, A Superior Slave, which is about Martin and the slaves he grew up with at Ganymede, but there are a ridiculous number of additional side stories planned in this universe, as well. There are stories outlined and/or partially-to-completely written about the fates of many secondary characters, as well as stories extending the universe out for many years past the end of Book 4.
I started sharing my writing with other people by posting fanfic, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that I’m also 100 pages into my own modern AU about Henry and Martin in which no one is a slave. While I will always consider the 1900 version the “real” story, I suspect a contemporary story will appeal to a wider audience and might tempt readers who don’t think they’re interested in historical fantasy to give the “original” versions a try.
As the creator of this universe, of course I find it terribly engaging, but I’m biased. Are readers interested in authors expanding stories in this way? I’m not really aware of other authors doing it, but I’m sure some are, and I’d appreciate having them pointed out to me.
As a fanfic fan, I’ve always enjoyed when an author writes several versions in the same universe. Now that you mention it, though, I’m not sure if that’s something generally limited to the fanfic world. I’ve certainly never seen in before otherwise. Regardless, if you publish the modern version, I’ll certainly read it.
Well, that’s very good to know! :) I do indeed plan on publishing the modern story, but likely not until after the quartet books and at least some of the side stories are out. So…next summer or fall, most likely.
One of my favorite things about fandom and writing fanfic was the yearly Remix challenge where we’d rewrite each other’s stories. Unfortunately, since most people are writing for their livelihood and can’t invest time and effort writing things just to amuse themselves, there’s no real mechanism for that kind of creative play in professional writing. So, since it’s unlikely that anyone else will write a modern AU, I feel like I need to do it :D
If an author AUing her own story *isn’t* common in m/m romance (I haven’t read m/m romance widely enough to know), I imagine that your story would stand out for that very reason. At any rate, I think the “Sherlock” crowd could cope with a modern AU. :)
Dusk (who has done it too, albeit in a small way)
As far as I can tell, m/m authors haven’t done it. Maybe I’ll start a trend?
I am glad you replied to these posts, as I hadn’t run across your work before and I’m really enjoying what I’ve read so far.
Please, start a trend. I have, on a rare delightful occasion, come across authors writing not-exactly-canon sidestuff for their original work (Elizabeth Wein comes to mind), and it always thrills me. I love the more flexible, exploratory culture of fanfiction, and any chance to see it bleed into origfic is a chance to take!
I have so many notes and scraps written for side stories in the 1900 universe. SO. MANY. I’m excited to get to tell the stories! As of now, I’ve got about half a contemporary AU about Henry and Martin written, and I expect I’ll have it ready to publish by the time the four main GQ books are out in June. It’s been a lot of fun to write them in a modern setting and a more realistic scenario. Taking into account that they’re older and they’ve grown up in a different society, I think they’ll be quite recognizable to readers of the GQ series.
I’m not familiar with Elizabeth Wein, but perhaps I should be. I’ll do some research :)
She’s got some lovely Arthurian novels, starting with The Winter Prince. I believe she also came from a fannish background.