Why a Trilogy?

I was talking to a customer, telling him that I always wanted to write a Trilogy.

He answered, "I never understood this trilogy thing.  Why not write five books, if you need to? Or one?  Whatever it takes?"

Because --- Trilogy!

OK.  I get what he's saying.

But I still want to write a Trilogy.

I think it goes back to my absolute love of Lord of the Rings.  It was the first time I ever heard of a "trilogy" and it was exciting to me that one story could span three books.  I'd always read series of books throughout my childhood.  But they were all separate books -- maybe with the same setting and characters and backgrounds, but each a new book.

So to me, writing a Trilogy was the ultimate achievement.

I didn't expect the Vampire Evolution Trilogy to expand past the first book, but there were a couple of loose ends and when I picked the threads, it turned into a book, which has now turned into three books.  Each book is a little broader in scope than the previous one.

I'm finding that writing one long story in a Trilogy (by the way, I think they are perfectly readable as stand alone books or out of order) has certain problems and advantages that I wouldn't know about if I hadn't tried.

Meanwhile, I envision my Cobb and Company books, of which Nearly Human and Wolflander were the first two as a series of books -- but not as one large story.  Each story complete in itself -- maybe with the same setting and characters and backgrounds.

It's different.

I'm well into the third book, so it's going to happen, knock wood.  I've decided to simply adapt the first cover to the different colors of blood in my books.  Red/blue/gold.  Vary the background a little, but use the same design.  So it will be one long package.

Cool.