The Magician's Tale
Page 39
Q. But isn't there a sequel?
A. Yes, Trick Of Light. It will soon be available in an e-edition from Crossroad Press. It was part of my deal with Putnam that I write a second Kay Farrow book. This was not my intention when I wrote The Magician's Tale, which I'd planned as a stand-alone novel, but I decided to do one sequel since Putnam expressed so much enthusiasm. Again, this is an issue in publishing, especially crime fiction. Publishers exert enormous pressure upon authors to write endlessly about a series character, the idea being that if readers like one of the books they'll buy all the others in the series. Some writers like working with a series character. Others, like me, do not. Those of us who resist the pressure are often warned by our agents that we do so at our financial peril.
Q. So despite the pleas of your readers, you won't write more Kay Farrow novels?
A. No. I believe I've taken Kay through two major crises in her life, and that anything else I might write about her would feel forced and/or anti-climactic. I should mention that I recently received a letter from a fan saying she wondered a lot about what would happen to Kay, how her life would turn. I liked this because it showed me that some people feel about her the way they'd feel about a real person, and, in a sense, this is what a fiction writer strives for. Like that reader, I too occasionally wonder about Kay's future, but not enough to write another book about her in order to find out.
About the Author
William Bayer's Janek novels, Switch, Wallflower and Mirror Maze, are available in e-book form from Crossroad Press, as is his noir thriller Blind Side, the New York Times best-seller Pattern Crimes, and other novels. He and his wife, food writer Paula Wolfert, live in the California wine country. For more information, please check out his website: www.williambayer.com. You can also write him directly: crimenovelist@hotmail.com.