Yes, she will. However, Lucy Arlington is making a little change…
Fans of the Novel Idea Mystery Series know that initially, Ellery Adams and Sylvia May were the two authors who wrote the Novel Idea Mystery Series together. Adams and May wrote the first three books together: Buried in a Book, Every Trick in the Book, and Books, Cooks, and Crooks.
Both May and Adams became busy with other writing projects. In stepped Susan Furlong. Ellery Adams (aka Jennifer Stanley and J.B. Stanley) is writing three other Cozy Mystery Series: the Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery Series, the Book Retreat Mystery Series, and the Books by the Bay Mystery Series. Of course, as J.B. Stanley she wrote the Supper Club Mystery Series and the Collectibles Mystery Series. And let’s not forget the Hope Street Church Mystery Series which she wrote as Jennifer Stanley.
Susan Furlong is an ex high school language teacher. She will be writing the Novel Idea Mystery Series, beginning with the fourth book, Played by the Book. Susan Furlong will also be writing the Georgia Peach Mystery Series.
Stash Empress says
Anyone else totally confused???? I hate the proliferation of pen names because I can literally not keep track of the players without a scorecard!!!! Add to it the fact that some pen names are really two people writing together… I wish the authors would stick to one name each & keep it!!!!!! I think it would also increase book sales because if you loved a series by a certain author, you will look for more books by THAT name — it would never occur to you to look for that author under another name. I can’t tell you how many series I passed over because I didn’t recognize the author’s name where I would for sure have bought them if I knew who REALLY wrote them! Not all cozy readers are plugged in to every blog & Facebook page to keep track of who is who!!!!
Stash Empress says
And now I find out that Lucy Arlington USED TO BE Ellery Adams BUT ISN’T ANYMORE???? Honestly I’m not sure I can handle this news….
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Stash Empress, this is why I always try to have all of an author’s aliases when I write about the author. Also, on their individual pages I make a point of having all of their monikers.
Jackie J. Griffey says
Danna: I can see these readers’ point, I’m in the same boat. When I look to see if some of my favorite authors have anything new, its’ their name I look for, not a series name. When I started writing whether it was a MS, reading script or just answering a blog question, my shortened correct name was and is on it. The name on my works (all, regardless of format) is Jackie Griffey. Full name is Jacqueline Jett Griffey (Jett being my maiden name. ) So far, thanks I guess to the bad economy and my limited budget, my favorite authors are doing fine keeping me in good things to read.
Stash Empress says
I do appreciate that! I only just discovered your site about a month ago or so. I’ve been reading cozies for over 30 years LOL! For example, just recently on your site I discovered that Joan Hess had written the two Theo Bloomer books under the name Joan Hadley. So I just read them & enjoyed them immensely! Now I’ve been reading all of Joan Hess’ books since back when –had these books been originally written under the name Joan Hess, I would have bought them in a heartbeat! I don’t know why she only wrote those two, I really loved them & would love to see more of Theo Bloomer. Perhaps if they had come out under the Joan Hess name, all of the Hess fans would have snapped them up, they would have enjoyed greater success & the series would have continued? Who knows? This is my point — how many books did I *NOT* know to read over the past 30 years that I would have automatically purchased if I’d known their “true” authors? I think the publishing houses are shooting themselves in the foot by not capitalizing on an already recognized “brand”.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Stash Empress, you make a really good point.
MJ says
Hmmmmm……….. Adams/Stanley may be too busy to continue the series, but what about Sylvia May? She has a second novel due to be released in November. Her first novel was released way back in 2011. On her (Sylvia May’s) facebook page (as recently as February) she discusses the joys of writing a cozy series with Ellery Adams.
I just read an interview she gave in March. When asked, “what’s next?” she said, “she’s exploring ideas for stories set in Burmuda”. For her not to continue with the Novel Idea Mystery series is strange, since she says that all three of the books in this series were on the NYT extended best seller list.
Also weird – if you go to Lucy Arlington’s facebook page, as of 4/29/14/. she talks about a book written by one of her ‘alter-egos’. And it’s the first novel she (as Sylvia May) published in 2011 – go figure! Although the facebook page’s latest entry does say the facebook page will now be written by one of the characters from the Novel Idea Mystery series.
Susan Furlong says nothing about this on her webpage or her facebook page. Her last facebook posting was a week ago. Perhaps she’s not allowed to reveal this information. (Aha! – a mystery – so hush, hush and secretive!)
Who owns the rights to the “Novel Idea Mystery’ series? If it’s the publisher, then I guess they can change authors midstream if they want to. Remember a year ago when the Southern Beauty Shop series written by Lila Dare (Disilverio/Barrack), then changed so the last one was written by Joanna Campbell-Slan? It appears it was the final book of the series.
As for several pseudonyms — one author explained it wasn’t her choice to write under various names. I’ve found that oftentimes an author will write for more than one publisher. A ‘different’ publisher might demand a different name. I can somewhat (??) understand it if the author changes genres, but it makes no sense if the author is writing all cozies. Like Stash Express (and many others) when I find an author I like, I want to read their other series. For some reason, publishers seem to miss this point. Thanks to Danna’s dogged efforts we are able to figure this out by checking her author list.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MJ, if you go to the Lucy Arlington site, they have the announcement. Also, Amazon has the information posted when you go to their Lucy Arlington page.
I am assuming that the publishing houses must keep the rights to some of their series.
MJ says
Thanks, Danna. I had gone to the Lucy Arlington site, but then went on to the facebook page when I didn’t see anything. I just rechecked and found the announcement under ‘Bio’.
Bookwoman says
I agree. I am not a fan of the pseudonyms. No matter how good a writer Susan Furlong is, the book will not have the same flavor as the previous writers. I feel like they are trying to deceive the reader. Why not put her name on the front of the book?
Susan* says
I don’t even bother ‘trying’ to keep track of things.
Admittedly, I don’t have the money for many new books, so I pick up second hand books whenever I can, and just keep a database of what I’ve read. Marking whether I liked it enough to keep it or not, regardless of author.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan*, my favorite authors list has a lot more “*****YUCK” annotations than I have authors! I try to always look at that list when I’m thinking of trying a new author.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan*, I keep track of both my favorite authors and my “*****YUCK” authors. I also make sure I have all of my personal favorite authors’ books listed, as well as the “aka” books.
Jacki says
OK, I agree with Stash Empress about all the names. One thing that wasn’t mentioned clearly in the article – will the Novel Idea Mystery Series continue to be shown as authored by Lucy Arlington or should we look for the name Susan Furlong?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Jacki, it looks like (from the cover) that it will continue to use the Lucy Arlington pseudonym. I think that the good news is that the mysteries will probably be released more often than before.
marion says
Danna, thanks for keeping up with the various pen names and listing them with the authors. I can’t figure it out…… Why all the pen names and series? Is it meant to increase sales? Certainly increases my confusion for sure…
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marion, I have to admit that I found out about this latest one quite by chance. It was quite serendipitous!
Susan* says
Unfortunately, a lot of publishers think that readers are a) stupid, or b) tight-fisted.
A common reason for multiple pseudonyms, at one time, was ‘Not to confuse the readership’, or (A little more sensibly) ‘Not to flood the market’.
As a bookseller, myself, I can understand the latter to a certain extent – too many books at once does tend to put people off for various reasons too long to go into here, but… if you have only a certain amount of dollars to spend, well, like a lot of people on here, I agree: I’m more likely to buy an author I know than try someone new.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan*, I guess a whole shelf at the bookstore with just the new releases of one author might look odd!
Stash Empress says
Nowadays we have blogs & websites like this one & so on to help us figure out who is who. But for so many years we didn’t. Back in the ’80s, for example, I found out about new releases from the Mystery Guild book club (bought a LOT of books from them over the years), from trips to Barnes & Nobles & also from the “NEW” shelf at the library. So for example back then, if the Mystery Guild newsletter advertised a new Joan Hess book out that month — I ordered it immediately! If they mentioned a new Joan Hadley book coming out (and for all I know, maybe they did!) — I would have ignored it — not going to shell out $$ for a new book by some author I never heard of, right???? (And in those days they wouldn’t have told you that Joan Hadley is the same as Joan Hess, which is probably WHY I never knew about or read the two Theo Bloomer books till I read about them last month on this site!) Had I seen them at the library (free) I might or might not have picked up & read one, depending on how interesting the title sounded, how the cover art appealed to me, and if I had enough other things to read that week. Once I knew & appreciated an author, I would buy their new books as they came out. Have to wonder how many books/series bit the dust over the years because nobody knew who really wrote them!
And if I saw a whole shelf of new releases by one of my favorite authors — I’d buy them in a heartbeat!!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Stash Empress, way back when I actually went through all of a particular author’s copyright dates to find thelir chronological order in the books at the library, I discovered a terrific author: Charlotte MacLeod. I am positively sure that I didn’t know she was Alisa Craig, also. I just don’t get it!
We’ve talked about pseudonyms several times:
Mystery Authors with Pseudonyms… (May 13, 2011)
Is a Rose Still a Rose? Pseudonyms by Mystery Authors… (May 14, 2011)
Why So Many Pseudonyms!?!?! Does a Rose Smell as Sweet? Does a Stinker Smell Sweeter? (March 4, 2013)
Stash Empress says
OK, thanks for the links! Being relatively new to this site, I’ll have to go read those posts (and no doubt their comments too LOL)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Stash Empress, be sure to read the comments!
Susan* says
Many publishers think we are as dumb as they are.
As I said: “Too many new books / series by one author will confuse people!” (!?!)
“People want something new!” (Define ‘new’, please!)
The latter excuse, btw, is often why they don’t re-release all the older books that are highly sought after, and often rare and astronomically expensive, and would be bought ‘In a heartbeat’, if they were to be re-released. (This applies to all genres, not just mysteries. Kids books and SF are some of the worst.)
But I think I’ll stop here before I drag the soapbox out any further! Lol!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan*, every once in a while I get on my soapbox and don’t know when to stop. I usually refer to those times as my Rants and Raves, although, if anyone is keeping score, there don’t seem to be a whole lot of the Raves!
marion says
I agree with you, SE. I tend to have my ‘pet’ authors. If I know a book is written by a favorite author, then I will at least look at it. Otherwise, I may never touch it especially if the author is doing a different type of mystery or even if I’m turned off by the cover.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marion, I think Stash Empress makes a terrific point, too!
Donna Mc says
The thought of trying to write more than one book/series makes my head spin. How do they manage it? Do they have assistants who help them? Do they do extensive outlines first so they won’t get lost switching between series? They must be very organized. As for reading, I’ve found that I might really like one series by an author but I can’t get interested in another series by the same author. Maybe it has to do with the lead characters, I read the ones that I feel I know.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna Mc, that happens to me a lot. There have been a few authors who write more than one series that I like, but for me, that doesn’t happen the majority of the time.
Stash Empress says
Joyce & Jim Lavene seem to have a bazilliion series going on at once (and under various names too LOL) — would love to know how they keep track of all! Any chance you could do an interview with them some time?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Stash Empress, I remember when Joyce and Jim Lavene were just Joyce and Jim Lavene!
Biblioholic says
I shudder to think where I’d be without the Cozy Mystery website! A ginormous thank you to Danna & everyone who contributes! I can only say amen to all the above. The info was very important & pertinent to me as I, too, want/need to know under what other names my faves are writing. My other pet peeve is the publisher/author refusing to re-issue old, out of print titles. As someone else commented, there are books I lust to read but won’t pay $30.00-$50.00 for. Anyway, keep the good stuff coming. I love the site & have recommended it to many others.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Biblioholic, I’m glad you are enjoying the Cozy-Mystery site.
Well, here’s another author with her pseudonym: Laurie Cass (who writes the Bookmobile Cat Mystery Series) is also Laura Alden (who writes the PTA Mystery Series) >>> That’s a new pairing that Lisa K was so kind in sharing with me yesterday!
Ellery Adams says
I’d like to chime in here if I could to help clarify some misconceptions about pen names and publicizing.
First, authors very rarely want to change their names. It’s a hassle for us and we are in danger of losing readers whenever we adopt a new name. I wrote for one publisher as JB Stanley and another as Jennifer Stanley (Competing publishers usually insist on a different name).
Why publish under two publishers? Sometimes, one publisher rejects a series and if you want it to see the light of day, you often have to shop it around and if you’re lucky enough to find a home for that series, that often means a new name. It’s a sacrifice most of us writers are willing to take to have our dreams make it to the bookstore shelves.
Now, more specifically, I’ll address my own confusion of names. My J.B. Stanley books (3 of them) failed to sell well enough to merit continuation of the series. The beauty of the publishing world is that you can try, try again. So I came back to the same publishers (Berkley Prime Crime) with a proposal for The Books By the Bay series and they wanted it. However, they didn’t want me to come out as J.B. Stanley because that series had technically tanked, so they asked me to invent a pen name. It’s not something done to be creative or intentionally confuse readers, but to allow authors a fresh, unprejudiced start after they’ve fallen face-first in the mud. It’s really about presenting a whole new package to book buyers and I’m grateful for it. You see, without the chance to have a pen name and a second chance, I’d never have succeeded enough to put out the Charmed Pie Shoppe series or my new Book Retreat series.
I know it’s super confusing and while some of us are free to publish our complete list of pen names on our blogs or websites, some authors are contractually obligated to use only their current pen name. We’re little fish in a big pond and most of us do our best to keep our publishers happy so that we can continue to do what we love best: write!
Lastly, I couldn’t use the name Ellery Adams because the Novel Idea Mysteries were a coauthor project. Once again, I had to come up with another name. Sylvia and I literally dreamed up this project in the car on the way home from Malice and we were just leaving Arlington when the light bulb flashed, so that’s were the Arlington bit came from. Sylvia and I (along with our publisher) maintain the rights to the series and we’ve been as open and forthcoming about the change as we’ve been free to be (which means Amazon’s Author Central and Lucy’s website for now).
Believe me, the last thing a writer ever wants is to lose a reader because of name confusion. It kills us, but it’s better than the complete death of our careers and all the future books we dream of writing. For you, the reader. I’d love to answer any other questions I can because I’m hoping to make folks understand that an author has very little power when it comes to such things and we’re just trying to fly straight and get our books in your hands.
Yours, Ellery (et al – LOL)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ellery, thank you so much for this very clear explanation as to why there are so many pseudonyms. It’s sometimes frustrating, but if it facilitates our favorite authors to keep publishing their Cozy Mysteries, well worth the hunt!
Thanks, again!
Ellery Adams says
My pleasure, my friend. I hope I didn’t across as if I were lecturing – that wasn’t my intent. Just trying to help. I’d love to answer any and all questions about the publishing biz if folks have any. I try to be very transparent about those things. 🙂
Donna Mc says
It is very informative. Thank you for providing an inside look into the publishing industry.