Reader Mailbag: Authors You’d Love to Co-Author With

In the October 2020 Newsletter I asked our readers which authors they would love to co-author with.

Here were their responses:

Regina: If I could write a book in a series or encourage/write with an author to continue a series I would choose Stephanie Myers the author of the Twilight series. I think the characters in this series could support a myriad of “sequels “ that wouldn’t have to be chronological, always moving forward in time.

As Orson Scott Card has done with his Ender’s Universe. He has written so many books that repeat characters and introduce new ones within the universe of the original book, he’s gone backwards and forwards in time, used the same characters in young, middle, and “old” age just keeping within the parameters of the original books. Sometimes there are links between characters, but not always. He’s covered about 400 years of time between all the books. Some run parallel in time but focus on different characters while others jump back a 100 years and others jump forward multiple centuries.

The great thing about vampires is their immortality. It makes spin offs in all directions possible. Plus within the original series there is a big enough list of characters that you could jump from each one and flesh out their past, present, and futures endlessly. She also gave hints and small scenarios for some of the characters that would make for very natural leads into more in depth books about those people. She could write comprehensive histories for all of the Cullens clan; for many of the Indian shape shifters; the Voltari and even some of the humans.

I’d love to know how things work out for Jacob and Renesme, what the back story of Carlisle is (how he was turned, how he became a doctor), Alice’s story (it’s already been hinted at that she spent time in a sanitarium). So you get the idea!

Great discuss topic Graeme! Thanks for the opportunity to share.

Wendy: Years ago I sent an email to both Lee Child and Robert Crais. I thought it would be a wonderful plot line for Jack Reacher to wander into a story with Joe Pike and Elvis Cole. Can’t you just imagine Jack and Joe acting together to solve some crime? That’s the book I’d like to write with both authors.

Phoenix: You ask which author I’d like to co-author a book with. Well, that’s actually tough, because there’s more than one.

The first is absolutely, completely, and positively impossible because Margaret Frazer has sadly passed away. But if I could step into Sister Frivesse’s shoes for a little while, that would be wonderful. “Living” in the Middle Ages, surrounded by nuns, living in community….ah, heaven! Throw in the odd murder or two, and that would be great. Oh, by the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen what we would consider a curse word in any of her novels.

Next on the list would have to be Alexander McCall Smith, if co-authoring included a trip to Botswana. I have wanted to visit ever since I read the first No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency book. For some reason, I can’t seem to get into his other books set in other places. But Africa? Yes, please! No cursing there either, as I recall. In fact, I recently gave my copy of the first book to my friend’s 11-year-old granddaughter.

No cursing in Anne of Green Gables either, which I am currently rereading, even though I’m coming up on my 72nd birthday. One can only read so much murder, I guess, and I was in the mood for something gentle.

(Hmmm, here’s a thought: I wonder if I enjoy Medieval mysteries so much because what cursing there is is so delightlfully charming…?)

Next on the list would have to Jan Karon. I simply adore Father Tim and Cynthia and Dooley and all the other inhabitants of Mitford. I would LOVE for her to follow Dooley now that he’s grown and has a family of his own.

Also, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for writing this column. I look forward to perusing it as soon as it hits my mailbox, and this time was just wonderful as I now have an entire list of good, clean books to explore. Thanks!

Phil: Hi. To answer your question, I’d like to work with Robert Crais on his Elvis Cole & Joe Pike series. His books are set in southern California which is where I was born and raised and still reside today. I’ve been to most of the places he uses as backdrops in his books so I feel like we have a real connection. And that makes for a more enjoyable reading experience. I’ve read all of his books and check your website every month in anticipation of another.

Martina: I would love to collaborate with Preston and Child on their Special Agent Pendergast series! I love how they developed him and that you only get a little bit of info on his life in each book making you want to eagerly anticipate the next one!
I would also have loved to have written a dragon book with Anne McCaffrey! Pern! Thread! How dragons evolved! The awesome characters! The Dragons!!! I would totally write myself as a Dragonrider overcoming hardships and bonding with my dragon!!
JK Rowling! Magic, friendships and wand waving! I would love to kick some ideas around with her!
Any Star Trek author- especially Gene Rodenberry! Would have to be adventures written with the original crew. Flying in a starship, being part of a crew exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before!! You can have so many adventures since we don’t really know whats out there or what to expect! The possibilities are endless!
Love these questions! Really make me think! Have a good month!

Joy: I would love to co author a book with C J Box. I live in the West and could share some history of early Colorado where my Grandparents lived.
One of my Grandfather’s ran a sheep ranch where Snowmass is and he helped train the skiers during World War 2 .
Those who have not read a book by C J Box are missing a wonderfully crafted story. Check out his writing.

JoAnn: I’d like to co-author with Louise Penny. I would have Armand and Reine-Marie rent a house on the coast of Maine that would (of course ) have a dead body in one of the closets. At first the Gamaches are considered suspects but when the housekeeper is also found dead in her home the local sheriff turns to Armand for help. The duo try to find a connection between the two murders while enjoying Maine lobster bisque soup and enjoying the rugged coastline.

Jeanne: I am a Historical Fiction loved. Occasionally it is a breath of fresh air to read something a little lighter. So when I found Jodi Taylor’s, Chronicles of Saint Mary’s series, I was hooked. I would love to take the romp through history with Jodi. A audios look at different historical events with tongue in cheek.

Jackie: I would like to write a book with Sandra Brown. She writes the kind of stories I would be comfortable writing. I think she would be easy to get along with and would take any suggestions I might make to create a better story.

Stu: I’d love to co-write or write a John Corey book with Nelson DeMille. On another note, completely with you on Baldacci. (Thought I did like the Camel Club series till the last book and a half of so)

Janet: Oh boy, Graeme, who would I want to write with first should be the question?

Years ago. I lamented that Stuart Woods (Stone Barrington), Catherine Coulter (Sherlock and Savich), Faye Kellerman (Decker and Lazarus) and Fern Michaels Sisterhood had slowed the issuance of new books. Stuart Woods has since redeemed himself and put out at least two a year. The rest, in my view are slacking on their job of providing entertainment for me.

I don’t know who I would prod first. Faye Kellerman most likely since she left me hanging with “Bone Box”. I have ideas for Fern on vigilantly justice- ideas that have come to me during the current unprecedented year, just like I have ides for Sherlock and Savich, and Decker and Lazarus.

I guess I will wait until they solicit me for my ideas, just to preserve my right to a copyright for the finished book. I have some ideas written out and my try my hand at writing my own book.

Chris: Although he hasn’t come out with a new book in quite some time, i would love to help my favorite author John Jakes write a book. His knowledge of historical happenings is just amazing to me. I don’t believe he will ever come out with another book, but one can only hope.

Barbara: I think I would rather read a book than write one. So I don’t think I would want to co-author any book. I read voraciously but I have never even thought about writing one.

When I was growing up I didn’t read much, other than for school. The only book I can really recall reading was Black Beauty. I was too busy adventuring on our five acre property. My husband died about 20 years ago and that is when I really took up reading a lot. I suppose it was because I was spending so much time alone. But I didn’t marry until I was 30 years old and I don’t really recall reading too much before that. And I was alone at that time. I did work a lot of hours though, so I didn’t really have much time to read.

AJ: This is a thought-provoking question – usually I think about the characters, not the author themselves. I think I would love to coauthor with Daniel Silva, esp if we need to travel to research settings in Israel and the rest of the middle east. I would love to pick his brain about issues of regular people coexisting in peace in the region, as opposed to political peace. I would love to delve more into Gabriel Allon’s home life and children, maybe focus on a personal storyline instead of political, round out that character a little more, delve more into his wife’s character.
Fabulous newsletter as always. I really enjoy the Amos Decker series and I feel it stays strong all the way through, so I hope you enjoy it.

Kelly: I would love to work with Orson Scott Card on his delayed sequel to his Shadow in Flight book. Whatever happened to the union of Bean’s 3 children and the alien queenless males on the alien colony ship orbiting above a prime earthlike planet? There are so many interesting possibilities to explore with this storyline.

Parrothead: In response to your question; “This month I am asking: if you could write one book in a series, or work with an author on a book, who would it be?”, my choice would be Ed Robinson in his “Breeze” series of books (currently, the “Blue Water Breeze” series). The suspense in tropical and sub-tropical locations (mostly Caribbean and South Florida) makes this a captivating series.

Dan: There are 2!

First an author who has died .
Robert A Heinlein.

Amazing fiction for both young adults and adults

His stories were ahead of the times.

Series would be Earl Emerson with the Thomas Black Series ..great mysteries and fun characters!

Sam: I’m going to go with something a little off the beaten path and choose the Tucker Wayne series by James Rollins. This is an offshoot of the Sigma Force series, currently only has two or three books. Tucker Wayne has military background as a war dog handler and his “partner” is his trusted K-9 “Kane”. My idea is Tucker is on a job in a rural mountainous area (the concept was the High Tetra Mountains in Slovakia) when the unthinkable happens. While in a violent gunfight, he and his dog are separated. The dog is not responding to calls and Kane has lost his master’s scent. While Tucker is desperately trying to find his dog, Kane is obviously lost and a bit confused suddenly being without a master. While wandering through the woods, Kane realizes he will probably need help from a two-legged if he is to find his master again, but doesn’t know who he can trust. He ends up coming across a 12-year-old boy who has his own story of coming from a home with an abusive alcoholic father and apathetic mother. The dog at first scares the heck out of the boy who jumps up into a tree to get away from him. Kane, smelling the “human cub’s” fear, realizes he has to earn his trust as much as the boy needs to get Kane’s trust. So they go from there – at some point in the story, the boy’s father turns out to be part of the criminal organization Tucker was there handling in the first place. He ends up getting killed at some point. The dog and Tucker are reunited and as a “thank you” for taking care of his dog, Tucker gets the boy a dog of his own. Obviously a lot of holes to fill in the blanks here, but that’s the general concept.

Miriam: To collaborate with Mark Twain would be my author of choice. I’d suggest the character of Huckleberry Finn persuading Tom Sawyer and Jim to fly the balloon they had previously used to go Washington DC. Remember Huck’s father had railed against the gov’mt (at least in the movie) so Huck would want to go see what was going on over there especially since it’s an election year. The three characters would meet up with politicos and maybe even the President and try to figure out what’s going on with Congress and the Supreme Court while also including this strange virus among other issues. Mark Twain’s wonderful humor would have lots of material to play with and I would love to be in on it!

Jenny: Considering your question – if you could write one book in a series, or work with an author on a book, who would it be? I have two answers because my mind branches off in two directions here. For pure enjoyment (and since this is not really going to happen anyway) I wish I could write a book with JRR Tolkien and work on maps and languages and oh such fun. But more realistically I would like to help write the next Dave Gurney book with John Verdon. Working with any accomplished author would be such an experience, but my goal with John would be my deep desire for the next book which I find no evidence that he is writing!

Hollins: I would love to write a Three Pines mystery with Louise Penny. I love her characters – Armand, Reine-Marie, Ruth, etc. Except for the cold weather I would love to live there. When I was much younger, I would have wanted to write a Nero Wolfe novel with Rex Stout. I would be a friend to Archie – I doubt that Nero would have cared for me at all!
I am coauthoring mystery books now, although only contributing a chapter in each one. In our 55+ community, we have a mystery book club, and one of our members – Hugo Uyttenhove – is a published author. He has gotten several of us to write mysteries with him about murders taking place in our community. So far we have published “Mud Cake for Breakfast” and “No Tacos for Lunch”, and “Sloppy Joe for Dinner” will be published soon. The profits have been going to a local middle school library or to the NC Food Bank.

Chris: Hi Graeme. I would enjoy working with several favorite authors but one that I’d especially enjoy writing alongside is John Grisham. It would be an incredible experience to help choose the subject of his next book and to contribute in my own small way as we delved into the personalities of the main characters and explored their relationships. I think Grisham is able to take complex legal situations and bring out the humanity in them and stitch it all together into a fast-paced thriller. It would be fascinating to take part in that.

Denise: Who would I co-author with??
So easy – I would love to get inside the mind of Dean Koontz! That would be an amazing experience. If I had to pick a book series of his to be involved in, it would have to be the Odd Thomas series.
You follow this young man through so many events and relationships. How Koontz comes up with all these ideas is beyond me.

Linda: Interesting question this month. There are so many books that I feel a part of when reading them that I sometimes think I am in that book. When you read you can envelope yourself with the characters and locales so much that you space out the rest of the world and enter the fiction world of the book. I enjoy reading so much that I think about it constantly. Now as to what series I would like to co-write , first it would have to be Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series. Why? It is because when reading her books I imagine the town of Three Pines and want to be a part of its inhabitants. They are all so real to me that I actually see them when I read. This is a credit to the author that she can spin a story so well that It becomes real to me. There is an old series called “The Ladies of Covington send their Love”, which is another one that I could see myself writing a book in the series. It is especially timely for me as it is about senior women living together in a little town of Covington and their adventures and loves. Once again as I read that series, I am sucked into the story line and live right there with the women. Another credit to the author for making me feel apart of her book. Other series I would like to write for are Mitch Rapp, Gray Man and Jack Reacher, but they would be out of my league for sure. Thank you again for a great newsletter and suggestions. I have already ordered two. Right now I just started the Amos Decker series by Baldacci and am captivated. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves character driven suspense. Happy reading to all.

Louis: 1. Check out An Inordinate Woman by Stephanie Buelens who currently lives in Belgium. Terrific read with many turns and a great ending.

2. Would love to write with James Lee Burke. Just “hanging out” with him for a few hours with good dialogue, chat and probably a beverage refreshment would be just fine. Could share a few tall tales with him and learn.

Tom: Happy summer’s-over-and-now-I’m-cold to you, Graeme. Mentioning the book 1984, I feel like I am already living it and it only goes downhill from here. I guess I’d like to write a Joe Pickett story similar to what C J Box writes. Since I love Wyoming, it might be fun and hardly boring. I have read all of those books in the series, so it should be easy right? Maybe if the state warden (Michigan) locks us down again, that would give me something to do. Appreciate some of the book recommendations and I plan to try a few.

Vicki: First I have to say I don’t have specific ideas for any story line. I would like to site down and start talking – then we’ll come up with a story idea.

If I could only choose one author, it would be Anne McCaffrey. I would love to have joined her with another Pern novel or one in her telekinetic/Rowan series.

Others:

Connie Willis – I’d like to work with her on anything she wants
Nora Roberts – writing a contemporary romance like her Brides Quartet or the Boonesboro Trilogy
Jayne Ann Krentz – writing a book in her Harmony series
John Scalzi – something that takes place in his Locked In World
Jasper Fforde – I wish I could have been there for the first Thursday Next book, The Eyre Affair. The puns…
C.S. Lewis – Who wouldn’t have loved to live in Narnia while writing a book
James Herriott – not to help write, but just to listen to his stories
Susan Elizabeth Phillips – her humorous yet serious romances – perhaps a return to her Wynette, TX series

There are so many more I could add – dead, living, well known, and unnoticed. For the rest of the month I’ll think “Oh, I should have added…”

This is an amazing newsletter. I look forward to it when it hits my email box. I recommend the site all the time to friends, including a librarian who was looking more sites like this. Thank you for the work involved, all the series lists, and sharing your love of reading.

Sandi: Who would i like to co-author a book with? Of course, Michael Connelly and the Harry Bosch series. I come from a law enforcement background and love this series. Also, Greg Iles and his Penn Cage series. AND John Sanford and his series, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers. Sorry could not keep it at just one. What an honor it would be to be in the company of such fine authors.

sewcrafty: Hi Graeme,

Probably the weirdest answer you will get but my dream author to work with is:

FBI Profiler John Douglas who authors a series of books containing his psychological studies on the worst killers in the world. The first profile he did was about The Unabomber. He has many books, a growing series on Serial Killers/SerialCriminals which are used for the show: Mindhunters:

I spent 15 years in Law Enforcement which was my dream job since I was 5 years old. I yearned to become a forensic investigator, and to attend the best forensic school in the world, which is in Scotland. However financial resources were not available. That and family obligations kept me from achieving that dream.

So I’ve studied on my own for years and of course reading all of John’s books, and others who write with him. I buy textbooks and any other books available to read on the subject. Everyone has to have a hobby, right?

My hobby is learning. I’ve said for as long as I can remember that a day in which you don’t learn anything new is a wasted day.

Love the newsletter. I’m attaching a picture in case you get desperate for one for the newsletter.

I’ve edited two books, (the first link in my signature line is one) and the other one, is in the final stage of publishing now. We will be co-writing a book together which we are researching now.

I wonder if any other of your subscribers are authors?

Thanks for your time and recommendations.