The Serial Reader

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One of my favorite types of storytelling is the series. It is a story told in several installments. The author will take the reader on an adventure leading to a cliffhanger(or hook) that leads into the next installment. Used to happen a lot in the old newspaper days. When I was in my late teens I used to spend my summers with my BFF in Oklahoma. Summers in Oklahoma are unmercifully hot to say the very least. My BFF was an avid reader of Sci-fi. She introduced me to such great writers as R. E. Howard (Conan, the Barbarian), Anne McCaffrey( Dragon Riders of Pern), and Andre Norton (and her Witch World) among many others, but the author who really impressed me was Edgar Rice Burroughs. He created the Tarzan series and Mars series which are great reads. He is an expert at the serial and cliffhanger. He will begin the real action close to the end of a chapter and leave the reader hanging by the end. Of course, you have to read on. One summer I took a copy of Princess of Mars over to the park. I found a cooler tree to set under and nearly finished that book during a 5-hour read. I happened to look up when some noisy kids went by and noticed that it was getting dark out. I'd been there from 12p. until 5p. reading. I do love getting lost in a good read.