Guest Post by Tracy Sharp

Wow. Kindle Worlds. What a brilliant and fun idea! This is a game where everyone wins.

Writers who want to play in another writer’s sandbox are able to create their own castles and add them to the structures that are already there. The original writer has the joy of watching their characters take off in new and exciting directions while earning a percentage from new stories, fans of the series can continue reading about their favorite characters, and authors can earn a royalty while writing in a popular series and expanding their readership.

Kindle Worlds is also a fun way for established writers to explore writing in a series different than the one in which they normally write. Several bestselling writers have written stories for Kindle Worlds, such as Theresa Ragan, Jana Deleon, Russell Blake, and Marquitta Valentine.

I love when musicians collaborate or sample the songs of other artists in their own work, especially when the artists are from vastly different music genres. The result is usually fresh and outstanding. It’s remarkable what merging the visions of different artists can produce. I don’t see Kindle Worlds as being much different, and I look forward to reading and writing many Kindle Worlds books.

I am especially excited about the launch of the Jack Daniels and Associates Kindle World, as I’ve been a huge fan of the series for many years. A couple of years ago I had the honor of collaborating with Joe on the short novel Jacked Up, which teams up characters from his wonderful Jack Daniels world with my series character Leah Ryan. So when Joe invited me to write a full-length novel featuring both characters, I was thrilled and jumped at the chance. The result was Happy Hour, which also combines both the Jack Daniels and Leah Ryan worlds.

I’m currently working on a story for the Codename: Chandler World, which launches On May 5, and I’m having a blast. So many times during the writing of these stories, I feel the biggest smile cross my face. It’s amazing that it’s possible for writers to choose from so many different worlds and just take off with them. The possibilities are endless.

How many of you are working on Kindle Worlds stories?  Tell us in comments. I look forward to reading them! 

Joe sez: It was fun co-writing Jacked Up with Tracy, and I'm thrilled to have her tackle a Jack/Leah novel on her own.

It's sort of like watching someone cook one of your recipes, in your kitchen, buy adding their own personal spin on the dish. Writers willing to let others experiment with their characters are in for some tasty surprises. And because both the Jack Daniels and Associates Kindle World and the Codename: Chandler Kindle World allow writers to keep full possession of their IPs, there are no sticky copyright issues over who owns what. Your characters stay your characters, and neither I nor Amazon have any claim to them. 

Currently, Ann Voss Peterson and I are looking for writers to expand our Codename: Chandler Universe. We just finished a story with F. Paul Wilson, where Chandler meets his mainstay hero Repairman Jack. They fight. A lot. It was a ridiculous amount of fun to write, and we believe the readers will enjoy it just as much.

If you're interested in writing a Chandler story, email me. The deadline prior to launch is April 30. To learn more about Chandler, check out the page on my website.