This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
With a house move last year and the corresponding stresses related with it, I noticed I would switch off by watching the entire series of a programme or reading complete novel series, devouring one after the other. It is often something completely removed from my own life – maybe it is The Famous Five, a childish escape from solicitors and estate agents, or Goodnight Sweetheart, a time-travelling TV repair man. Anything that has lots of episodes or lots of books relating to the same character. I'm not always aware when I am feeling the pressure, until I find I'm reading or watching continuously. Once I've exhausted the series I feel so much better, my shoulders return to their rightful place from around my ears and I can breathe without that tummy flipping anxiety you can feel when taking a breath.
So for next time when I'm a little, less than relaxed (and there will almost certainly be a next time) I've got myself prepared and come up with five series of books.
1. Size 12 is Not Fat / Size 14 is Not Fat Either / Size Doesn't Matter (Big Boned) / Size 12 and Ready to Rock / The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot
Heather Wells used to be a popstar adored by teens. Then she gained a few pounds and the record company dropped her. She walked out on her famous boyfriend and rented a room at Cooper's house. Cooper is the brother of her ex and also a private investigator. She is working at the freshman dorm at New York College, nicknamed death dorm, as somehow deaths seem to occur there…
2. I Heart New York / I Heart Hollywood / I Heart Paris / I Heart Vegas / I Heart London by Lindsey Kelk
In I Heart New York, Angela Clarke runs away from her cheating boyfriend and jumps on a plane heading to New York. In the city that never sleeps she starts dating, two guys at once!, and starts writing about it all in a blog.
3. The Little Lady Agency / Little Lady, Big Apple / What the Lady Wants / The Little Lady and the Prince by Hester Browne
Hard up for cash, Melissa attends a job interview with her old Home Economics teacher, thinking she was interested in her cookery skills. Halfway through the interview it dawns on her that this teacher is now running an escort agency. Not Melissa's ideal job, but she is broke. So Honey, her alter-ego is born.
4. The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich
Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter working in New Jersey. In the first novel, One for the Money, Stephanie is down on her luck. Her job has gone, her car looks set to disappear too and her apratment has very little furniture left. Enter cousin Vinnie. He owns a bail-bond company and hires in Stephanie to bring in those who have skipped bail.
5. Shopoholic series by Sophie Kinsella
Rebecca Bloomwood has a great flat, a great wardrobe and a job where she tells people how to manage their money. The only problem is, she can't manage her own. She loves shopping but her bank balance doesn't.