March of the Sequels: G.M. Nair
The Author/s
G.M. Nair
G.M. Nair is a crazy man who should never be taken seriously.
Possessing both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering has enabled him to masquerade as an intelligent, functioning member of society. If he approaches you to talk about cosmology or the state of the American Space program, try to appear as large as possible and make loud screeching sounds until he flees.
Mr. Nair writes and draws as a hobby and as an attempt to pay off the legal settlements he has incurred for beating up small children as “payback”. In a statement released by his lawyer, Mr. Nair asserts that “they know what they did.”
He is part of a New York City-based sketch group and can be seen writing and acting on their monthly sketch show “Clip Show”. He has also written for the History Channel’s Join Or Die with Craig Ferguson. He also curates the blog Make Mom Marvel.
The Interview
First of all, tell me a little about your series and introduce us to the sequel(s).
I write the Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire series of sci-fi/mystery/comedies that follow two odd-couple best friends who are forced into opening a detective agency and solve cases involving all sorts of sci-fi and fantasy rigmarole. So far, there are 3 books in the series. The first book shares the series title, but the second and third are The One-Hundred Percent Solution and The Mystery of the Murdered Guy. Both follow additional weird cases, and move the mysterious background plot forward.
Do you find that most of your readers continue to read the whole series? Why do you think that is?
Judging from the reviews my sequels get compared to the first, I’d say no! Mathematically I get about a 15% conversion rate. I’d say the remaining 85% either get distracted with other books, don’t care for the humor, or think the first book is fucking awful.
How difficult is it to add new characters in a sequel into already established relationships?
Not very hard for me, actually. The Duckett-Dyer friendship is the main crux of the series and it’s really fun to add in new characters who are perplexed or annoyed with how they act.
Is it difficult to continue with worldbuilding for a world you have already built in book 1? Do you find it easier to switch locations for the sequel and start again with worldbuilding?
The worldbuilding of Duckett & Dyer is both structured and chaotic all at once. Most of it takes place in the real world, which doesn’t require much world-building at all. But then when we jump through multi-verses, the sky's the limit and nothing REALLY has to make sense. Just as long as the rules are consistent.
Have you ever been stymied by a worldbuilding or plot detail from book 1 that is very inconvenient to deal with or write your way around in subsequent books?
Not really. I’ve had most things plotted out for the series, so things don’t trip me up that much. The one area of difficulty I have is figuring out how two slackers with no special abilities end up defeating a number of supernatural threats with infinite power. The process of them taking down the big bad of Book 2 was a struggle to figure out, but - if I’m honest - I really like what I came up with.
Would you say your craft has improved with the subsequent books?
Oh, absolutely. I think my writing gets tighter and better with every book. I cringe at the thought of having to read Book 1 again, but I’ll have to when all the lingering plot details come home to roost in the next 3 books.
Do you have all the timeline planned for the full series?
I have everything that needs to happen narratively for the next 3 books in the series (ending with number 6), but as for a release timeline? Your guess is as good as mine!
Do you have any marketing tips for sequels?
No. Do you have any for me?