Skip to main content

Damian's Tunes and More D'Vaire News

I hope you enjoyed Imperial Twist; it was certainly an interesting story to write. Years ago when I first created the character of Damian, he was adamant that he’d have two mates which was quite a surprise to me since I wasn’t even sure how I felt about MMM at the time! From the start, it was always going to be Marcus and Ryan he was paired with, but I couldn’t quite get the puzzle pieces to mix. After I’d read some wonderful MMM titles, I realized that when it’s done right it could be fantastic and so I knew it wasn’t simply that I was against the idea of writing them together it was the men themselves that were the issue.

It was Marcus who first made it clear that he was unsettled. I tried probably a million different ways to alter the characters and the story to come up with a happy ending, but it just didn’t work. I had to listen to the core of who they were as people and adjust accordingly. Damian was horrified to be stripped of his dream and remained stubborn until the bitter end – grasping at any straw possible to hold onto both men. When he was finally honest with himself, he came to understand that it was only Marcus in his heart. That journey bled into the novel itself and I know I’m not alone in wanting to shake some sense into the man.

Will I ever write an MMM? Yes, I certainly will. At this point I have a trio of men who are ready to be fully committed to one another. Why is there only one so far? Simple. For me, an MMM must be three men coming together at the same time (or nearly the same time) and fully committed to loving each other. If/when I find another group of guys with the shared goal of moving forward without jealousy, I will certainly add them to my ever-growing list of stories in the D’Vaire universe. I have not written the MMM yet, but you have met at least one of the men who will be featured when it’s their turn.

In my Facebook group, there is an absolutely incredible group of people who share their reactions to the books as well as what they think is coming up in the series. Sometimes they’re so accurate at what is ahead that I wonder if they can see in my brain! Since they’re so awesome, I thought I’d give them some little nuggets of information! Let’s start with Ryan. Am I going to redeem him or write his book? At this time, I have no plans nor have I already written his story. I can tell you that you might just see him around again, but only in a cameo or two. There’s honestly nothing about him that interests me enough to figure out what his deal is – at least not when I have so many other guys jumping up and down for their mates and whose lives I’m insanely curious about!

Now that Imperial Twist is available, the question inevitably turns to what’s next and when. Unpredictable Fate will be released (barring any unforeseen circumstances given the state of the world at the moment) in May. It features an elf you have already met and a shifter. I will give you more details on who these guys are when we get closer to the big day!

What am I working on? My March was supposed to be a busy month full of travel and I was going to do something crazy and actually take time off. Now that everything has changed, I am not capable of shoving aside my characters to get in full relaxation mode but I’m trying to squeeze in a few days of it since I so rarely let myself not work on D’Vaire. That doesn’t mean I don’t already have a couple ready to go and that notes haven’t already happened because my new couple is very persistent.

Given the fiasco with Renny, I’m not going to share the details just yet. I am glad his story is done, and I think everyone will really enjoy the results – it was a unique writing experience and I hope it turned out well. But I put enormous pressure on myself to get it finished even when it was frustrating the hell out of me because I’d already promised his story was upcoming. Had I not done that to myself, I likely would’ve set Renny aside (perhaps indefinitely) and moved on to a couple who were more forthcoming with details instead of me prying things out with a sledgehammer. It exhausted me and I still want to slap him and his mate into next week!

I’d just like to take a moment to thank every reader who has continued to follow the D’Vaires. I couldn’t do this without you!! I also couldn’t do it without the fantastic team around me – the lovely ladies of Flat Earth Editing who edit and proof the D’Vaires so you only get to see them in their best light, my talented cover designer LJ Anderson of Mayhem Cover Creations, and the tireless work of Lily Blunt of Gay Book Promotions for getting the word out.

If you’d like to join my Ruffians and meet all the wonderful people there, click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jessamynsruffians/

Stay safe everyone and keep those hands clean!

Here’s the written playlist for Imperial Twist (for links to this playlist as well as the entire D’Vaire master list in Apple Music and Spotify which were created by the Chief Ruffian Hillary, please join the Ruffians!):

“I Miss You” by Adele
“Already Gone” by Kelly Clarkson
“Better Off Alone” by Katharine McPhee
“Broken Vow” by Josh Groban
“Bullet” by Clare Maguire
“Can’t Let Go” by Mariah Carey
“Chances” by Backstreet Boys
“Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley
“Crazy” by Within Temptation
“Fading Like A Flower (Every Time You Leave)” by Roxette
“Hard Habit To Break” by Chicago
“The Heart Of The Matter” by Don Henley
“Heartbreaker” by Dionne Warwick
“Hidden Away” by Josh Groban
“High Enough” by Damn Yankees
“Higher Window” by Josh Groban
“How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” by Bee Gees
“I Don’t Wanna Cry” by Mariah Carey
“I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love” by Chicago
“I Hope You Find It” by Cher
“If I Could Be With You Now” by Dean Nolen & Bobby Joyner (Latter Days Soundtrack)
“Is It Over Yet” by Wynonna
“Let Her Go” by Within Temptation
“Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green
“Listen to Your Heart” by Roxette
“Love in the Dark” By Adele
“Mental Picture” by Jon Secada
“Missing You” by Diana Ross
“The Moon and the Sky” by Sade
“More Than A Woman” by Bee Gees
“Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye) by Gladys Knight & The Pips
“Nights In White Satin” by The Moody Blues
“Now Or Never” by Josh Groban
“Sail On” by The Commodores
“Spending My Time” by Roxette
“Still” by The Commodores
“Take My Breath Away” by Berlin
“This Is Not the End” by Clare Maguire
“The Tips of My Fingers” by Steve Wariner
“Touch Me In The Morning” by Diana Ross
“Uninvited” by Alanis Morissette
“The Way We Were” by Barbra Streisand
“We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey
“What’s Left of Me” by Nick Lachey
“When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars
“Where Do I Fit In The Picture” by Clay Walker
“Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

This one is a bit short...

Five weeks ago, I sprained my finger and unfortunately, the tears in my collateral ligaments are still healing. I’m back at the orthopedist at the end of the month to check on it and with some luck, I’ll get to stop wearing the straps anchoring it soon. As you can imagine, it’s limiting my time on the computer. But I'm squeezing in as much writing and editing as I can. It was great to finally return to the D’Vaire household with Scales and Stone, and we’ll be there again for the next edition to the series, which is a holiday story. In my Facebook group, I’ll reveal the first hint about what to expect from the D’Vaires and their loved ones tomorrow morning. Although I’d hoped to be finished with a book by now, I’m still plugging away at it. The characters are being patient with me, which I appreciate. Like Scales and Stone, it takes place at the D’Vaire mansion, and it’s been fun to hang out with some of my favorite people. At this point, I’m still paranoid about whether these

Catching up!

It’s been six months since I wrote a blog post. I didn’t intend to stop writing them for so long, but life got in the way. Between struggles with a lack of creativity and some minor medical issues, I’m trying to work my way back to writing daily. But I did finally finish a book!  At the start of the year, I was burned out and wasn’t sure how to get my guys to talk to me again. I’ve mentioned before that I have OCD. I also struggle with depression. This year my doctor and I decided medication was a necessity. It has helped. So has balancing out my other health struggles and my ever-changing role as a spouse to someone with primary progressive multiple sclerosis and Sjogren’s syndrome.  This time of year, I always try to send my editor my dates for the following year. I decided to commit myself to fewer releases in 2024. I’m going to put out five novels and a short story. The biggest change is that they won’t all be D’Vaire books. To find some inspiration, I had to take a huge step back

Twists and turns

Shadowy Illusions was a fun, but emotional project, and I'm thrilled that Amaury was so insistent on telling his story. He definitely deserves a happily ever after, and so do his mates. After spending a few months hanging out with the Gennevioses, I enjoyed them, but I was ready to move on.  I’ve spoken several times now in my Facebook group about how many of the books this year contain characters that came into my head long before the D’Vaire series planted its roots in my brain. I'm not sure why they chose now to demand things, but I was happy to oblige. The next book is the last of those…at least for now, because I have a ton of old stories, and I certainly can’t predict who is going to jump in and request a story next.  Unlike Matebond Dance and Deliciously Enchanted , where the stories paralleled their original tales, the couple coming next barely resemble their foundational characters. Their story has edged its way near the top of the list of books I love most. It featur