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Two wizards and a weird neighbor...

When I outlined Marked by Lightning, I didn’t anticipate creating a new household in the D’Vaire universe, but somehow a group of guys blossomed into a family. There are some intriguing new personalities to explore and I look forward to learning more about them. I have no clue who their mates are yet, but I’m sure they’ll let me know when they’re ready to jump into the fray. As for the story of our two wizards, I was happy to finally be able to give Vadimas a happy ending. From the start of the series, he’s been a reliable constant and it seemed only fair that his time came to find his mate.

Over the years, Severin has always been his other half, but his personality has morphed significantly. Vadimas had a lot of issues trying to decide what would make him happy, so poor Severin had to be recreated multiple times. In the end, I hope I found a formula that will create a successful matebond for them. Their playlist was fueled by Vadimas’s secret love for Disney movies and by the end of the novel, I have to say as much as I enjoy the songs, I could barely stand listening to it. During the editing process, I chose to put Disney movies on instead of the playlist. All those fun songs are still part of the master D’Vaire list I use all the time and I have no trouble dealing with them sporadically.

So, what was up with the neighbor Hank? Well, he’s a rarity in the D’Vaire world and is based on an actual person. When my husband and I first moved to Nevada, we had a million and one packages being mailed to us because we only took necessities with us on our trip across the country. Our neighbor decided to take it upon himself to snag the boxes left on our porch and stack them up in his garage for safekeeping. He came over one day and knocked on the door to let us know where our missing things were. I believe he had the best intentions although I’m fairly sure his diligence was unnecessary. We’ve only encountered him a few times since then, and he’s always polite but very short on words. Thankfully, he stopped intercepting our mail and I was inspired to create an interesting guy next door to Vadimas.

The next question is always what’s next for D’Vaire. As I’m sure anyone knows by now, the next book is Heart of the High King. The moment I decided to make D’Vaire an MM only series, Aleksander’s mate barreled in and there was never a question whether it was right. There could be no one else for him and I cannot imagine anyone else at his side. As much as I love all the D’Vaires, my favorite couple has and always will be Aleksander and his mate. They are a couple I refuse to let go, so I’ve already penned a short story for them and have plans for future ones.

As for Heart of the High King, it’s a long book because that’s what their journey required, and I refuse to split any story into two books again. I don’t regret doing it in the past, I simply have no desire to put myself through it in the future. And I only have one couple ahead (so far!) that were originally planned to be a double book. I’ll just give you another extra long one when they’re ready.

It’s hard to believe that I started Aleksander’s story over a year ago. It wasn’t supposed to be the nineteenth in the series. There were several couples ahead of them, but they wouldn’t leave me alone, so I spent last summer with them. They spearheaded the idea of ditching my list altogether and just letting whoever was ready to jump in. It’s been an interesting adjustment not having any clue who is next, and I had a ton of anxiety when I finished my last two projects because I finished with absolutely no idea who I was writing next! It turns out, I don’t have to worry – there are simply too many couples waiting in the wings.

When I read an enjoyable book, I sometimes struggle when it ends. I have such a desire to stay with the couple that I mourn the ending. That happens when I write as well. Aleksander and his other half left me with a horrible hangover that has only recently lifted. I think the only reason it did was because I agreed to write them novellas for eternity. Anyway, the plan is to release Heart of the High King in early September and I sincerely hope you enjoy learning more about Aleksander along with the incredible man meant for him.

Here’s the playlist for Marked by Lightning:

“Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS
“Let It Go” by Idina Menzel
“True Love’s Kiss” by Amy Adams & James Marsden
“Happy Working Song” by Amy Adams
“That’s How You Know” by Amy Adams
“Memory (From Cats)” by Barbra Streisand
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” by Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke & The Pearly Chorus
“Grease” by Frankie Valli
“Broken & Beautiful (From the Movie “UGLYDOLLS”)” by Kelly Clarkson
“Hello” by Zooey Deschanel
“True Colors” by Anna Kendrick & Justin Timberlake
“Summer Nights” by John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
“Beauty School Dropout” by Frankie Avalon
“The Wizard and I” by Carole Shelley & Idina Menzel
“Defying Gravity” by Kristin Chenoweth & Idina Menzel
“For Good” by Kristin Chenoweth & Idina Menzel
“Whatever Lola Wants” by Chiwetel Ejiofor
“La Llorona” by Alanna Ubach & Antonio Sol
“Remember me (Dúo)[feat. Natalia Lafourcade] by Miguel
“When Will My Life Begin” by Mandy Moore
“I’ve Got a Dream” by Mandy Moore, Brad Garrett, Tangled Ensemble, Zachary Levi & Jeffrey Tambor
“I See the Light” by Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi
“Be Our Guest” by Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach & The Chorus of Beauty and the Beast
“Zero To Hero” by Hercules, Lillias White, Cheryl Freeman, La Chanze, Roz Ryan, Vaneese Thomas & Tawath Agee
“I Won’t Say (I’m In Love)” by Susan Egan, Cheryl Freeman, LaChanze, Vaneese Thomas & Lillias White
“Friend Like Me” by Robin Williams
“Prince Ali” by Robin Williams
“Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” by Madonna
“Lose Yourself” by Eminem
“True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper
“Trophy Hunter” by Within Temptation
“Separate Ways” by Journey
“Hi-Lo” by Evanescence
“Dog Days” by Within Temptation
“Over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland
“If I Only Had a Brain” by Ray Bolger & Judy Garland
“If I Only Had a Heart” by Jack Haley
“We’re Off to See the Wizard” by Judy Garland, Ray Bolger & Buddy Ebsen
“If I Only Had the Nerve” by Bert Lahr, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley & Judy Garland
“The Merry Old Land of Oz” by Lois January, Elivda Rizo, Lorraine Bridges, the MGM Studio Chorus, Bobby Watson, Ralph Sudan, Frank Morgan, Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Tyler Brook, Oliver Smith & Charles Irwin
“If I Were King of the Forest” by Bert Lahr, Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley & Buddy Ebsen

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