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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 features races you’ve seen before, but also not quite. That’s the best way I can explain it, and I’m sorry, I know that’s vague as hell. But I hope you'll give them a chance. Their book is also one of the long ones at over a 100k!

It’s also a new household which I always enjoy. Looking farther ahead, we are returning to the D’Vaire mansion soon, I promise. In the fall and winter, we’ll be there for both a book and a short story.

Okay, so what am I working on? I’m plugging away at the first book in the Twisted Tales of D’Vaire series. I thought this project would be so easy, but I clearly underestimated how many twists my characters would insist on. It’s been an absolute joy (and kind of scary) the way everything is different and to watch how that changes the people I’ve grown to love so dearly in the series. It’s also really exciting to look ahead and see what stories are waiting for me. 

I realized as I started that in order to write more of these books; I needed to figure how every twist, so the book is going slowly, but that’s okay. The last thing I want to do is overlook anything or miss any detail. It has helped me figure out which characters could get books, and which have completed stories already written.

As I mentioned in my last blog, the book is not Dra’Kaedan and Brogan as I first imagined it would be. It features two gardeners, and their first twist occurs in 1369 at Castle Draconis. If you've read much or all of the series, I think you can probably figure out from those two clues who it is. 😀

Once I’ve completed this project, the next thing on my calendar is to write another short story. I don’t know yet if that’s going to be a traditional D’Vaire tale, a twisted one, or feature characters from my other new series. It took me a long ass time, but I'm proud to say I finally named that first book. It is unusual for me not to start with a title, but for some reason I was stumped. Thankfully, something finally clicked, lol.

As for real life, there isn't much new with me. I'm staying indoors to avoid the heat and eagerly awaiting fall. I miss opening my windows and fresh air. Mostly, I’m excited about the books headed your way soon and I hope you are too!

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