D'VAIRE

Putting together my thoughts for this blog wasn’t easy. While my anxiety and I regularly approach release days with varying levels of dread, Venerably Daray made me decidedly queasy. It wasn’t because I second guessed my decisions—for me, the story dictates everything. I do not sway my characters from telling their tale. Although I generally know the reason behind the events, those may not be revealed for a few books or many. The storyline for  Venerably Daray wasn't straightforward. I was thrilled with Samson and Brynn’s love story when I completed the novel. But there were other parts of the book that bugged me and there were many, many revisions. I still wasn't satisfied so I stepped away from it. As the weeks passed, I looked to other projects and got some much-needed clarity. The result was the full story of Venerably Daray and the lives of the reapers. One worry I had was that the events that unfolded after the matebond ceremony would somehow take away from what the boo...

Scheredin’s story wasn’t one I ever thought would come to fruition. As I created the D’Vaire universe, I put Noirin and Scheredin in there because they’re a vital part of my life and it was fun to add my gaming personas into my fantasy world. However, while Noirin’s path was chartered quickly thanks to Rafe and how his romance with Aleksander worked out, Scheredin didn’t cooperate in the slightest. His personality emerged as I poked and prodded at him, and he was full of surprises. I tried to pair him with multiple partners, and although I was pretty sure about his magic, I wasn’t positive he wanted to be a dark warlock until I wrote The Dragon Masquerade . But from the start I wanted Scheredin’s partner to have something to do with his gaming. For me, that was a neat way to honor the true Scheredin who exists virtually. Thankfully, Scheredin and Kieran liked the idea too, and when they were ready, the details spilled out in a rush. Their book wound up being one of those that was relat...

If you’ve read Soul of the Imperian , you’ve probably realized by now that its story is incomplete without Demonically Daray . Which is why despite the difficulties I had with crafting Hexaniys and Eduard’s story, I couldn’t leave it out of the series though I did consider it. But then again, I have contemplated keeping many of the stories far from the public eye—such is the nature of my scared little heart not wanting to put my guys out in the world to be judged. As I mentioned in my last blog post, Eduard and Hexaniys once had a complicated plot, but it fell apart as things developed in other books.  I wanted more than to mention it as a footnote in Paszra’s book that Eduard had met his mate, so I developed essentially a prologue to the Imperian’s story and gave the Skeleton Lord his happily ever after. It wasn’t something I was completely happy with, but I had to contend with the characters and what they wanted. It was probably unsatisfying to read about Hexaniys’s lack of magic...

I enjoy trying new things as I create new stories in the D’Vaire world, and Demonically Daray was another first for me. Although it was my fourth short, I hadn’t attempted to write a romantic one prior to Hexaniys and Eduard’s story. It wasn’t easy for me. I like diving deep into projects and exploring the facets of the characters. They aren’t a new couple. Eduard rushed to tell me all about his other half immediately after he first showed up in my head many years ago. Initially, their plot was far more complicated, but since it wound up coming so far into the series, much of the original story was no longer possible or relevant to the D’Vaire world now. I kept trying to force them into uncomfortable situations to create something far longer, but Eduard and Hexaniys weren’t having it. They are a couple who adored each other, so I had to switch my mindset to accommodate them. I’m happy with the result and there are more demons ahead, but there will probably always be a part of me that f...

With the recent release of The Vampyr’s Husband , the question that keeps popping up is who shot James? Since the humans remain uncooperative and the crime scene was horribly muddied, the sentinels have no suspects. Whether we discover the culprit in a future novel is uncertain, but there are several people close to James who aren’t content with the mystery.  As far as the animosity that exists between humans and the Council, there is no easy fix. The Council remains uninterested in investing time and resources in what they see as an unsolvable issue and the humans barely acknowledge that sorcerers and shifters exist. We’ll have to wait to see if any bridges can be built to narrow the large chasms that separate them. James and Nikolai were a treat to write. It’s ironic how things work out sometimes. Nikolai was a foundation character who pre-dates much of the series. The first version of him had him as the nephew of the vampiric leaders who were pretty horrible people. His relation...

Although it’s been a week since Lockmage Legacy came out, I finished it last summer so it was incredible to get to focus on Josh and Donnell again. When I was writing Triple Affinity , I initially didn’t plan on writing back-to-back bear books. In fact, Owen had a mate until I started crafting that outline but it fell apart and now, I’m back to square one with him and Donnell has been through a few himself that didn’t pan out. His first story was a triple matebond like Artair’s, but it didn’t mesh. Much like Damian and Marcus in Imperial Twist , there was never a sense of balance. Some months later, a version of Josh came to light, but the initial version of him was somewhat different. While he was a mage, he had no title, and he wasn’t a hybrid, either. But as I journeyed through Triple Affinity , this brash version of Donnell’s mate who demanded a new name for himself materialized and Josh was fully formed. Normally when I finish a project, I want to journey as far from the couple ...

I feel like the past month or so has raced by and for me, it’s been a productive couple of weeks. Since I like to plan ahead, I’ve already ordered my 2022 planner and am finalizing my publishing schedule with my editor. We’ll get more into that when we get further into the year, but there is plenty more D’Vaire on the horizon! I changed how I do things this year and so far my experiment is working out great. It’s helping me create a balance between writing and all the things I prefer to avoid when I’m in the middle of a book. It's also giving me plenty of space to develop things fully, so I can focus on every detail. I also need breaks from books to breathe a little and recharge my batteries.  Although I know some mate match ups that I haven't written yet, I've worked my way through all the plots I've already developed, so my guys require time and coaxing to tell me everything. Speaking of stories, I’ve passed the three quarters mark in my current project. When I finish...