For an author, writing a continuity can be a very different challenge than writing a stand-alone story.

A “continuity” is a series of linked books, usually by multiple authors, that gives each book its own story (and hero/heroine) but has a loose plot that spreads over the whole. Readers love linked books because they get extra plot, they can go deeper into the background and world, and generally get extra bang for the buck.

Writers like writing them for exactly the same reasons, so I was thrilled when I was invited to write for The Notorious Wolfes series. The Girl that Love Forgot is the seventh book in the Bad Blood continuity, the story of Annabelle Wolfe, the only daughter, whose painful, tragic past was the catalyst for the breakup of the family. When I heard the names of the authors I’d be working with – some of my best pals! – I was even more excited. The “bible” for the series – nearly 200 manuscript pages of backstory, images and detail about the Wolfe family given to us by M&B editors– blew me away. I fell in love with this proud, tortured family and could hardly wait to write Annabelle’s story.

The authors started an email loop to ask each other questions and develop various storylines together. For instance, Annabelle shares multiple scenes with her eldest brother Jacob, whose story comes right after Forgotten Daughter*. It was so fun to brainstorm dialogue with the author of Jacob’s story, Kate Hewitt! We emailed furiously back and forth: “And then he could say…” “But Jacob wouldn’t say it that way…”

Working with the lovely other seven authors – Sarah Morgan, Caitlin Crews, Abby Green, Robyn Grady, Lynn Raye Harris, Janette Kenny and Kate Hewitt – was super fun, and the backstory that the Mills & Boon editors provided us with was delicious.

But transforming all that information into a living, breathing story was the difficult part. At first I didn’t get it quite right – all right, I’ll admit I was WAY off. Wanna see how far off? Here’s a snip of my first version of The Girl that Love Forgot, complete with clunky, slow start and an annoying extra character.

As Annabelle Wolfe climbed out of her truck, her legs a bit wobbly after her long drive from London, she immediately realized two things.

First, northern Spain was more beautiful than she’d ever imagined. Half-wild horses raced across wide gold-colored fields, beneath a blue sky that stretched forever. A nearby stream burbled as she heard birdsong rising from a lush grove of orange trees.

The second thing she realized was – she never should have come here.

Tugging the strap of the heavy camera bag higher up her shoulder, she shivered beneath the hot sun, surveying the rambling, whitewashed hacienda with a feeling of dread.

This vast, famously inaccessible ranch, which was closed off to the world for fifty-one weeks a year, would be her home for the next six days. Which would have been a dream come true, except for the fact that she’d be sharing it with the ranch’s owner, Stefano Cortez, the reclusive millionaire horse-breeder. The man who’d once changed her life with a single monstrous insult.

It doesn’t matter anymore, Annabelle told herself fiercely. He won’t remember. But the icy knot in her heart only tightened.

Behind her, a car door slammed. A voluptuous blonde leaned against her dusty red Ferrari and stretched with a yawn, loudly jangling the gold bangles on her arms. “Ugh, thank heaven. It took frickin’ forever.” She looked around the pazo and vast ranchlands with a snort. “This is it? The famous ranch no one can visit? What a dump.”

I know, right? Tiffany is totally unnecessary, and where’s the first jolt of drama? My editor very kindly and gently suggested I get rid of the Tiffany character altogether, and go for a splashier start. So I took a deep breath (as my heroines so often do) and tried to think of what would make it splashier: more emotion. A dash of fear. A dangerous hero who is a threat to virginal, scarred Annabelle’s self-driven isolation.

A draft or two later, I had a new beginning.

She’d been warned about Stefano Cortez.

As Annabelle Wolfe climbed out of her vintage Land Rover, she surveyed the sprawling white hacienda with a feeling of dread. She’d been warned constantly over the last few months: Stefano Cortez could not be trusted.

Be careful, Miss Wolfe. You won’t be able to resist him. No woman can.

Guard your heart, miss. And lock your door.

The broken hearts he’s scattered are as infinite as stars.

I have nothing to worry about, Annabelle told herself fiercely. Stefano Cortez might be the equestrian world’s most famous playboy, but he would have no effect on her. She wouldn’t let those stupid warnings make her lose her nerve!

But her body still trembled, and she knew it wasn’t just from all the coffee she’d gulped down on the long, dusty drive from Portugal to northern Spain.

Slamming her truck door with a bang, Annabelle stretched her stiff limbs, trying to shake off her nervous fear. It didn’t work. Warnings about Stefano Cortez’s charm had been repeated too constantly over the last few months, repeated everywhere she’d visited for her photojournalism series on Europe’s top ten horse ranches for Equestrian magazine. The world’s number one stud farm, the current joke went, is owned by the world’s number one stud.

Whew! Way better. Still, it took me a few extra months to really find the heart of Annabelle Wolfe’s story, her loneliness and grief, and how she is brought to life through the passion of Spanish rancher Stefano Cortez – and how she changes him forever in return.

Now that The Notorious Wolfes books are out at last, I can hardly wait to read every book in the series, written by such talented authors and friends. Writing a book for The Notorious Wolfes series was an experience I’ll never forget. I hope you will love Annabelle’s story as much as I do. Crying optional (I did – I’m not ashamed to admit it).

Love,

Jennie

* note from Amy: that’s the UK title of The Girl that Love Forgot

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There’s only 1 more book to go in the Notorious Wolfes continuity! Learn about the final book next month, and catch up on books 1-6 here.

It’s something I often find myself thinking about in the downtime after finishing a book, when I’m missing the characters and finding it hard to let them go: what are they doing now? How was the wedding, or honeymoon, and how are they adjusting to ordinary, everyday life together?

Happily for me this was a question I got to immerse myself in answering for my latest hero and heroine, Kit Fitzroy and Sophie Greenham. I was honoured to be one of three authors (Lynn Graham and Penny Jordan being the others, so you can see what an honour it was!) asked to write two linked books featuring the same hero and heroine in a sort of double-length story. As I’m notorious for writing way over the Presents wordcount in each and every book, this was music to my ears. I was having afternoon tea (and a sneaky glass of champagne) with my fabulous editor when she asked, and I’d accepted – probably excitedly enough for the entire room to hear – before she’d even finished the sentence.

A couple of days later, after travelling home from London by train, I woke up with the first scene of the first book vividly right there in my head, which was pretty convenient! (If all the scenes would arrive like that – I could spend half my time sleeping and call it work…)  I wrote it down straight away, but it was several months later – once I’d finished the book I was writing – that I came to work on Kit and Sophie’s story properly. It was only then, when the glow of the champagne had long-since faded, that I began to worry about what I’d taken on. After all, the heart of the Presents Promise is the Happy Ever After. Readers (and writers!) need to know beyond all shadow of doubt that the hero and heroine are together forever. It felt all wrong to write a story and leave even the tiniest sliver of doubt at the end that Kit and Sophie would be happy together.

So I didn’t. I wrote the first book (Craving the Forbidden) as if it was the only book and didn’t allow myself to think about what came afterwards. At the time this wasn’t so much a clever strategy as basic necessity to keep my sanity – a sort of ‘one sentence at a time’ approach to ward off panic about taking on a task to which I just wasn’t equal.  I reached the end of the book. I left Kit and Sophie in bed and ecstatically happy together, and couldn’t bear to think of anything undermining that happiness.

But real life happens to everyone – even fictional characters (if that makes sense?) I figured that Kit and Sophie’s happiness and love for each other was deep and assured, but like the rest of us they couldn’t possibly know what lay ahead to test them. When it came to writing the second book (In Bed With A Stranger) it wasn’t a case of drawing out the conflict that had kept them apart in the first book, but looking at aspects of their characters and history that had potential to grow into new issues entirely.

It felt very different, but very interesting, to be writing a book ‘the wrong way round’ – starting from a point where the characters were blissfully in love and deliberately unpicking that. One of the most interesting aspects was the bedroom one. Sizzling passion is another essential part of the Presents Promise, so it seemed entirely natural that for the first half of In Bed With A Stranger Kit and Sophie couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Well, the first three-quarters, really, until I realised that that in itself had become part of the conflict. It went against the grain to turn their passion into a problem, but I felt it really took their relationship onto a new phase – the ‘forever’ part of the Happy Ever After.

All in all it was a real privilege to be given the chance to stick with the same hero and heroine over two books, although I have to say that writing beyond the Happy Ever After didn’t actually stop me obsessing over what happened after the last page. In fact, getting to know the characters twice as well has actually made it doubly hard to let them go. Standing in the queue at the post office the other day I caught sight of a calendar with a picture of a snowy English castle on the front and found myself wondering what Sophie and Kit are doing this Christmas…

Are there any books that you’ve read recently to which you’d love to see a sequel, or found yourself piecing together the next chapters of the characters’ lives together? (Maybe the authors will come along and fill us in!)

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Wealth.  Privilege. Beauty.

What if you were born into a rich, powerful dynasty, yet cruelly denied your paternity from birth?  Instead of the wealth due you, you were forced to dwell in poverty.  Instead of having doors instantly open for you, they were slammed in your face.

That was what fate had handed my hero in The Trophy Wife, sixth book in the Bad Blood/Notorious Wolfes continuity series.

Rafael de Souza is a notorious Wolfe by blood, yet carries his mother’s name.  Her shame of succumbing to one night with her rich powerful employer is his own cross to bear.

As a boy, Rafael only wanted to be accepted.  To be loved.  He didn’t know what went on behind the closed doors of Wolfe Manor.  He only knew he was horribly lonely, the unwanted one.

Thanks to the largess of one brother, Rafael used his wits and clawed his way to the top.  He became a rich powerful man in his own right.

Rafael earned respect.  But he was still the boy at the back of the fence, aching with loneliness.  Until he met beautiful super model Leila Santiago.

They say money can’t buy happiness, and it was true for Rafael and Leila.  They had everything at their fingertips.  Fame, wealth and a glorious future ahead of them.

So how could something so perfect as marrying the love of his life ever be shaken?  How could he suddenly find himself on the brink of losing the one person he loved beyond reason?  How could he reclaim the passion, and the love to last an eternity?

I hope you enjoy reading Rafael’s and Leila’s turbulent journey to love and happiness as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Please visit my website at www.JanKenny.com for more information about my novels plus quick links to my Facebook and Twitter pages.

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Need to catch up on the rest of The Notorious Wolfes continuity? Click here to learn more about this eight book series, and remember all titles are always available in ebook format!

Ah, Jack Wolfe.  What is there to say about Jack?  He’s a loner, a financial genius, and—according to the title of his book, The Man With The Money.  But is he really as heartless as that makes him sound? Or is he just terribly wounded and hiding his heart deep behind a bullet-proof exterior so he can’t be wounded again?

I admit to being a bit worried when I first read the brief for Jack.  He was such a hard, cold, ruthless kind of guy.  I understood why though.  The Wolfe family wasn’t exactly a great place to grow up.  And Jack, poor responsible Jack, had to take care of his younger siblings when his older brothers abandoned them and left him in charge, though he was barely 18 and hardly prepared.

But Jack is a fighter, and he drags himself up by the bootstraps.  He’s bitter, but determined.  Jack will never, ever be poor again.  He will never be vulnerable to anyone.  He’s got the gift of numbers.  Whether it’s high stakes gambling or playing the stock market, Jack can’t lose.

Until he meets Cara Taylor.  Cara is a dealer in a new casino on the French Riviera.  The problem is that her boss is dirty and plans to throw the high-stakes game she’s running.  Cara is dependent on her job to send money home to her family back in New Orleans, who are still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  She has no choice but to comply with her boss’s demands.

Until Jack Wolfe sits at her table.

Suddenly, nothing goes as planned—for either of them!  Soon, Jack and Cara are on the run together, like James Bond and Vesper Lynd.  I admit to using the character of Bond (as Daniel Craig plays him) as inspiration for Jack—he’s precisely that kind of ruthless alpha male with untold depths that you so want to explore but are afraid to at the same time!

Cara and Jack are so much alike in that they are both fighters, both determined to succeed.  And yet Cara comes from a far different background than Jack.  She’s used to working for a living, not sitting at a computer or a gaming table and making money appear from nowhere.  She thinks Jack is dissolute, beyond redemption.

She will, of course, uncover layers to Jack that surprise her.  Just as he will make her see that she doesn’t need to be afraid to take that ultimate leap and allow him into her life.

I had such a blast writing about these two characters.  I envy Cara, I have to admit.  I’m a sucker for a brooding alpha like Jack.  This is a guy who’s so damn tough he doesn’t need anyone at all.

But of course he does.  And it’s delicious to watch him realize who he needs and why.

I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it for you!

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Miss earlier posts about The Notorious Wolfes continuity? Read about the series in our Notorious Wolfes section and click here to read author posts on the first four books!

Hello, and welcome to the exciting world of the Orsini family!

I began writing about this Sicilian-American family two years ago, though the characters had been in my head longer than that.

A Mafioso Don. His compliant wife. Their four sons. The characters came alive with breathtaking swiftness. I could see them, hear them; I could hardly wait to get them on paper.

I planned four books, one for each Orsini brother. Almost as an afterthought, I decided to include two sisters, mostly to give this powerful family some feminine counterpoint.

I had no plans for telling their stories—and no idea that neither Anna or Isabella would tolerate being overlooked! But as I told their brothers’ stories, the sisters began to elbow their way in. And then you, my wonderful readers, took up their cause.

You e-mailed. You snail-mailed. You stopped me at conferences. You said you’d adored Rafaelle and Dante, Nicolo and Falco… and their sisters. You wanted to know their stories, too.

I know you’ll understand when I tell you that Anna and Izzy were telling me the same thing.

Well, I finally got the message.

The Ice Prince is Anna’s story.

Anna’s a tough, smart New York attorney. She’s also a bundle of conflicting signals. She wears no-nonsense  business suits and killer stilettos. She has a healthy attitude about men and sex but she’s not interested in love.

Prince Draco Valenti can’t figure her out. The only thing he’s sure of is that they’re adversaries… and that he wants her more than he’s ever imagined wanting a woman. How can that be? Draco is sexy; he’s an incredible lover…  But he’s also a man in tight control of emotions.

Until he meets Anna.

Their hot, tempestuous affair unfolds in Rome, surely one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Draco has a tough time convincing Anna to move in with him. He knows he’s going to have a tougher time convincing her to make a commitment. Anna’s seen what happens to women when they let themselves fall in love with strong, powerful men so Draco comes up with a plan he’s certain will solve the problem.

Unfortunately, he neglects to share that plan with Anna.

And, just that quickly, their affair is over. Or is it? Can a fiercely independent woman and a man accustomed to running an empire find happiness? Find the answer in The Ice Prince, available right now!

Isabella’s story is called The Real Rio D’Aquila.

Izzy’s the opposite of Anna. She’s quiet and shy. She’s a landscape architect and one of her brothers has wangled her an interview with powerful, self-made Brazilian billionaire Rio D’Aquila.

Their meeting doesn’t go well. Izzy’s late. Rio’s furious. When she finally shows up and she’s greeted by a tall, gorgeous hunk wearing nothing but jeans, she assumes he’s the handyman. Rio lets her think so. It’s just a game, after all—until passion overtakes them.

Oh, does it ever overtake them!

Rio wants to tell Izzy the truth, that he’s not the guy she thinks he is, but how does a man confess such a lie to a woman, especially when he finds himself falling in love with her?

Rio comes up with what seems like a wonderful idea. He’ll fly Izzy to his  beautiful home in the Caribbean.

He’s sure the lush setting, the privacy and beauty of the island of  Mustique will be the right  place to reveal his true identity.

Maybe… but fate intervenes, and what had seemed an innocent ruse drives Isabella from Rio’s arms.

Can a lie ever be undone? Find out in The Real Rio D’Aquila, coming at the end of November.

And when you have time, do visit me at http://www.sandramarton.com where you’ll find news about me and all my books.

Lots of love,

Sandra

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Throughout the ages, wolves have been lauded as entities of hypnotic allure. Strikingly beautiful beasts, they are pack animals, socially sensitive and family orientated, even while conveying a sense of detachment. The impression of aloneness. They are oftentimes misunderstood creatures of the wild, of the night.

Wolfe…

What a perfect family name for this series!

If you haven’t heard already, The Notorious Wolfes books revolve around eight Oxfordshire siblings who, as children, needed to rely on one another to survive. They grew apart and yet, so many years on, these Wolfes instinctively need each other still. Some might say that my hero, Alex Wolfe, has coped best. It’s not easy to rise above a childhood where neither parent was there for you – and that’s putting it mildly! Like his brothers and twin sister, Alex finds his own way to mask pains from the past…by competing in – and routinely winning – international car racing championships.

Alex has power, money, a globe full of adoring fans. But when he is involved in a horrifying crash, the edges of his hard-won world begin to slip away.

Pro-surfer turned star physiotherapist, Libby Henderson is the ideal foil for Alex. I live to build heroines like her — intelligent, resourceful, unwilling to let the hard knocks get her down…and, God knows, she’s lived through a couple of doozeys.  Keeping from falling in love with Alex Wolfe is, perhaps, her biggest challenge. Like Alex, Libby has her flaws – don’t we all? But, I can only hope that if I were in her shoes, I might handle myself with as much dignity.

Although I aimed to make The Fearless Maverick an intensely emotional read, this story has its lighter moments, too. Like when Libby first visits Alex to discuss treatment for his shoulder injury. Seeing past his ‘you scratch my back and I’d love to scratch yours’ act, she knocks the sexy superior grin off his face with a killer line about their next meeting and clothes…or, rather, the lack of them, on his part at least. Or when Alex gives Libby a hair-raising spin around a vacant Gold Coast racetrack that leaves her shrieking – due to fun or fear? Most likely both.

Alex’s initial plan to use his legendary charm to get what he needs from Libby – (a medical all clear and early pass back onto the track) — turns into a scorching affair where hearts are shared and ultimately broken.

So is there a happily ever after?

You know there is!

I so enjoyed working with the editors on this story, teaming up with fabulous authors I admire. I love that each book is entwined with the others and yet can also be enjoyed on their own. This was my first experience writing a continuity and it’s given me a ferocious appetite for more!

I won’t forget Alex Wolfe and his pack. I’m sure after you read this collection, you won’t either.

www.robyngrady.com

Note: We’ve halfway through the Notorious Wolfes continuity with Robyn’s book! Miss a previous installment? Read more about the series here.

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I’m a huge — HUGE — Pride and Prejudice fan. The Colin Firth/Jennfier Ehle miniseries came out when I was 10 and made quite the impression. I eagerly gobble up any and all adaptations of. I’m not such a fan as when other people try to write Austen’s characters, but I do love when stories are inspired by P&P and retell it (with new people) in a different way.

That’s why I  was excited to see that Cathy Williams’s October Harlequin Presents Extra, In Want of a Wife?, was inspired by Pride and Prejudice. And you’ll probably recognize the title comes from P&P’s famous opening line, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” In this version, Mr. Darcy is businessman Louis Jumeau and Elizabeth Bennet — rechristened Lizzy Sharp — rides a motorcycle.

In Want of a Wife? is the newest North American release in The Powerful and the Pure series — all books inspired by a classic literary romance. Other books in the series include:

The Forbidden Wife by Sharon Kendrick (Jane Eyre)

The Matchmaker Bride by Kate Hewitt (Emma)

The Return of the Stranger by Kate Walker (Wuthering Heights, also out next month)

Poll time! Which other classic novels do you think would be good inspiration for a Harlequin Presents? And please share other suggestions in the comments!

I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of The Notorious Wolfes series of books. It was my first experience being involved in a continuity series and it was so exciting. I’m a sucker for interlinked stories. I love all these stories but I have to admit that I was especially thrilled to be able to tell Aneesa and Sebastian’s story.

Aneesa Adani is a Bollywood princess, about to get married to one of Bollywood’s biggest stars. She has it all: fame, looks, talent and…love? Apparently not, because she runs out of her wedding ceremony, straight into Sebastian Wolfe’s arms.

When Sebastian encounters Aneesa because she is fleeing her wedding, sparks fly and the electricity crackles. He relishes the fact that she doesn’t seem to know who he is, so she doesn’t know about his infamous family legacy full of dark scandals and secrets.

They spend a passionate and illicit night together. Aneesa gets the fantasy wedding night she always wanted, albeit with another man!

The following day they go their separate ways, knowing that this will never be anything more than one night. But neither of them can stop thinking about the other. When Aneesa discovers that there are serious repercussions as a result of their night together she has to go to Sebastian…

What happens then is a rollercoaster ride of passion and emotion and dark secrets uncovered. Sebastian has to confront his painful past and Aneesa had to face up to the fact that Sebastian might never be able to commit to her.

I found it really interesting to have to work within a continuity structure with this story. There was something very liberating about being given ready made characters who had a story to tell and being allowed to put your own spin on it. It was fascinating to see how all the other authors approached and told their stories…

One of the aspects of this story that I loved so much was the Indian one. I travelled through Northern India when I was much younger and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I absolutely adored the country and saw so many stunning things: the Taj Mahal; the sacred Ganges river; New Delhi; the Lake Palace in Udaipur; Jaipur…ever since then I’ve always had a real affinity for India and its culture and people.

It was an absolute honour to write about an Indian heroine and to (hopefully!) infuse the story with my love for India.

I hope you enjoy this book and all the others in the series. I love how it all ends with Jacob, the lonest Wolfe of them all. I’m just wondering now if the Wolfes have any more siblings or cousins in the closet that we could extend the series with?!

Happy Reading!

Abby

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THEMARRIAGE BETRAYAL and BRIDE FOR REAL are two connected books  featuring the same hero and heroine in a continuing duet story. Together the two stories are entitled The Volakis Vow.

With my hero and heroine,  Sander  and Tally in the MARRIAGE BETRAYAL, I very much wanted to capture the passionate excitement  of falling madly in love. These two characters are both younger and less mature than the protagonists I usually create and I was keen to portray them in that light. Sander is convinced he doesn’t want a serious relationship and can’t see what’s right under his own nose while Tally keeps secrets and struggles to protect herself from being hurt.  I fell in love with Sander as he repeatedly changed tack to chase Tally while he continued to tell himself that he was fully in control of events. Tally is feisty and gives as good as she gets and Sander learns to compromise his convictions to hold on to her. Sander is a stubborn as a mule and just about as much in touch with his feelings but Tally’s sunny personality and the tenderness she offers which he has never experienced before draw him against his will. Sander makes mistakes but he learns from them. Will he learn quickly enough to hang on to Tally?

In BRIDE FOR REAL, Tally and Sander’s story continues and I don’t mind admitting that life puts them through testing times in this second book. I like a touch of realism in my stories and even the occasional hint of controversy. No human being is perfect and no marriage survives without surmounting challenges and periods of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. I wanted my hero and heroine to come back stronger and wiser from their experiences. I wanted them to understand that love truly can conquer all and that together they are stronger and happier than they could ever be apart. But first they have to learn what’s really important to them in life. Once again they must trust not just each other but in the strength and worth of the love that they share and that takes more courage after a painful experience than almost anything else does. Tally and Sander don’t let me down. They try again and in doing so met my every expectation and grew and developed as characters during the course of this book.

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The first thing I read about Lucas Wolfe, my hero for the Notorious Wolfes continuity, was right there in the title: The Disgraced Playboy.

This presented a challenge for me from the start, as I am no fan of the playboy in real life.  Is anyone?  The real life playboy is, to put it mildly, a highly unappealing specimen.  I live in Los Angeles, which is a city teeming with playboy types of all descriptions.  You can see them in their ridiculous man-toy cars, squiring their near-adolescent girlfriends here and there, filled to the brim with smugness and self-congratulatory self-regard.  Ick.

Obviously, this was not hero material.  And yet, Lucas was the hero I’d been given.  I was going to have to make it work.

Lucas certainly seemed to fit right in with all the men one can easily see here—looming about Los Angeles hotspots every night of the week, the male version of mutton dressed as lamb and about as attractive.  How was I going to write about that?  The first time my heroine, the self-made and highly self-protective Grace Carter, lays eyes on Lucas, he’s behaving appallingly with a married woman in the middle of a public party.  Obviously, she is not impressed.  (Neither was I.)  But just as obviously, there’s something about Lucas that keeps her up all night, thinking about him.

It’s not just that he’s stunningly gorgeous (though he is).  It’s not just that he comes from a very famous, very scandal-ridden family (though he does).  It’s not even that several tabloids keep themselves in paparazzi and speculation thanks to Lucas’s antics (though, clearly, they do).  There’s something else, something more, or a woman like Grace, who deals in famous and important people all the time without so much as blinking, would never be the slightest bit intrigued.  And unfortunately for her and the careful life she’s built for herself, she is entirely too fascinated by a man she ought to find repulsive.

So I started to think about why Lucas was the way he was.  If I started from the premise that this was a man that tough and dedicated Grace would fall in love with, could she only see the real him, I knew that Lucas had to be as smart as she was. And as quick, and as capable, and as loyal and stalwart.  So why would a man who was all of these things go to such great lengths to hide it?  From the world, from his family, even from himself?  Why would he make it a point to live down to every low expectation thrown his way?  Who would act like that?

Once I got that, I got him.

The more I dug into the layers of Lucas Wolfe, the more I liked him.  And the more I got to know him, the more I loved him.  Lucas is one of my favorite heroes ever—maybe my most favorite to date.  I’m thrilled that you have the chance to meet him now, and I hope you’ll end up loving him just as much as Grace and I do.  He may be shameless, but that’s just one of the reasons he’s so much fun!

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