Maddy Raven's Blog

Giveaway Alert! Win the Men with Demons to Slay Book Bundle!

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The Grand Prize

One person will win the complete sets of E.L. James’s Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy AND Carly Phillip’s Dare to Love series (all 8 books!). Every validated entry receives instant gifts!

50 Shades of Grey When college student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating.  The unworldly Ana realizes she wants this man, and Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian’s secrets and explores her own desires.

Dare to Love When it comes to family, Ian Dare gives his all but in relationships he offers the bare minimum.  Until one glimpse of sensual Riley Taylor arouses his dominant and protective instincts.  He will do anything to possess her. Riley Taylor believes herself immune to domineering men – until charismatic Ian Dare. As their affair heats up, they soon realize they complete each other in ways neither imagined, but her past might just cost her everything.

This giveaway runs from February 1 – 29, 2016. The winner will be announced March 7, 2016. Keep your eye on your email for more information!

Not associated with E.L. James, Carly Phillips or any of their publishers in any format or any language.
ENTERING TO WIN THIS AWESOME BUNDLE IS EASY!

Simply go here: http://www.maddyraven.com/giveaways/mwdbundle/

Answer the question (to confirm that you’re a human and not a robot!)
Enter your email address.

That’s it. You’re in!

***** Guaranteed Bonus Prizes *****

We all know how these giveaways go—lots of entrants, but only one winner. But we want EVERYONE who enters to win something. That’s why we’re also giving away a guaranteed bonus prize to any entrant who gets 15 entries or more!

How do you get more entries?

Simply go to the giveaway page to see how many entries you have already:

http://www.maddyraven.com/giveaways/mwdbundle/

On this page, you’ll also see a bunch of ways to share.

Use them and get THREE extra entries every time a friend signs up!

(If you’re not seeing these two things, it means you aren’t entered—make sure you sign up and get your Lucky URL!)

 

Who to share the giveaway with:

Getting 15 entries is easier than you think. All you have to do is send your Lucky URL to people you KNOW who enjoy romance books. Send your Lucky URL link (found at http://www.maddyraven.com/giveaways/mwdbundle/) to:

Female coworkers you’re friendly with at the office
Fellow book-loving moms
Your sorority sisters
Ladies in your book club
Your Facebook or Goodreads groups
Your blog-o-sphere, your Meetup friends
Those awesome women in your workout class

How to share:

Personalized sharing:

Right click to save the correct image to your computer (we like to save ours to the desktop) or your phone. Sign into your social media account and load the picture for a post. Be sure to include your Lucky URL (which you can get here: http://www.maddyraven.com/giveaways/mwdbundle/) Share, Tweet, Pin, Insta and Tumble away – whenever a friend signs up using your lucky URL, you get three extra entries!

Best sharing image for Facebook / Twitter:

Best sharing image for Tumblr, Instagram:

Best way to share on Pinterest:

Click + at the bottom of Pinterest and choose Add from a website.
Put in your lucky URL, which you can get here: http://www.maddyraven.com/giveaways/mwdbundle/
Chose your board, and click Pin It.

You could also share via email! Send your lucky URL (found here: http://www.maddyraven.com/giveaways/mwdbundle/) to as many friends as you can. Your email might say say something like…

Hi!

I just signed up for this awesome Maddy Raven Giveaway and I think you should, too! The big prize is The Fifty Shades Trilogy by E.L. James + The Dare to Love Series by Carly Phillips, but there are lots of instant gifts and bonus prizes, too! Just click the link below to enter…

——–

Automatic Sharing – follow these steps for an even easier way to share.

Visit your link: http://www.maddyraven.com/giveaways/mwdbundle/

On this page, you’ll see how many entries you have, and you’ll also see ways to automatically share!

To share on Facebook: Click share. A new window will pop up. Once you are logged into Facebook, click “Share Link.”

To share on Twitter: Click tweet. A new window will pop up. Once you are logged into Twitter, you will be able to click “Tweet.” Your lucky URL will be automatically included – make sure it’s there before you tweet!

To share on Linkedin: Click share. A new window will pop up. Once you are logged into LinkedIn, you will be able to share. You can mention connections in the grey box using the @ sign. Click share.

To share on Pinterest: Click Pin It. A new window will pop up. Once you are logged into Pinterest, choose your board and click Pin It.

Still have questions? Feel free to email mlteam45@gmail.com if you need help!

*****Instant Gifts!*****

Here are links to all the instant gifts from the giveaway…

The Billionaire’s Alibi #1: The Proposition

Amazon > > > http://amzn.to/1WaFsAO

(Please check to make sure the price is $0.00 before downloading!)

iBooks > > > http://apple.co/1Q05vIr

Nook > > > http://bit.ly/1Q7XNhf

Google Play > > > http://bit.ly/1Kfp9eV

Kobo > > > http://bit.ly/1mY6pvh

Download directly to your computer:

epub format (Nook, Google Play, Kobo) > > > http://bit.ly/1SS3wZh

mobi format  (kindle) > > > http://bit.ly/1KhyXFn

These are ebook files, so to read them you need an ebook app. Apps for Kindle (.mobi), Nook, Google Play, and Kobo are free to download on any device.

Alternatively, you can read the PDF file on any device and usually you will already have the program that opens it. It’s not as pretty inside, though!

PDF format > > > http://bit.ly/1RnCGZH

The Billionaire’s Alibi #2: The Contract

Amazon > > > http://amzn.to/1PdeToF (Please check to make sure the price says $0.00 before downloading.)

Google Play > > > http://bit.ly/1n1T8Cv

iBooks > > > http://apple.co/1OE467G

Nook > > > http://bit.ly/1Jg7Uza

Kobo > > > http://bit.ly/1OuEVGU

Download directly to your computer: These are ebook files, so to read them you need an ebook app. Apps for Kindle (.mobi), Nook, Google Play, and Kobo are free to download on any device.

epub format (Nook, Google Play, Kobo) > > > http://bit.ly/1ZpGM2K

mobi format  (kindle) > > > http://bit.ly/1Pg9UUo

Alternatively, you can read the PDF file on any device and usually you will already have the program that opens it. It’s not as pretty inside, though!

PDF > > > http://bit.ly/1TXEJ4u

Emma + Elsie Meet Fitzwilliam Darcy

Download directly to your computer: These are ebook files, so to read them you need an ebook app. Apps for Kindle (.mobi), Nook, Google Play, and Kobo are free to download on any device.

epub format (Nook, Google Play, Kobo) > > > http://bit.ly/1PGTJQo

mobi format  (kindle) > > > http://bit.ly/1P7VIku

Alternatively, you can read the PDF file on any device and usually you will already have the program that opens it. It’s not as pretty inside, though!

PDF > > > http://bit.ly/23gLZyz

The Billionaire’s Alibi #6: The Murderer Releases March 14th

I know a lot of people are waiting for the sixth book in The Billionaire’s Alibi series. Well, the wait is close to over, because book #6 is done and is on its final polish. It comes out on March 14th!

I’m going to tell you a lot more about this book in another post, but I wanted to take this opportunity to write a long and overdue letter to readers who have stuck with this series through all its ups and downs.

This book has actually been a really tough one to finish up. Book #4 came out last June, nearly 9 months ago. Book #5 didn’t come out until September. And now, book #6 isn’t out until March. You can probably tell that this is not a promising pattern, considering there is still book #7, #8, and #9.

Let me explain.

The books were always meant to be told in serial fashion. book #1, #2, #3, and #4 all came out exactly one month apart as originally planned—March, April, May, June, like clockwork.

Unfortunately, after that, there were complications.

You see, I originally started this series with a partner. When my writing partner had to step away, it was really hard on both me and the story. We had a system going and the characters felt like ours.

I’ve since had to relearn how to tell the story on my own and how to trust my own decisions with it. It’s very different to finish something on your own when you started it with a partner. It’s only been in the last few months that I’ve gotten comfortable making all the decisions about where these characters go next, without my writing partner’s help.

I did the best I could on my own. I think it’s all back on track now—the series feels like it’s solely mine again. It’s easier to write, now that I’ve done two of the books on my own. So I am hoping to get the last three books out about a month apart from one another, similar to how the series started.

More About the Book and Why It Took So Long

The truth is that I rushed one of the books in this series to publication already, and you can probably guess which one. It’s not quite as good as the others. I feel bad about that. Here’s the thing: I could put out anything and a decent number of readers would buy it because they want the rest of the story—they’re hooked. That means I have an obligation to not put out crap. I must work harder on each book to make those reader experiences good, not because it affects sales, but because it’s the right thing to do.

I never want to put out a rushed book again, which is why I’ve taken my time to get book #6 right instead of just done.

Book #6 went in a direction that I could not have expected… and it’s taken me awhile to work out how exactly the new revelations in this book tie together with everything else that happened in the series.

Something is revealed in book #6 that I did not expect to reveal until book #9. I also had to change the title—it was originally called The Alliance, but that simply doesn’t fit anymore.

Another thing about book #6 is that it finishes out the middle third of the series. That has been a challenge—there is a lot of cool stuff happening in this book that gives closure to a lot of the thematic elements, and also sets up the ending. I wanted to take away a lot of the secrets that have dictated the last several books and provide answers, closure, explanations. I wanted to answer the question, What does Will and Alexa’s relationship look like when the secrets are gone? Or I at least wanted to pose the question, even if it’s not answered in full in this book.

I also had to move up some of the stuff I had planned on *maybe* writing in a second installment of the series, to the last third of this series. So book #7 starts with stuff that I never intended to happen this soon. But it just feels like the right direction to me, and I think fans will be really excited to see these parts happen even sooner than they were originally planned.

How To Get the Book

Again, the book will be out March 14th.

For regular readers, it will be up for pre-order on many sites a little sooner than that, in the next couple days.

For anyone who’s pre-ordered direct, you’ll receive it by email immediately when it’s ready—in the next day or two. I’m not accepting any more direct pre-orders at this time—sorry!

For reviewers, you’ll receive a special review copy on March 13th. You can still get a review copy by submitting your Amazon, B&N, Kobo, iTunes, or Smashwords review for book #5 here:

http://maddyraven.com/tba5r

Please submit a LINK to your review. I can’t even tell you how many disappointed reviewers there will be who don’t receive a copy because they ignored this critical instruction. It has to be a direct link to the review… I’m not going to a) take someone’s word for it or b) go to a huge site and search for reviews and try to match them up with the person who submitted.

You can also submit a link to a review of book #1 or book #1-3 bundle through the link above. I’ll accept any of the three. They are here on Amazon, for reference:

TBA #1
TBA #1-3
TBA #5

About the Rest of the Series

I want to say that I know there are a lot of readers who love this series and who feel frustrated that the books don’t come out faster. Let me just clear up a few things for everyone so we’re all on the same page!

First, there’s this weird rumor going around that book #6 is the last in the series, I have no idea where that came from or if just a few readers made that assumption and then others ran with it. There are 9 books in this series, total. Book #6 is not the end, though it does close out a lot of questions.

So yes book #6 is coming out, finally—but keep in mind that books #7-9 still need to be written, edited and so on. The Billionaire’s Alibi is a series in progress. The ending needs to be reworked a bit from the original outline, and that’s going to take time. Like I said before, I want to get the last three out about one every month from now on—but content takes time! I cannot provide hard dates; release dates always, always change based on how the book is going. Creative work is just that way.

This means you’re not going to know exactly when the next book is ready until I finish it and tell you… that’s just life! If the serial nature bugs you, you can always wait until book #9 is available and finish the last four in the series then. I promise that book #9 is when you will get ALL the answers. But it takes time to build up to and reach that point.

Other Books

The Billionaire’s Alibi is my most popular series to date, but it’s not my only one! I’m working on a lot of other projects at the same time. Some readers don’t like this and wish I would finish one series before moving on to the next, but that doesn’t work for me. The books wouldn’t come out any faster, because books need time and space to rest. Writing fewer books does not change that… I’d just be wasting time on Facebook instead of writing a different series.

So here are some of the other projects I have:

First, Maddy Raven is my second pen name, as many of you know. I have several other series under my first pen name and there have been some new releases there. This year, there will be even more new releases under that name.

I also have a new Maddy Raven book called Emma + Elsie Meet Fitzwilliam Darcy. It is the beginning of another New Adult series about romance, friendship, and more. The book is based on two classic novels by Jane Austen—Emma and Pride and Prejudice. It’s toned down from TBA on the sex side and focuses primarily on the stories of the two protagonists. You can grab a free copy of the book here:

http://maddyraven.com/ee/

Please note before you get it that it IS a series as well. The books will come out roughly every month. They are readable as standalone stories and don’t have as strong of cliffhangers as the TBA books, but it is another open-ended story that progresses.

Beauty Awakened is another world I’m getting back to. I’m long overdue for the third book release, which has also been held up by structure problems. I was originally going to do eight books in the series, but that seemed too long, so now I’m down to five. That means I have three more to complete that series, too. Once those are done, I’ll be moving on to another character within the Enchanted Forest world—one that readers have already met, that I’m extremely excited to be working with again! I really can’t wait.

I have another serial coming out called The Tycoon’s Arrangement. This serial has been in the works for awhile and has some crossover characters from The Billionaire’s Alibi. It’s also going to be nine books and thematically similar to The Billionaire’s Alibi. And, as I learned from my first series, I’ll be prepping that series quite a bit more before I release the first one—if only because I want to avoid long breaks like I’ve had so far with TBA.

Lastly, I’m working on a collaboration with another romance/erotica author. It’s a bit hush, hush for now, but I will tell you the subject matter—Catholic girls! I grew up a Catholic girl and I think the books will be a good mix of funny and serious. There will also be a lot of sex! It’s an updated version of Sex and the City in some ways.

For that series, we’re doing four before we release… and then if people are still excited about the characters, we may do more.

Thank You!

I know it has been a long road to seeing the end of Will and Alexa’s story. Thanks to those of you who have been patiently waiting!

I also want to send a special thanks to reviewers for posting their reviews. The reception to the actual series has been amazing thus far. I’m really grateful to everyone who has supported it!

If you want to be notified about the TBA series or any others from Maddy Raven, make sure you get on the list:

http://maddyraven.com/free-novels/

The Billionaire’s Alibi #5. This weekend. You in?

The Billionaire’s Alibi: The Betrayal (The Billionaire’s Alibi #5) is coming this weekend! More below on how to get it!

But first, so you know what’s to come in September:

I’m releasing the four books I’ve been talking about all summer in the upcoming month, one at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed.

The Billionaire’s Alibi: The Betrayal (The Billionaire’s Alibi #5)
Beauty Awakened: The Coffin and the Kiss (Beauty Awakened #3)
Emma + Elsie Meet Fitzwilliam Darcy (Emma + Elsie #1)
Emma + Elsie Choose Harriet Smith (Emma + Elsie #2)

They will probably go out one a week throughout September, but not all of those dates are firm yet.

They are going to be released on my site first. Then, in the following months, they’ll be available for pre-order on sites like Amazon, iTunes, B&N, etc.

The best way to get them is to sign up for the email list. While I’ll try to post about them on the blog, too, there’s some stuff you need to know about pre-orders that isn’t always as easily available online.

Here’s How To Get TBA #5

First up in September: The Billionaire’s Alibi: The Betrayal (The Billionaire’s Alibi #5) Available for direct pre-order now » Expected Delivery: Sept. 7th (Sunday) Description:

William Henry Harper is in love—but how can he convince Alexa that they have a future together when she still thinks his mother is trying to kill her? The moment she confesses the other two reasons that are holding her back, he sets out on a mission to address them—and make her his for good.

Alexa Romo knows she needs to make peace with Rebecca Harper if she ever wants things to work out with Will. But when she confronts a part of her past that she’s kept locked away, she uncovers another nugget of truth that leaves her spinning… and afraid of what the Harpers will do next.

The Billionaire’s Alibi: The Betrayal follows Will and Alexa as they try to truly find a future together. Will they succeed?

This serial novella is about 25,000 words, or about 120 printed pages. This romantic suspense is recommended for mature audiences ages 18+.

Fun times!

In book 5, you are ALSO going to find out who the murderer is (sort of). At least, you’re going to learn enough to start making educated guesses. A few reviewers have complained about not knowing, but hey—it’s a central mystery, so you can’t expect to get a complete answer halfway through the series!

More important than the murderer, this book is all about Will and Alexa attempting to actually be a couple in the real world. Obviously, they have feelings for each other. Obviously, things have gotten physical. And obviously, they want to be together, too.

However…

We all know that relationships are complicated by family and circumstances. That’s what this book is about—how Will and Alexa deal with the reality of their relationship. And I think you’re going to be surprised by how it all unfolds!

About Direct Sales

The Billionaire’s Alibi is by far the most popular series I have at the moment (though I expect that to change soon), which unfortunately brings up some distribution and spoiler issues. Namely that everyone who reads gets the book at different times due to retailer rules that are out of my control.

That’s why I’ve decided to go direct with the release of this one, which means that the only way to pre-order it at the moment is to order directly from me.

There are tons of benefits to this, but the top three are:

The book is available to all fans on any ereader device at once (including international readers!)
Readers will get access to bonus & behind-the-scenes content
Readers can grab discounted bundles of the series (not easy to do through traditional channels)

You can read the other benefits here if you’re interested: http://www.maddyraven.com/buy-direct/ 

How Direct Sales Works

It’s really easy!

Step 1: You buy the option you want via the links I’ve provided. There is one option to get just book #5 and 3 bundled options. Pick the one you want and enter your information, I’ll send you instructions for how to log in.

Step 2: You’ll get access to the media hub, which is a place that records all your order history and gives you access to all the files you’ve ever ordered from me. You can access some files right away if they are available, and others when they are released (if you pre-ordered them).

Step 3: You download the files and read! It’s really easy to get your files onto your Kindle or iPad, often just a drag and drop. I’ve included instructions for exactly how to do it on the site, and if you have any questions, you can just email me and we WILL get you situated. 

Get The Billionaire’s Alibi on Sept. 7th

If you’re ready to read The Billionaire’s Alibi #5: The Betrayal this weekend, you can pre-order it here (tons of options) for download on Sept 7th »

http://goo.gl/HI9uOc

NOTE: You’ll be purchasing it directly from my website under my regular author name (so don’t be alarmed if it doesn’t say Maddy Raven). The site is secure with https:// on the page where you edit your CC info (check the URL) and uses a PCI compliant payment processor (Stripe).

You will still be able to get TBA #5 through your regular ereader platform if you prefer, but it won’t be out until October on places like Amazon, B&N, iTunes, Kobo, Google Play, Smashwords, etc. I’ll email you with more details about how to pre-order as soon as the deets are available!

Get Caught Up on The Billionaire’s Alibi

If you’re just getting started with the series, you can download the first book completely free here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/70una5kpikggde1/AABBcu8TXJeT_WDCFQ6fua9sa?dl=0

Instructions for how to download and get it onto your reading device are right there in the file downloads!

Lastly, I want to remind readers that there are NINE books total in the series. The first one is free, the other eight are paid. So if you’re looking for a complete story, you will get the ending with the ninth book when it comes out in December… but not any sooner :). Plan accordingly.

A Book is Not a Piece of a Book

I’m an artist and I’ve been in the creation game for a long time. (Nearly 8 years since I started my first blog—amazing!)

Most criticism rolls off my shoulders, but every once in awhile I’ll see something that seems like it needs to be addressed. As an author, I am discouraged to respond to criticism by retailers and some sites don’t even allow it. I understand why—they don’t want authors to get all angsty or angry with people who are leaving their genuine opinions in reviews. It creates a hostile environment and lowers the quality of the relationship between these retailers and their customers—a relationship that is crucial to the long-term success of the book industry.

Also, as an author, I would never want to offend someone who is giving my work a chance and supporting the book industry in general by buying books. I appreciate all of that, I really do! Even if those people end up not liking my books or buying them. Every reader, even if they don’t read me, is a valuable part of the ecosystem that sustains me and helps pay my bills.

Still, there are comments on other sites that need to be addressed and the best place for me to address them is my blog. The comment I’m addressing today is about the idea that a story is not a book because it is shorter than a novel, or that I’m somehow breaking a book into partial books as part of a money-making scheme.

This comment seems to come up over and over again, particularly with serials (both mine and other authors’ serials series). So let me explain why serials are still books and why outside forces that have shifted the book industry are causing a ton of confusion in the reading community.

Because of the recent efforts of book companies like Amazon (yes, it started as an online bookstore), Barnes and Noble, and Kobo, online retail for ebooks has flourished over the years and self-published authors have the opportunity to share their work with readers in a professional format for pay. I could honestly never be more grateful for this because it has become a portion of my income month-to-month and has changed my life.

The advent of these new capabilities means that storytelling formats which fell out of popularity for many years have now had a resurgence, and they don’t quite look like books that come out of the traditional publishing model because they are not intended to be the same. In particular, formats like short stories, novellas, short novels, and serials are all coming back into fashion after decades of being unsustainable under the traditional publishing model. Tons of background on this, but let me give you the short version: it was too expensive to print and distribute these types of books because retailers couldn’t easily charge enough to cover these costs for them unless it was highly in-demand work (written by an insanely popular author, for example).

Now, the ebook revolution strips away the inefficiencies of printing and distribution and it is possible to sell these types of books at the prices they were intended to sell at. There’s a lot of debate over what “prices they were intended to sell at” means exactly, but for my purposes I’m just going to say they are cheaper than traditional novels because they have less content.

Because of this shift in the market, readers are seeing a resurgence in novellas, short stories, short novels, and serials available to them. This resurgence is happening primarily in ebook format. But because these books don’t look and read and feel like novels, and because novels = books in most readers minds (that’s all a “book” has ever been to them), readers think they are getting short-changed.

I knew when I published The Billionaire’s Alibi in serial format that I would see these types of comments and confusion. But here’s the thing—some authors love to write serials, and some readers love to read serials. Just like some authors love to write novels and some readers love to read novels.

I love writing serials because cliffhangers are a BIG part of the structure. (Also, because I AM EVIL, but if you’ve read the TBA series already knew that :).) I love building stories with cliffhangers, especially when there are mysteries to be had. This is also why I love watching television but can barely sit through movies—television shows try to stay fresh and addictive while movies tell a story from beginning to end. Totally different structures.

These structures mean that readers today have more choices than ever.

But it also means they need to pay closer attention to their likes and preferences and compare that to what authors are offering them. Readers need to make sure everything lines up, because a book today is NOT necessarily a 90,000 word, 400 page novel. A book can be a shorter novel, a novella, a novelette, or a short story. A story can be told as a series, a serial, or a standalone. A piece of literature can have a variety of structures, many “non-standard” (given that the standard is what traditional publishing has defined, which is 90,000 word, 400 page novels).

My serials are not published in pieces of books that readers have to put together. A book of my serial is a book, period. The way I write my serials and the breaking points I put into them are contained to that one book on purpose, which is why I release them that way and why I attempt to price them accordingly within the marketplace. Each book in my serials series has an overarching theme and a plot that is contained to just that serial. That plot is often resolved by the end, though the larger mystery of the series lives on, just as it does in any series of books.

As a reader, you might not like serials, and that’s fine. Feel free to stick to novels or whatever other format you prefer, but realize that I am offering novella series and novella serials and that’s what you’re getting when you read my books.

Perhaps the best analogy is the idea of digging half a hole. You can’t do it—a hole is just a hole is just a hole, no matter its size.

A book is just a book is just a book, too. The reader gets to choose what size they want.

Why Do a Jane Austen Retelling?

Jane Austen is more popular than she’s ever been in history, thanks to a number of recent retellings and remakes of her most popular novels. So what’s drawing me toward creating another story with these characters?

I’ve asked myself this a lot, especially because there are so many other modern Austen retellings out there, and not even just books. The most popular ones are Clueless, Bridget Jone’s Diary, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, etc.

Then there are meta stories, like Austenland, Becoming Jane.

And then there are actual remakes of most of the stories as well, in both BBC miniseries versions and multiple full-length movies.

And yet… Jane Austen is simply a classic, and the more I study her books, the more I become fascinated with her world and the way she portrays her characters.

So, I’m doing it, and I will make it awesome and different than all the other options out there. There will be a few things that set my series apart:

Retelling + Mashup

The focus of these books are on Emma Woodhouse and Elsie Bennet, two characters from different Jane Austen books (Emma and Pride and Prejudice). That begs a lot of other questions that wouldn’t come up in a normal retelling:

How does someone like Emma Woodhouse respond to someone like Chuck Bingley, and why does he choose Jane over her?
Why are Emma and Elsie friends in the first place, when Emma cares so much about class and it’s clear that Elsie’s family has little of it?
What does someone like Jace Knightley, who doesn’t always approve of Emma’s choices, think of her friendship with Elsie Bennet?

These questions make the retelling more interesting to me, because they shift both narratives in subtle ways and ultimately add a lot of story that isn’t actually there in the originals.

New Adult

The classic versions of Jane Austen’s books were always about young women growing up and finding their places in the world (typically through a romance). There is no doubt in my mind that the modern version of this would be the New Adult genre, books which are often about adults who don’t quite have to face adulthood yet; they are put in adult situations and deal with adult problems while not having to immerse themselves completely in that world.

I believe the New Adult version will add some depth to how these books would look with a modern twist, especially because the reasons to be with someone are so much different in modern times.

Serialization

I love serialization and I knew that it was the right format for this series, because it would allow me to go deeper and explore little scenes in both books with a lot more space to expand on them.

As with all serials, I believe in limits. This series has 18 books, but they’ll be bundled and all that good stuff, about 6 full books worth of content. I really think the extended version will make them even better and more fulfilling for Jane Austen fans.

I’m mostly creating this series because I love Jane Austen and I want more! There is never enough story, for some reason… so, I’m going to do one my way.

Grimm Fairy Tales Are Dripping With Sex

The first book in the Beauty Awakened series, The Queen and the Honey, has been out for a little over a year now. Back then, I got this review that has nagged at me ever since.

It was one of the first reviews I got on this book and to be honest, I was really confused! I’ve never publicly responded to it because authors are not typically supposed to respond to criticisms of their books—plus, the review seemed to be from a nice person who simply didn’t love the book, rather than someone who was snarking or trolling.

This particular review confused me so much because the reader felt that Grimm fairytales and sex didn’t mesh. She thought it was weird that I tried to combine sex with a fairytale, as if it were some new idea, and not a very popular trend in all types of fiction.

I don’t want to single out this person or make her feel bad. Obviously, she’s never seen sex and fairytales go together, which is fine—there’s a first time for everything.

However, I personally feel that sex is a huge undertone in all of the Grimm fairy tales. And be honest, I’ve probably read more of them than most people. So let me provide a little bit of proof to back up my claim:

Exhibit A: Sleeping Beauty (the tale that is the loose basis for Beauty Awakened)

In the modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty, from the Disney version to more recent retellings like The 10th Kingdom miniseries and the television show, Once Upon a Time, Sleeping Beauty is awakened by her true love’s kiss.

However, in the original version, she’s actually awakened by “true love’s” rape, which is the inspiration for my series, as well as Anne Rice’s The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty series that grew popular after 50 Shades of Grey became an international phenomenon.

Exhibit B: Little Red Riding Hood

In the sanitized version of Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf is trying to eat a little girl by tricking her into thinking he’s her grandma.

In the original version, the Wolf is trying to lure that girl into his bed. The girl symbolizes a virgin, a common object of Grimm fairy tales. The wolves themselves symbolize aggressive, animalistic men who can’t control their desires, alluding to another rape scenario.

Even in modern society, wolves symbolize masculine men who live in excess—Wolf of Wall Street anyone?

Exhibit C: Rapunzel

In the sanitized version of Rapunzel, a prince rescues her from a tower by asking her to let down her hair.

In the original version, the Prince is the one who imprisons her because she’s pregnant with his child. This is alluded to when the Prince spends days frolicking with Rapunzel right before the incident where she’s imprisoned.

Conclusion

Now, I’ve mentioned before that Lily Briar’s story isn’t the only one I have to tell within the Enchanted Forest world—in fact, the retellings of Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel are on their way, once I clear some other projects off my plate and finish Lily’s story!

But the reality is, I didn’t come up with the idea of sex + fairytales. The tales that the Grimm brothers derived their stories from were never intended for children, and even more importantly, the motifs that are repeated over and over are not only violent but also extremely sexual and even racist at times.

Beauty Awakened was never intended to be a piece of untouchable art, and I certainly welcome all the criticism I’ve received on it. But I do hope that by retelling these fairytales with amped up violence and sex, as those stories were originally told, I can bring awareness to the history of a piece of long-standing literature that is deeply ingrained in our modern society.

An Unedited Snippet of The Billionaire’s Alibi: The Betrayal (The Billionaire’s Alibi #5)

We’re still in the middle of drafting/editing The Billionaire’s Alibi #5, as Ravens on the email list know (sign up in the yellow box at the top of any page), but I thought I’d share with you a snippet that… I don’t think will come as a surprise?

You already know that Will and Alexa’s relationship is complicated for a number of reasons. One of the more subtle ones has always been the baggage that they both bring to the relationship, in the sense that neither ever really got closure on their last relationships.

(Spoiler alerts, obviously.)

At the end of book 4, Will confronts his mother, absolutely determined to give his relationship with Alexa a real chance. Here’s a sample of what’s to come in book #5, taken from the first chapter:

“You were with him for five years,” he said quietly, “and you never told him the secret.”

“He never knew I had a secret,” she admitted. “Just like you shouldn’t know—the only reason you do is that your psychotic mother dangled it in front of you—”

“Alexa, five years—he definitely knew you had a secret.”

“Not officially,” she mumbled, hanging her head.

“Is that why he broke up with you?”

She waited a little longer before she answered. “Not officially.”

“So…” Will’s fists balled at his sides. “You kept him at arm’s length, just like you’re doing to me, and he broke up with you,” he summarized. “Even though he’s still in love with you.” It pained him to ask the next question. “Are you still in love with him?”

She looked up, locking eyes with him for just a second. He looked away, not needing to hear her answer—not wanting to. He already knew she was.

This whole time she was holding back… she was never truly his, not for one second of it. He gulped down air, trying to restore his breath, but her non-response had knocked his breath away.

“Will,” she said. “I love you.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “You love me also.”

So what do you think? Does Alexa still love Chase, or does she just need time to get over him? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

It is a Truth Universally Acknowledged

As I say often around here, some stories start with a whisper. Emma + Elsie hit me over the head like a ton of bricks. The idea started from a basic premise—what if two of my favorite Jane Austen characters, Emma Woodhouse and Elizabeth Bennet, were best friends in modern times? And then the story grew from there. And grew and grew…

This quote is obviously a play on the much more famous one, which goes like this:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

Like many writers, I am fascinated with opening lines, and while there are many things about Jane Austen’s writing that I don’t love, man can that woman write a killer opening line.

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.

Sigh. Just perfect. Brilliant.

When I tweaked Jane Austen’s opening line to Pride and Prejudice, I realized how much friendship centers on gossip, secrets, and confidentiality. I really wanted to bring the playfulness and, to some extent, the campiness, of rewriting a classic, beloved book (and a classic, slightly-more-difficult-to-get-onboard-with-the-main-character book—I think you can figure out which one that is) to my own series. The tweaked version also refers to the opening scenes of Pride and Prejudice, with gossipy Mrs. Bennet speaking to her husband.

From this quote, I came up with this opening for the first scene. (Still a work in progress, of course!)

“Emma.”

Her best friend paced back and forth in front of her dresser, mumbling to herself. “Flowers, shoes, necklace…”

“Emma,” Elsie repeated.

“Gift!” Emma exclaimed, marking something on the small notepad she was holding. She set the pad on her dresser, scribbling furiously.

She heaved a huge, exasperated sigh. “Emma!”

Emma spun around. “Elsie! You’re here.” She tilted her head, letting her blonde, bouncy curls fall to one side. “When did you get here?”

“Set it down.”

“What?”

“The pen, the book, the whole shebang. Step away from the to-do list before your head explodes.”

“I am the maid of honor,” Emma said. “I will not rest until my list is complete and I’ve ensured that Annabeth’s wedding is absolutely, 100% perfect.”

“But Emma,” she said, a light grin dancing on her lips. She plopped down onto her best friend’s 4-post princess bed, sprawling out across the crisp, fresh, and pristinely lightweight comforter. She was bursting to tell her what she had just learned, but Emma was wrapped up in her own world, as usual.

“No buts,” Emma said. [She’s rushing around]

“You’re going to want to hear this,” Elsie said in a singsong voice. She sat up, slightly annoyed that Emma was still staring at that blasted list.

*****

I still have a lot to go to get this into shape, and I’ll be playing with the wording quite a bit over the next few days to set the tone for the rest of the series. I’m currently going through Emma and Pride and Prejudice line by line to make sure I get the characters exactly right (they don’t feel quite spot on here, but I’m not worried—this is just a rough draft).

I’m so excited for this project, as you can see. It’s crazy fun so far and these are two of my favorite stories in the world, ever. I feel incredibly blessed that they are in the public domain and I get to rework them like so many others before me.

Why Doesn’t Will Ask His Mother About Her History With (Spoiler)?

Questions about The Billionaire’s Alibi series have been filtering in as people read through to the 4th book. Here are some amazing questions that readers have sent us, along with the answers!

(Spoiler Alert: Read TBA #4 before going any further!)

Q1: When Will’s mother acknowledges she has an agenda that reaches Alexa’s family, I wonder why Alexa does not probe about what history there is between the 2 families?

She simply doesn’t have away to probe after the third book, and much of the first scene of the 4th book was about that. Rebecca is obviously not going to tell her, so the only option is to go to her father, whom she hasn’t spoken to in years. She questions whether she should reach out to him, but decides not to, because it opens up a whole can of worms that she’s not ready to deal with yet.

Then, she gets shot and ends up in the hospital.

That very much scares her into submission where Rebecca is concerned. She’s not going to make any sudden moves, especially because she thinks that Rebecca is behind the attacks.

Q2: Will has an opportunity to ask his mother the same question (about the history between the two families), but does not, which is baffling for such a smart guy who has been determined since the contract to learn what his mother has on Alexa to assure her compliance.

He has asked! In chapter 5, The Billionaire’s Alibi: The Scandal:

“Listen to me very carefully, William Henry Harper,” Rebecca said. “Alexa’s history is dark and muddled, full of secrets and deceptions. You haven’t even begun to uncover what that girl is capable of… or what she’s running from.”

Will met his mother’s stare. “What do you know?” he asked, carefully.

“Much more than you,” she acknowledged.

He confronts her again in chapter 6, The Billionaire’s Alibi: The Investigation:

“William,” Rebecca said, her voice like ice. “Sit down.”

“No, let’s really dig into this.” He was just getting started. He began to circle the table. “Let’s say that same someone wants to ruin Alexa for her own reasons—none of which anyone is aware… What better way to destroy her than to kill her and make it look like an accident?”

There are three reasons he doesn’t keep asking:

#1 – Because he gets nothing but games from his mother, and it’s frustrating, confusing, and exhausting.

He knows his mother, and she is simplynot going to ever give him a straight answer. In fact, she’s the one dangling the clues, potentially setting a trap for him… he knows this.

#2 – He’s dealing with a number of other problems:

The police, his high-pressure job, his father cutting him out of Harper Global, the press finding out about his contract with Alexa, and keeping Alexa in the first place, despite the fact that people are trying to kill her because of him…

He knows that to figure out Rebecca’s scheme, he has to get sneaky—but he simply doesn’t have the capacity to slow things down and figure out how to get a step ahead of her.

In other words, he’s treading water and fighting fires rather than being strategic about how to solve his problems.

#3 – He maybe doesn’t want to know.

He’s falling in love with this girl and his mother is trying to tell him that she’s not who he thinks she is. On some subconscious level, he simply doesn’t want to hear about yet another potential obstacle in his relationship with her.

From chapter 8, The Billionaire’s Alibi: The Investigation:

“It’s about Alexa,” he said. “She’s someone I care greatly about.”

His mother smiled and raised an eyebrow. “This again,” she said. “If you’re trying to anger me, William, you can forget about screwing Alexa to do it. She means nothing to me, as long as she does her job.”

“From what I hear,” Will said, crossing his arms, “she means quite a bit to you. I understand she’s a crucial element to your scheme for revenge.”

Rebecca’s eyes gleamed as they met his in the mirror—any hint of tenderness was gone.

“I see she told you about our recent visit,” she said. “I doubt she told you everything.”

He glared at her. “Enough with the cryptic messages. I’m not falling for it, and neither is she.”

“Falling for it?” Rebecca scoffed, twirling her makeup brush in a pot of pink and brushing it across her cheeks. “There’s nothing to fall for. I like to operate in the open—to reveal people’s true natures—not to hatch drama amongst them.” She glanced up at him. “That’s something you should remember if you want to continue to rise in your father’s company—people always have secrets and questionable motives. Ghosts from the past will always haunt them.” She turned around in her chair to face him. “The easiest way to control someone is to expose them for who they really are.”

“Straight out of the devil’s handbook,” he remarked. “Whatever secrets you intend to ‘reveal’ about Alexa, you can keep them locked in their box—the second you say anything, you’ll lose me forever.”

She stared at him, her eyes narrowing. “You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious,” he said. “I will leave the company, I will leave this family, and best of all, I will leave you.”

I hope this helps!

If you have a question about The Billionaire’s Alibi so far, submit it to maddyravenbooks@gmail.com and I’ll answer it here!

he confronts her again about why she is trying to get Alexa
His mother again is trying to lay a trap for him.
He ultimately doesn’t want to know the truth—he wants to be happy with Alexa. He would rather protect her and keep her than know something that will rip them apart irrevocably.

BONUS SCENE: TBA #3, Chase’s Perspective

This scene retells the bar scene of The Billionaire’s Alibi: The Scandal (The Billionaire’s Alibi #3) from Chase’s perspective. Fans of Beauty Awakened may get a little more backstory on Derrick and Lily as well…

Chase didn’t even bother to hide his grin as he watched Alexa tip her head back for another shot. This was the girl he knew—the girl who could drink Drew and Tucker under the table and still ace an exam the next morning, the girl who would throw her hair in a ponytail and join them at Duffy’s no matter what the hour.

The girl who always returned his smile with a wink.

This was the Alexa he missed.

Surrounded by their friends from Northwestern, back in their favorite bar in Lincoln Park, he knew she was still there, hidden underneath the designer clothes and tacky—albeit expensive—jewelry. This thing with Will Harper was a farce. He knew it. He knew her.

Just as he knew that her sliding into the seat next to him wasn’t an accident, nor was the way her hand rested so close to his. He wanted to reach over and lay his hand on hers, to entwine their fingers like they’d done a thousand times before, a thousand light years ago when they were still together and in love.

But she was fragile—no matter how strong she made herself out to be—and she was hiding, and he would be damned if he scared her off before finding out from what.

“Where’s Derrick?” she leaned over to ask him. He could smell her perfume—something expensive, he guessed, and not at all like her. He knew her smell—he knew the faint scent of coconut from her shampoo and the way her skin smelled of flowers from her body wash.

Nothing stirred the memory like scent.

Chase leaned back, willing himself to push the memories aside.

“I expected to see him here,” Alexa continued.

“Mom and I have barely heard from him,” he told her. “He left town when his girlfriend went missing.”

She tilted her head and crinkled her nose, something she always did when she was puzzled—something he always found endearing.

“Which one,the cute brunette with the pixie cut?” she asked.

“No, that was Cassie,” Sara spoke up from across the table. Drew’s arm was wrapped lazily around his girlfriend’s shoulders, and Chase wondered how hard Alexa would smack him if he tried to do the same. “Lily was the one after.”

Lily was the one his brother had planned to propose to, the one who broke Derrick’s heart. He was never the same after that, and he’d stayed in the city for as long as he could, waiting for her to come back. When he finally realized she never would, he up and left with barely a word to his family.

With barely a word to him…

His best friend. His brother.

Liz scoffed. “She was a nutcase if you ask me.”

“She wasn’t that bad,” Chase said. She may have broken his brother’s heart, but she’d also helped to heal it, in the beginning.

“She never even showed up to Derrick’s surprise party—the party that he planned for her birthday!” Sara exclaimed.

“No phone calls or texts, either,” Liz pointed out.

He leaned back in the chair and tilted his beer glass in small circles. It was true. Everything they were saying was true, but still there was something about the way she left Derrick that hadn’t sat right with either of them.

When Derrick first brought Lily around their group, Chase thought she was sweet, smart—and okay, he had to agree with Drew and Tucker—she was pretty smoking hot. She was a little… out there, but he shrugged it off, figuring she was a fashion major, and weren’t all creative types a little strange? Besides, she was good for Derrick in a way his past girlfriends hadn’t been—most importantly, she was there. Even when she was dreaming about flying off to Paris or Rome or wherever to do her fashion thing, she always included Derrick, like they were a two-for-one deal, one never without the other. With their dad leaving when they were young, his ex-girlfriend Melissa cheating on him, and Cassie up and transferring schools in the middle of their first semester, Lily was the one stable feature of Derrick’s life.

Besides Chase, of course.

But then Lily disappeared without a word, and Derrick broke in a way Chase had never seen before.

“We still don’t know what happened,” he reminded his friends.

Lily’s disappearance was deemed suspicious, and she was treated as a missing person. Her books had been found in the university library, still open to her sketchbook, and her keys and wallet were intact in her bag. When the police investigated further and found her sketchbook had been filled with drawings of a young man who couldn’t be identified—along with the times of flights heading to New York scribbled on the back of a receipt—they concluded that Lily had taken off willingly. The case wasn’t closed, but they weren’t actively searching for her, either.

Derrick was going to propose to her the night of the planned surprise party. Chase had even gone with him to pick out a ring—he’d planned on being his big brother’s best man, taking him to Vegas for his bachelor party, and roasting the hell out of him for his wedding toast. So when she didn’t show up, Chase was just as confused.

Sure, Lily could be weird sometimes—maybe even a bit flighty. But he’d never pegged her as the type of girl to run off with a stranger—and certainly not the girl who would knowingly break his brother’s heart. Derrick didn’t believe it, either, and if Chase was a betting man—which he was—he’d bet that although Derrick had left town to get away from the memories and forget Lily, he wasn’t going to let this go.

Chase didn’t blame him. He wasn’t willing to let Alexa go, either.

“How about you, Lex?” he heard Liz ask. “I heard you got rid of this guy over here and started dating some young hot billionaire.”

“Hey, now,” Chase said defensively. Just the mention of What’s-His-Name Harper made his blood rise, but he tried to ignore it and play it cool. No use in creating a larger rift between himself and Alexa—not when she was here, sitting next to him, smiling and laughing like old times. “It was a mutual breakup,” he added. “I dated someone, too.”

“Dated?” Alexa looked at him, curiosity filling her eyes. “As in, you’re not dating anymore?”

Before Chase could answer, Sara and Liz were updating with a barrage of questions.

“What was with that war on Zoey Fromme?” Liz asked.

“I couldn’t believe you were actually on speaking terms,” Sara said.

Chase glanced at Alexa. He’d done enough explaining—and lying—to his friends about Alexa’s new relationship. He certainly couldn’t express his suspicions to them—not after her interview with Morgan Cummings—but he didn’t have to sit here and make up excuses for her, either.

“Today’s about Vivian, not about us,” she said diplomatically. “We’re just trying to get along for her.”

“I heard on the news that you and your new boyfriend got tangled up with her murder,” Drew said quietly.

Silence filled the space between them. Around them, the sports commentators on TV and conversations at nearby tables grew louder and more distinct. Chase looked to Alexa. Would she do it? Would she confess her fears to her friends like she’d confessed to him earlier at Vivian’s funeral? Would she let them tell her she was playing with fire, that she didn’t belong in that world, that it was too dangerous and she was too smart, too special to be caught up in all of it?

“We think Will was set up,” she said.

Chase cleared his throat. So there it was. She’d keep defending him and their relationship, no matter what it meant to her friendships. No matter what it meant to her life.

“Vivian’s death is still an open investigation,” he said. “I don’t think we should be talking about it, especially not today.”

Vivian’s death had changed so much already—their group had grown smaller, their friendships a little more distant. He’d be damned if he let Alexa slip back into whoever the hell she was pretending to be with the Harpers. Not now, not when they were having fun and reminiscing and everything felt so familiar and right between them.

“Tell us about your love life, then, Chase,” Liz said with a wink.

Beside him, Chase heard Alexa mutter into her glass. “Yes, do tell them.”

“You’ve never been single for long,” Liz said, trying to goad him.

“He’s never been single.” Tucker laughed and toasted him with his beer.

Chase grinned and shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell. We went on a few dates, and I realized I wasn’t that into her.”

“Oh,” Alexa began, “you seemed pretty into her—”

He leapt to his feet. “Who wants another round? Anyone? Everyone? Alexa, will you come with me?”

She shook her head. “Nooo, I think I’ll—”

Chase grabbed her elbow as their friends tried not to smirk. He led her to a quiet corner near the front of the bar. That kind of reminiscing was not what he had in mind.

“Well done.” She tugged away from him, and he let go of her. “You really gave them the ol’ slip there.”

Chase ignored her and crossed his arms. “I’d rather not have our friends know that you walked in on me and my date having sex in our apartment, thanks. I thought after five years of being together, you’d at least respect our relationship enough to keep the details private.”

He thought after five years together, she’d at least trust him.

“That wasn’t about our relationship. That was about you fucking some other girl while I was still living with you.”

Chase sighed. She was never going to let that go. Was that the real reason she was with Mr. Rich? To get back at him? Was putting her life in danger really worth the payback? They’d already broken up when that happened, and it hadn’t meant anything. He didn’t even believe that Alexa cared until she walked through the door and started screaming at him.

“For the last time, I’m not proud of what I did. It wasn’t fair to you, and I should have been more discreet.” He paused. “But, you know, I think a part of me wanted you to catch me, to see that I could survive without you.”

To see that he could let her go, just as she had let him go.

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Lex,” he said. Did he really have to explain it to her? After all this time, were they just now going to have this conversation? “You were always so caught up in your own life and career. How else was I supposed to get your attention?”

She took a step closer to him. Through the beer and the bar food, he could swear he could smell that faint scent of flowers that always lingered on her skin. The anger in her eyes told him to stop thinking about her skin and start thinking of ways to fix this. She was talking to him, reminding him of why she hated him, and all he could think was that he wanted her.

He wanted her back.

“Did you even want a future with me?” he asked softly. “I loved you—I tried to give you everything. You never seemed to care.”

Something in her eyes changed. She drew back and paused.

“You’re right,” she said. “I’m sorry—I was depressed and struggling, and I took it all out on you instead of leaning on you for help.”

Chase reached for her hand, entwining his fingers with hers like he’d been wanting to do all night. Just touching her again like this made him feel whole, complete—like nothing had ever changed.

But everything had changed.

“Seeing you today, Lex—so strong, so pulled together, so confident… I haven’t seen you like this in a while.” He took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving hers. “And it kills me that he was the one to bring it out in you.”

“Chase…” she tried to protest, but he continued before she could say more.

“I know you don’t love him. You can’t love him. He’s exactly the kind of guy you would hate.”

Didn’t she remember that he was exactly the guy she loved?

He stepped closer to her, their faces mere inches apart. He swallowed nervously and reached up to stroke a loose strand of hair from her face. His finger traced her cheek until it reached her chin, and he tilted her head up, forcing her to meet his eyes. They were drawn to each other—drawn together like magnets, and he didn’t think he could pull away.

“When I said I couldn’t lose you, I didn’t just mean because of the danger you’re in. I meant that I couldn’t lose us. We had a good thing—you know we did. I should’ve tried harder, I could have done better, but, Lex…” His heart raced, and his voice fell to a whisper. “I can’t imagine my life without you.”

His eyes lowered to her lips, and her head tilted upwards. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers—so familiar and comfortable and natural.

So like his Alexa.

He jumped as she pulled back.

“What are you doing?” she asked quietly.

Chase knew he hadn’t imagined it, though she was trying her best to deny it. There was something there, something so much better and less dangerous than the life she was leading now. She didn’t have to live this lie he knew she was keeping with the Harpers; she didn’t have to pretend to care about this guy she barely even knew when they had a history—when they could have a second chance.

“We could try again,” he said. He leaned down to kiss her again, but she turned away, freezing in mid-speech.

Chase pulled back, confused.

“I need to go,” she said, her voice filled with authority. “Now.”

“Now?” He asked, perplexed.

Now, after he’d just bared his soul to her? Now, after he’d finally seen a glimpse of the old Alexa, the one she was always hiding now for God knew what reason?

She put a hand on his chest. “You have to tell everyone that they didn’t see me, okay? Tell them it’s important they don’t mention my name or give any indication I was here tonight.”

Chase stepped back and raised his head, not believing what he was hearing.

“Is this about Will?”

“I have to go,” she pleaded. “Please, just do this for me?”

“I meant everything I said, Lex,” he said. “I love you, and I’ll get you back.”

But Alexa was already pushing her way through the crowd.

“Tell them I’m sorry!” she called over her shoulder.

Before he could utter a word in response, the front doors burst open with a flood of photographers.