About Crossbreed

Lately I'm receiving a lot of messages from readers about the romance element in Crossbreed. Many of you are loving the dynamic relationship between Raven and Christian, and others are shipping other characters.

This is something I wanted to touch on. The Crossbreed series is an Urban Fantasy. But that doesn't mean it can't contain romantic elements. :) Always be aware if you are reading a series where romance is secondary that relationships may not progress in the speed you want (some not at all). It's a tough line to walk when you introduce a romantic sub plot and everyone suddenly has expectations.

The Crossbreed series is about good and evil. It's about cause and effect. It's about a woman struggling to find the line and where everything goes, including her. The Mageri series was about a woman learning where she fits in a world of immortals and also accepting men in her life who fill different roles, from friend to lover to even father. Raven knows where she fits, what she does best, and perhaps that is what frightens her the most.

Writing complex characters isn't easy, because it often requires some unsettling storylines to unfold. In order to get to Z, we have to go A-Y first. It is the heroes journey, which is often of self discovery. They have to make decisions along the way.

Another introduction in this series is an outside element that I'll fondly refer to as "chaos". Chaos doesn't care if you have everything planned out perfectly. In fact, stability and order are what chaos thrives on. The cover of Gaslight is actually the inside of a tornado - an image also shown on the back cover. I had a few readers disappointed it wasn't Christian, but then I have to say I choose the back cover based on what makes sense for the story. The title is also Gaslight, and will shed light on aspects of the plot.

The most interesting part is determining who in Raven's past is the true villain. Who is able to do the most damage and harm, and what their true intentions are, if any. I wanted to leave readers with something to think about, because while there is always a main plot going on, these are not simple 'who-done-it' books. Keystone always has to have a case, and sometimes those cases fold into the lives of the characters. But each character has their own battles. They are all relatively new to this Keystone group and have been through their own personal struggles, some of which has made them incapable of surviving in the outside world. There's a lot going on. The Mageri universe is dark, and we've seen glimpses of that in previous books. There are factions fighting against authorities as well as wanting to expose the entire Breed world to humans. There is a black market which no one can stop. There are ancients who still want power and don't want to conform to this new way of living. There are addicts who feed off of other's light or blood. Their racism isn't one of color or religion but one of Breed.

The story is an arc which spans through the books. There will be twists. There will be things that happen which are rage-inducing. There will also be moments of absolute joy, swoon-worthy moments, comedy, and relief. But hey, if you've read my previous books, then this isn't news to you. ;-) 

This post isn't meant to discount any relationships that may or may not develop. Only to say that basing feelings about the entire series solely on the romance element would be missing out on the bigger story.

I hope you are enjoying it. I have mapped out this series and all the pieces for readers to unlock the mystery that is Crossbreed. The overwhelming majority of readers have given me nothing but positive words as well as a desire for more. And more is coming! Thanks to you, Gaslight has become a top 100 bestseller on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I also plan on writing more PARANORMAL ROMANCE books. These books will focus on new couples in each book that are part of a continuing story - in the same style as the Seven series. I absolutely love romance as a main plot with HEA's and all the good feels. So stay tuned!

Happy reading ~