Last Post Before the New Year

This is the end of year post. Where we nicely sum up what we’ve been through the past year while being all optimistic and gung-ho for what comes next.

It’s been a good year. Better than the year before, that’s for damn sure. Some things changed. Others remained the same.

So I got hitched.

Wrote some books.

Made new friends.

Made those friends cry.

I mean, what hasn’t been good about that, right?

I want to make this about you. And thank you for making it possible for me to do things I didn’t think I ever could or would. You have made it possible this year, by hanging with me, sticking with me even when I make you wait and wait for the good shit.

I want to say 2016 is going to be about you. My gift to you, for reading, for cheer-leading, for wanting, and for waiting. You have made me, over here in my little cozy corner, very happy. Made me feel so freaking lucky, and loved. So I get to make you feel that in 2016.

Loose Ends will be my gift to you. Every book, every word.

From me, to you.

If you haven’t read Hidden Scars, now would be the time to

ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!

I have to write Bound to Do Damage, which I shared at the end of Hidden Scars. It’s an obligation I can’t renege on because I signed up for the project, and made a commitment, months and months ago. But Levi and Van is right here with me, so I’m going to try something.

Write both books at once.

Now I know you’re going, “Av, didn’t you try that already? And didn’t it not work?”

OMG, why you coming for me right now? Unfair.

So yeah. Both at once. Because I don’t have a choice. I can’t not write Bound to Do Damage, but I also need to get Levi and Van out of my head. It’s about time for these guys.

And we’ve waited long enough.

Bound to Do Damage, which I’m aware you don’t care about now (but you will lol) ties in to the Loose Ends world. Not sure how specifically, but one of the heroes (Mainah Barnett) is Kyo’s brother. You remember Kyo. Japanese. Cochlear implants. Fucks Dutch and saves Sullivan?

That Kyo.

You want to know Kyo. I mean, you just do.

So yes. I start writing both books next week when kid returns to school off of the holiday break. Y’all know I gets none done when that child is around. I have to have Bound to Do Damage done by Feb, because it releases in March. So don’t be surprised if it gets the bulk of my attention.

Can I just say right now I know fuck all about what that book is about? LOL

You know how I stay.

I have an idea about what Levi and Van is about. Matter fact, no. I have a very pretty and clear picture about what Levi and Van is about. Because the original idea of who they are and what they were supposed to be, back when they were going to be a part of the Sinners world, hasn’t changed. That idea remains intact. What I needed was some backstory and some motivation, some answers to the whys. I needed a more damaged Van and an idea of who Levi is.

Hidden Scars and that fucker named Dutch gave me that.

So I’m good to go there.

I hope I answered the lingering questions you had about the Sinners. And if you have yet to read the book, I really hope you aren’t still reading this post.

ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!

Heh

What I realized while writing that scene in Costa Rica: I miss my boys. Like, you don’t even know. I miss that violent JP and his Pretty Boy, the blood-thirsty Teo and his (not so) quiet and unassuming Tommy, I miss Angel and Gabe and that shit they have that resonates like nothing else I’ve ever written. I miss the secretive Syren and his Marshal.

You guys.

I can’t let them go. I can’t.

As long as I’m writing criminals who fall in love, those boys will be around. I swear to you. T&T, and JP & Shane will definitely be in Levi and Van’s book. Because…yeah.

Do you think Levi still has a thing for JP?

I’m just asking *shrugs*

Syren will definitely be in Dutch and Patel’s book because he knows Dutch’s secrets. You don’t want Syren to know your secrets.

I think I warned you guys that Dutch was not a nice guy. Lord, but I wasn’t prepared for all the shit I learned about him in Hidden Scars. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, I think.

I don’t usually go with a theme for my books, but Hidden Scars had a definite theme.

Family.

Dutch considers the men who work for him family. He protects them, he watches over them, and he bargains with the devil (Seraphina, anyone?) for them. But he also fucks them over, breaks their hearts, and offers up no excuses while expecting them to just brush that shit off. Van wants a piece of his ass and that is before he even learns what Dutch did to Levi. I think Dutch is loyal to only Patel, and even that is wrapped up in all kinds of crazy.

I still have no idea what their story is, Dutch and Patel, but I know it is true what my darling La Quette said in her review: Patel will be Dutch’s undoing. His ruin.

Guess it’s fortuitous that their book is titled Scars and Ruin.

Thank you for your ratings and reviews of Hidden Scars. I love it and I appreciate it. Thank you even more for emailing me. That is always welcomed, always, always.

Thank you, Trudy, for that well-timed email that lifted my spirits after another earlier message had me so down and in my feelings. Thank you for appreciating my work. Because I appreciate your love of it. I like my little cozy corner over here where I’m at, removed from the front lines, but not at the back of God’s back either. I like it here.

My relationship with you is everything. You’re my friends, I’d like to think.

No, my interactions with you on SOCIAL MEDIA WILL NEVER CHANGE. That wasn’t so much a shout as it was a very firm tone. I’m aware of how important it is and how much of a difference it makes when you can reach out and say hey to someone you didn’t think you could talk to.

I’m a fangirl, too. I get that.

So. What was I yapping about again? See what happens when you put me in front of the laptop and allow me to just type shit? I digress.

Happy New Year.

I love you. You love me.

You’re gorgeous, and you smell nice.

Here’s Van and Levi’s cover.

 

Cover by Jay Aheer