Deceit

Now that Beautiful Carnage is written and ready to head off to the editor, I’m diving into the fourth book in the Hollywood Guardians series, Deceit.

This is going to be my first true enemies to lovers story, and it’s got a forbidden element, too. Devon and Asher are step siblings, and their hatred for each other is a lot of fun to write.

When I began writing Beautiful Carnage, I started something completely new and different to anything I’d done when writing my previous books. I go through a series of questions to get to know the character better, writing out the answers in their voice. I usually end up with about 10,000 words of history, hopes, dreams, opinions, backstory, and everything in between by the time I’m finished, but it really helps me figure out who each character is as a person.

In this book, our heroine is Devon Holmes, an award-winning actress with a dark secret in her past that’s slowly destroying her. She makes a mistake and the only person she can call for help is the stepbrother she loathes and wants in equal measure.

Asher is our hero and I’m so excited for him to finally get his book. In Deceit, he’s going to have to balance stepping back into the family he wants no part of after a tragedy shifts his entire life around while also helping Devon clean up her mistakes and protecting her when the consequences of her fuck up mean more than just a bad headline or two.

The banter and chemistry between these two is a lot of fun to write so far. You can check out the first chapter by clicking HERE.

As always, if you want to read ahead while I work on this book, you can over on my Patreon.

Crossed Souls: Meet Chandler

Waaay back in 2007, I fell in love with a beagle. Her name was April, and she was my first ever fur baby and my first ever baby. My husband and I adopted her when we bought our first house, and we were in love. Fast forward five or so years and our lives had changed dramatically and because of that, it was impossible for us to keep our girl.

So, we rehomed her to a lovely family who was in the military and about to relocate to Alaska. They had a couple of small kiddos who we knew would love her as much as we had. I’ve never quite healed from letting her go, and to this day sometimes I wonder about her.

So, when it came time to pick a familiar for Willa, I had to pay tribute to my girl and use a beagle. Willa’s lonely and socially, she’s had a rough go of it. Beagles and known for being so sweet, loving, and gentle that I knew that was what she needed…

Except Chandler isn’t those things. He’s this fun dichotomy of snark and assholishness wrapped up in a cute, fluffy body so no one really expects the crap that comes out of his mouth. I named him after Chandler on Friends because 1. I love that show so much, and 2. I imagined him this sarcastic jerk who didn’t really make any situation better even thought that’s literally his job.

Unfortunately, sarcasm is really, really hard to write. I don’t think I quite pulled him off like I wanted to, but I did my best and hopefully as things progress I’ll figure out how to write sarcastic dialogue. How do you feel about Chandler? Love him? Hate him?

Crossed Souls in the Making

I mentioned in my last post that Crossed Souls had started in my head as something so much different than it turned out to be when I wrote it. Originally, I imagined Willa as a sort of Cupid-like character. She was compelled to help everyone around her find their soulmates while not having one of her own and she was definitely bitter about it.

Here’s one of the very first things I wrote when I was trying to flesh out the idea (sometimes, I get a snippet of a character’s inner thoughts or a tiny bit of a scene so I just write it out and stick it in a folder to deal with later. In this case, I never did anything with it because the story went in a different direction):

The book was originally going to be titled “Soulbound,” and I’m really glad I didn’t stick with that one. It would still fit in the context of the series, but I like Crossed Souls better.

Once I had an idea of who Willa was, it was time to create her harem. I’ve always had a love for all things dark and psycho, so Hiro and Crew were the first two guys who flickered into existence in my head. Then, Ever and Knox joined the party… and I can’t promise things will end with the four of them.

I’ve talked about my series bible before for this book, but this thing is a BEAST.

For every character I create, I make a full write up on them. Here’s just a peek into part of Willa’s:

There are about three pages like this for each character detailing all sorts of stuff about them, and I do the same thing for places, familiars, villains, magic types, and everything else in between. It’s a pretty hefty file when all is said and done. It goes on and on…

Did you have any idea how much goes into writing a book? I know I didn’t before I started doing it myself! Now I’m curious: Leave me a comment and let me know who your favorite character in CS is.

Character Flaws

When I start brainstorming a series, that can look different every time. For Crossed Souls, it started with the characters—Willa specifically. I saw her initially as a sort of cupid-like character who was destined to help people find love while also being a person who couldn’t find it herself. She’d never known what being in love felt like, and was a really lonely person.

So many of the reverse harems I read involve a female main character who’s badass almost right from the beginning. That’s not who Willa is, though. She’s just not. She’s been beaten down by life, and instead of rising to the occasion, she’s been defeated and is sort of just trying to get through her days and appreciate the things she does have and the people who are in her life.

Unfortunately, this means that sometimes life just happens to her. She doesn’t know how to handle it when life throws her a massive curveball she didn’t expect. Because she’s naïve and been sheltered her whole life, she doesn’t always make great decisions. In the first book of the Twisted Soul Magic series, this means that sometimes she’s a pushover. She lets her guys make decisions and goes along with them because she’s just trying to learn how this new world works before she jumps in.

She’s cautious and inadvertently reckless at the same time because she doesn’t have all the information. She’s doing her best, but sometimes her best is frustrating because she doesn’t seem to get it.

Trust me when I say this is all part of the plan. Yes, I’ve got a plan for Willa and how she’s going to grow throughout the series. She won’t always be the clueless and frustrating heroine she is in book one. If she were, that would make for a shitty series, right? But… if she doesn’t start somewhere low, how can she have the journey that will make you root for her to have happiness and everything perfect by the end of the series?

You’d get just as bored if she was a badass from the beginning and stayed a badass throughout. So, while I know book one might’ve been frustrating, I promise things will get much, much better as the series goes on.

Meet the Harem: Crossed Souls

I’ve been a big fan of reading reverse harem for a while now. At this point, it makes up about 98% of what I read in my free time, so because it’s my favorite, I wanted to try my hand at writing a series. I’ve had a lot of ideas about what my first RH series should be, but Twisted Soul Magic wouldn’t leave me alone, so it’s first up (and for the record I have about five other series’ in the works for the future that I can’t wait to get to).

In Crossed Souls (book one), we meet Willa’s harem. She may or may not collect another guy or two along the way, but for now, we’re going to focus on these four.

Ever — He’s our leader. He’s also the resident Healer and he’s not one to rush into a situation without considering all angles first. Ever is the guy who keeps the group together, who keeps a level head where some of the others don’t, and who keeps everyone safe and cared for. He also has a secret that he’s ashamed of and isn’t sure how to handle when it comes to revealing himself to Willa.

Crew — With a sense of humor, he’s both the light and the dark. Crew is funny and quirky, but his powers are the epitome of dark, which makes for an interesting dynamic. His powers are also legendary and almost as rare as Willa’s, so they have that in common. One of his favorite pastimes is scaring the ever loving fuck out of the people around him, so he keeps everyone on their toes.

Hiro — Ever, Crew and Hiro are like brothers, but where the other two are more outgoing and lighter in their approaches, Hiro is suspicious, intense, and an asshole at times. He’s a skilled fighter, but his past will never make it easy for him to let new people into his life. He’s a glass half empty kind of guy, and makes no secret about wanting to stay out of anything that doesn’t fit into his version of a normal life.

Knox — He’s the outsider. He isn’t a part of Ever, Crew, and Hiro’s group, and he’s Willa’s professional rival. Knox has a power that’s so shunned by the magical community, he hides who he is to avoid being completely driven out of town. Knox has spent his entire life alone, and has long ago given up hope that he’d find people who accept who and what he is.

The guys of Twisted Soul Magic are complex, both strong and soft in different ways, but every single one of them is necessary to support Willa in figuring out her powers and how to keep them out of the hands of the sinister shadow presence who’s determined to take them for their own.

So, any guesses what the guys’ powers are?

Leave a comment and let me know!

Get to Know: Magnolia

Taming Griffin is upon us (eek, just 13 more days!) and now seems like a great time to introduce you to Magnolia Dawson, Griffin’s other (better!) half.

Magnolia’s fresh out of college, so she’s young like Griffin, and she’s already had a pretty rocky life. This book explores some dark subjects like domestic abuse, but I wouldn’t call the book itself dark. It’s more a redemption, a story of a girl finding herself and her happily ever after despite the circumstances she’s been through.

I’ve wanted to write a southern heroine for quite a while now but it wasn’t right for any of the stories so far until this one. Right off the bat, I knew Magnolia had to be from the south. I’ve lived in Texas a few times and there’s something about that part of the US that’s a little more welcoming, a little sweeter, and a little more relaxed and slower-paced that I love so much. But women from the south? They’ll be sugar-sweet to you while cutting your legs out from underneath you with their words and there’s something about that I love so much, I needed Magnolia to have that quality. Unfortunately, it’s been buried pretty deep, so she’s going to have to work to bring it back out.

Magnolia’s from Georgia, so she’s got that southern sass and a twang to match. She was raised by her grandmother (Grammy!) but spent most of her childhood lonely and without a lot of friends. She was determined to go to college because of a promise she made to her grandma, and that’s where she met her ex, Winston.

He plays a big part in this story, and in order to get the feelings and situations correct, I talked to a lot of women who’d gone through what I imagined Magnolia had been through, too. Since she met him, Winston’s always been a shadow hanging over her life, so this book will explore that in detail.

Our pretty southern heroine is in full-on survival mode in this book when we first meet her, but slowly she starts to open up and her journey from when we meet her to the end of the book is amazing to watch unfold. I can’t wait for you to read it. Griffin’s really the best, sweetest guy ever (even more than True—shockingly), and he’s there with her every step of the way.

All Magnolia’s ever wanted was a place to call home and a family to love since those aren’t really something she’s ever had the chance to have. You’re going to have to wait to read to find out if she gets them, but just for fun, here’s a little sneak peek:

Magnolia

My heart beat wildly in my chest because standing up to people and confrontation were basically my biggest fears, but I had to get over it if I was going to run this tour like it deserved. I couldn’t let her see my fear. “I’ll do no such thing. You’re going to pack up your stuff and get off my bus. I wasn’t notified you’d be traveling with us, so we don’t have room for you or him.”

She narrowed her eyes even further and I took a step back. I flinched and the triumph that flashed in her eyes made me hate what I’d become even more than I already did. I hated cowering when someone acted aggressively toward me, but I couldn’t help it. It was instinctual now. She tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder and smiled at me, though it was more teeth than anything. “Make me,” she challenged, and then her smile widened as she looked over my shoulder.

Wait until you see who she was confronting… and who’s over her shoulder. Are you excited for Taming Griffin?

I Have No Idea What I'm Doing

Almost right off the bat with this book, I knew I wanted to tackle the issue of domestic violence with Magnolia. When I decided the band was going on tour in Taming Griffin, I wanted to figure out Magnolia’s motivation for wanting so badly to keep her job. The answer came to me pretty quickly—she was afraid if she stopped moving, her past would catch up to her.

Here’s the problem: I’ve never experienced domestic violence for myself. I have this innate need to write my heroines flawed but with a huge redemption arc. I want them to find love, but also to learn how strong they really are and how they’re responsible for their own growth and happiness. Because of that, I like to start them out in tough situations that they can grow out of.

They can take back control of their lives and show themselves how badass they really are.

I do this because I struggle in my own life. Since I was a kid, I’ve had severe panic attacks off and on. I don’t know what caused them or why they started, but I do know that it fucking sucks. At the beginning of 2020, I was at a point where I couldn’t leave my house, even to go for a walk or to go grocery shopping.

It’s taken a shit ton of work this year, but I’m healing and getting better, and I want the same thing for my characters. I want them to find out their true strength in the face of adversity, but I also don’t want to be offensive.

I’m going to write Magnolia how I imagine a woman would act in her circumstances, but I realize that not everyone reacts the same way or will have the same hangups, and that’s okay. Please know if you’ve experienced domestic violence, or if you’re currently struggling with it and don’t know where to turn, you can click this link for help: DV Hotline

You’re not alone in your struggles, no matter what they are, and I hope by writing women who reclaim their lives, I can give you an escape and hope at the same time.

And, for what it’s worth if you need someone to talk to, I’m your girl. Just leave me a comment or email me at heatherreadsitall@gmail.com. I hope you love Magnolia as much as I love writing her and Griffin is exactly the sweet, soulful guy she needs to help lift her up.

Just remember—I really have no idea what I’m doing.

On Repeat

When I wrote Finding Zen, the thing that inspired me most of all was a song. I’ve talked about it before but The Hills by the Weeknd was the song that originally inspired that book. I didn’t have the same instant song inspiration with True. My book inspiration comes from all over the place. Sometimes it’s a song, a random idea that will just pop into my head, a trope I’m fascinated by… it could really be anything.

With True, there wasn’t just one song, but there were many that all had little lyrics that made me think of certain scenes. For example, there’s a scene where True and a very pregnant Amara are dancing in their living room. That scene was inspired by a lyric from the song Only Human by the Jonas Brothers.

With Maddox, the entire plot was inspired by the song Marry Me by Thomas Rhett. Every time I heard the song, I would think about what the guy who was left behind would be feeling. And of course, I always rooted for the girl, in the end, to come to her senses and them to get their HEA. So, I wanted to write my version of how I thought that story would come out with a little extra excitement.

Neither Shadow Phoenix nor Jericho were inspired by songs, and I didn’t make playlists for them because my writing style was a lot different in both. Jericho didn’t really have an inspiration and I haven’t kept it a secret how hard that book was for me to write. Shadow Phoenix was somewhat inspired by my love of reading reverse harem and playing with some of those themes in a traditional contemporary book.

With Jericho, I found myself listening to the album Pink by Two Feet on repeat. It’s not super lyrical, and there are a lot of really sultry, sort of dark, and intense musical moments that just seemed to fit my mood while I was writing that story.

Now, while I’m writing Taming Griffin, I’m finding myself inspired by music again. I’ve got AJR’s The Click on constant rotation, and I imagine Griffin’s more carefree personality really fits in with the song I’m Not Famous.

So, there you have it, a little insight into the weirdness that is my mind. What are you listening to right now? Do you associate any songs with characters you read about? Let me know in the comments!

Meet: True

From the moment True announced his presence in my mind, he’s been the sweetest, most caring guy ever. He has the ability to handle shit when he has to, but mostly he’s a laid back surfer who’s good with going with the flow. He’s the peacemaker and he’s a total romantic.

True was raised by both of his parents in a loving and supportive household. He has one brother (Hale) and he looks at his parents as the ultimate example of what love should be and what he wants for his life. True is the moral compass of the group, the light one who keeps everyone from going over the edge into places that might not be easy to recover from.

He’s the kind of guy who’s happiest with a long-term girlfriend or nothing at all. He’s not a fan of hookups, and while he takes advantage from time to time, mostly he’s focused on other aspects of his life.

And musically? He’s incredibly talented on both guitar and as a singer. He and Zen both sing and play guitar, but in the official capacity of the band, True plays and Zen sings. But when they write music together? They make an amazing team. Think Lennon and McCartney levels of teamwork and creativity. True finds his peace with his family, the guys from the band, and hitting the waves.

And in Shadow Phoenix? His laid back ways get him in a bit of trouble the guys have to help him out of….

Meet: Maddox

Maddox was actually the second character that really solidified himself in my mind when I was writing Finding Zen. He was partially inspired by the song “Marry Me” by Thomas Rhett. I knew what his story would be like, but I wasn’t quite sure about his personality.

But the more I wrote him, the more of an asshole he came to be. But I loved that about him. He was the snarky one, the first one to make a snide comment, to flirt unabashedly, to stir up drama and give people shit. He spoke his mind without reservation and I loved that about him.

The one thing that he always is without fail is protective, though. He’s the fixer of the group, the one who makes problems go away. He does what he has to do, but there are lines even he won’t cross. There aren’t many, but they’re there. He has morals and standards, they just might not be what we all think they are.

When we meet Maddox in Shadow Phoenix, he’s still so torn up over the way he left Ryan behind that the guilt is absolutely destroying him. So to cope, he resorts to some unexpected things that I think will shock a lot of people. But, I really enjoy playing with sexuality in a more fluid way, and of all the guys, I thought Maddox could handle it best.

We get a little sneak peek into Maddox’s comfort level with who he is in a scene in Saving Maddox with Ryan and Quinn, but Shadow Phoenix really takes a deeper dive into exploring the dark time he’s going through trying to cope with how to move on from trying to move on without the love of his life.

Where we see Maddox in Shadow Phoenix is just the start of almost a decade-long downward spiral that he recovers from and comes out even better on the other side, but prepare yourself for a Maddox you’ve never seen before.

Meet: Jericho

When I originally came up with my first book idea in Finding Zen, I knew I was going to be writing about a band of guys. I like reading books in a series, so that’s what I wanted to write. So, I had to decide how many guys and how the band would be put together.

It didn’t take long for me to decide I wanted four guys, and for the four of them to start to show me their identities. Well, I should say three of them. Jericho… he’s been a tough nut to crack.

Originally, I thought he was going to be this super shy guy who had a really hard time in social situations, particularly with women. I was also going to have him originally born in Japan and brought to the US as a kid. But, the more I wrote the other guy’s stories with Jericho in the background, the more he changed and his character became something totally different than who I thought he was.

As you’ll read in Shadow Phoenix, Jericho’s not shy AT ALL. He’s quietly controlled and only speaks when he has something to say, not to fill the noise. He was adopted as a baby and doesn’t know his birth parents, but his adoptive parents were cold and unaffectionate.

He didn’t have a bad childhood, per se, but it was lonely and impersonal. His parents had their own lives and at a certain point, he didn’t really fit into them anymore. He used to spend a lot of time wondering why they even wanted him in the first place.

They’re not supportive of him or his career choices, and because of that he’s not close to them. He doesn’t have any siblings that he’s aware of, and so when True recruits him for the band, he jumps in with both feet. The guys become his brothers and are the only people in the world he lets see the real him. The only people he really, fully trusts.

Jericho has a dark streak to him and it presents itself in more ways than one. It comes out quite a bit in SP, but you’ll get to see a whole lot more of the darkness inside him in Playing Jericho. Unleashing his true self has been one of my favorite things but also some of the hardest words I’ve ever written. But I needed to let Jericho be who he was meant to be even if that wasn’t who I thought he should be, and isn’t that just the story of his life?

Two more members to go… Do you have a favorite yet?

Meet: Zen

Zen was the very first character I ever came up with. I’ve talked a little bit about this before, but when I heard the song “The Hills” by The Weeknd, I really started to wonder what that lifestyle would look like. For my first foray into attempting to write my own book, I wanted to write something exciting. What better to start out with than rock stars?

At his base, Zen was always an alpha, bad boy hero with a cocky swagger, ink covering almost every inch of his delectable body, and an emptiness inside that he wasn’t sure how to cope with anymore. He’d sort of been there, done that, you know?

As humans, we adapt to situations really fast, so his lifestyle wasn’t exciting to him anymore. He’d been at this whole mega-famous superstar thing for more than a decade and it was stale. So, I wanted him to be someone I could push around a little. Someone who’s eyes could be opened to new possibilities, and someone who could look at the world through fresh eyes if the right person came along.

His character’s look was originally inspired by Shane Burnell (@shaneburnell on insta, hel-lo), a green-eyed, tatted up hottie who all the girls wanted. When deciding on his name, I wanted it to be something short and easy to pronounce and remember, but also unique and worthy of his status.

In my mind, his parents were hippies and raised him (I use this term loosely since they weren’t really around at all) on a commune, so his name makes sense in that context, too.

As a kid, someone on the commune taught him to play guitar and he grew up singing songs around bonfires most nights. This was where his love of music came from, and I imagine that he liked to pass the time making up songs because there weren’t TVs or electronics or other things that most kids had growing up.

As a teenager, he decided he’d had enough and wanted to take control of his life, so he got emancipated and moved to LA and that’s where we find him when Shadow Phoenix begins. Zen is driven, hard-working, and determined to have whatever he sets his sights on. He’ll pursue it until he either gets it or is physically unable to do any more, but he’ll never give up.

He’s the perfect partner for Kennedy, but it’s a long road to get him to where he’s ready to settle down.

Wednesday I’ll be giving you some background info on one of the other guys, so make sure to check back in!

Which one of the four guys is your favorite? Zen, True, Maddox, or Jericho? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Character Inspiration: Connor

As you probably know by now, Finding Zen was my first attempt at writing a book. It’ll always be my favorite story because of that, but when I was doing character development, I really had no idea what I was doing. I jumped into 12-page character questionnaires that were FAR more detailed than necessary.

Thankfully, I learned how to streamline the process and it’s not nearly as intense now as it used to be.

That being said, I realized that if Zen’s story were anything like real life, and he were as famous as I imagined him to be, he’d be mobbed if he tried to go anywhere alone. He’d have all sorts of issues and challenges that he’d run into and for that he’d need a solid security team. And that team would definitely include at least one bodyguard.

Initially when I imaged Connor’s character, he was an older guy. He was in his fifties and sort of acted as the father Zen never really knew. In an earlier blog, I talked a little bit about Zen’s past and his parental situation (check that out here if you’re curious), but once the first draft of the book was written, it didn’t feel right.

There weren’t a lot of places I could go with his character. I wanted someone younger. Someone I could explore, and someone who could eventually get his own book (or own spin off series…). In my mind, he definitely needed to be ex-military. And since my husband is an ex-Marine and my brother-in-law is an active duty Marine, that’s what Connor needed to be, too.

He’s guarded and highly protective. He’s incredibly smart and clever, and he’s the kind of guy who isn’t afraid to wade into shady grey areas in order to keep someone safe. That makes him the perfect private security for a world famous band who’s needs and demands can change on the fly. He’s highly adaptable with connections all over the world.

Connor has varying levels of involvement in each of the three Shadow Phoenix stories I’ve written so far. You meet him for the first time in Finding Zen, he helps out a little in Loving True, and then he really steps into his own in Saving Maddox. He’ll play an even bigger role in Playing Jericho that I can’t wait for you to read.

Have you had a chance to meet Connor’s team yet in Saving Maddox? If so, who’s your favorite team member? Indy, Sebastian, Julian, or Connor?

Character Inspiration: Ryan

When I first started thinking about the story line for Saving Maddox, I knew who Maddox was because I’d already played with his character and spent some time developing it in Finding Zen and Loving True. I also knew some of the details I wanted to have happen in the story because they were inspired by a song. (If you’re curious, check out the Playlists tab).

But Maddox needed a girl who was tough, who wouldn’t let him get away with his shit but who was also soft enough to harden his rough edges. A girl who understood him on a level no one else ever could because she’d been there with him through some of the hardest times in his life.

A girl like that? She’d have to go through her own struggles and come out stronger for it.

When I thought about her struggles, at first I wanted her to be a tomboy through and through. But, that didn’t feel quite right. So, because I’ve always been a big fan of giving girls gender neutral or traditionally “boy” names, I started looking through name lists. The name Ryan just stuck out to me, and I thought about how kids can be assholes and would probably bully a girl for having a boy’s name. And her back story was born.

Reflecting on her home life, her hopes and dreams, her ambitions… It took weeks. I knew she had to have experienced life outside of her tiny Texas town, but why would she have ever come back? I needed to give her a reason, and her dad’s accident fit the bill.

Ryan is strong, resilient, and doesn’t let shit get her down. While I put a little something of myself into every character and every story, Ryan and I couldn’t be any more different but I love her just the same.

You can get to know her better in Saving Maddox, and see for yourself just how much of a badass she really is.

Character Inspiration: Charlie

When I’m starting the process of writing a book, I figure out who my main characters are going to be and then I start digging into their backstory. Who are they? What was their childhood like? What’s their relationship with their parents like? And do they have siblings?

I knew right off the bat that Ryan (the heroine from Saving Maddox) was going to be a tomboy in a sense, but not in a stereotypical way. She wouldn’t believe in the limitations that separate what girls can do from what boys can do. And the reason she believed that was how she was raised. That and she grew up surrounded by two sisters who were badass in their own right.

So, when it came to her sisters, I knew they would have similar morals and values. They wanted to help people. They never thought about what society might tell them they couldn’t do just because they were girls. They worked hard and went after whatever they wanted.

Charlie Knight is Ryan’s older sister. If you’ve read Saving Maddox, you know their dad Alexander had an accident several years prior. Charlie had always known she wanted to be a doctor from when she was just a little, bitty girl but when her dad had his accident, her specialty came into focus.

Neurosurgery.

It became her life’s mission to help her dad and people like him. People who’d lost the ability to walk or function at a normal level without assistance. She felt incredibly called to this line of work, and she threw herself completely into school and then her residency.

I love the Knight sisters so much. They’re my favorite group of siblings I’ve created so far - all with masculine names and soft hearts. I have a future series planned that will feature both Charlie and Justice and will show that women can be heroes, too.

Which Knight sister is your favorite? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Character Inspiration: Yates

Check out my Pinterest board for Yates by clicking here.

The original idea for Saving Maddox came from the song “Marry You” by Thomas Rhett. I listened to the lyrics and pictured a guy who was totally tortured and heartbroken sitting in the back row watching the woman he’d loved for basically his whole life marrying someone else.

Just imagine the level of heartbreak. It was deliciously angsty.

I’m not typically an angst writer, but I wanted to dip my toes in and this book gave me the perfect story to do it. And as you can imagine, when faced with watching the woman you love walk down the aisle to marry someone else, that guy needs to be a tool.

That’s right: A grade-A douchebag.

Why? Well, you don’t want to feel bad for the guy she’s marrying. You want to hate him. Enter Yates.

Right off the bat, I knew I needed a guy who had a name that made me cringe. He had to be old money. Snobby. The kind of guy who looked down his nose at pretty much everyone except his equally stuck up friends and maybe his mother.

To find his name, I literally googled, “Ivy League Names for Boys,” and picked the worst one I could find. If your son is named Yates, I realize I’m being a bit of an asshole but well… Yates.

Anyway, I wanted him to be a guy that at first seemed like he was at the very least okay if not sort of good. He’s attractive and charming. He swoops in to help Ryan with her biggest problem when she thought she had nowhere else to turn.

The problems start when Maddox walks back into the picture and Yates’s plan is threatened. See, he’s a shady, shady guy and he’s determined to get what he wants at all costs. He’s tenacious and an asshole which doesn’t make for a great combination.

And when someone messes with Yates, he doesn’t just take it. He fights back and he fights dirty.

I actually had a lot of fun writing his character. On days when I was frustrated or not having a great day, I’d write a Yates scene and have the other characters give him a hard time. It always made me laugh and for that reason, he’ll always be one of my favorites.

If you want to see what becomes of Yates, check out Saving Maddox.

Character Inspiration: Quinn

Whenever I start writing a new book, I spend a lot of time developing the main characters, their families, and the main antagonists, but outside of that, I don’t give it a lot of thought. I started writing Saving Maddox and realized there was a gaping hole on Ryan’s side that needed to be filled by someone. But who?

She was stuck on her family’s ranch and working it full time, and in a tiny Texas town no less, so she didn’t get a lot of opportunity to make friends. I knew whoever she had in her life friend-wise would need to be someone who worked on the ranch and someone who she’d feel really comfortable with.

Almost instantly, Quinn popped out of the woodwork basically saying, “I’ve got this,” and inserting himself into the story. I didn’t even need to think about him, his humor and wit and snark just immediately flowed out of me and onto the page like he was always meant to be there.

And it just fit that he’d be gay. Except maybe he’s not as gay as he first thinks… Because can’t sexuality be fluid? I’m excited to explore his character more in a future book where I can really see what makes him tick. Just like all of us, he can appreciate just how hot all the Shadow Phoenix guys are, but he’s the one who adds a lightness to Maddox & Ryan’s story.

Saving Maddox can be heavy at times and there’s a lot of emotion flying around, so when Quinn pops in with a joke or teasing, or just causing a little bit of trouble, he balances everything out in a really fun way. I hope you love him as much as I do!

You can meet Quinn in Saving Maddox, coming out next month. Read on for a Quinn excerpt.

Ryan

I heard the pounding hooves before I saw him and a slow smile spread across my face as I looked to my left and watched as Quinn came into view on the back of his horse, Daisy. He rode right up next to me, pulling back on the reins so Daisy would stop.

He hopped off of her back, his boots making a loud thud on the dirt before he patted her haunches and sent her over to the water. Watching him close the distance between us, his sculpted frame, messy dark hair, and hazel eyes that were framed by long, dark lashes were every girl’s fantasy. Too bad for all of us he was as gay as they come. That didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy looking at him, though.

Quinn flashed me a cocky smile. “My eyes are up here, sweetheart.” 

I laughed. “Damn, you caught me. If you didn’t want me to stare, maybe you should try putting on some weight, maybe around the middle.”

He dropped down beside me, leaning against the tree so our shoulders touched. “Not a chance. I don’t exactly have a lot of prospects out here in this podunk town, so I’m not about to let myself go and miss out on the random app hookups in the city. I’ve got to pull them in somehow and a picture’s all I’ve got to work with.”

Biting my lip to keep from smiling, I eyed him up and down. “You do you, boo. Just don’t mind me ogling you from time to time. Checking you out is the most action I’ve had… ever.” 

Quinn sighed and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his body and kissing the top of my head. “When are you going to let go of the boy next door, Mr. Manwhore Rockstar himself, and finally move on?”