I have to admit, book six was the most fun to write, and part of the reason it was so fun was because of the friendship that evolved between Zane and Gage. Gage is kind of snarky, sarcastic, and Zane’s quiet, hardened by life and what the Blacks have done to him. He won’t let anyone fuck with his family and he knows he can go to Gage for help, and he does. I like how they interact with each other, respecting each other and working toward the same goal–to keep Zarah safe. There are a few scenes where they’re alone, talking, and their conversations both amuse me and give me some big feelings too.
Here’s what I mean:
Zane’s waiting for me to say something, do something, but hell if I know what. Finally, I shrug. “I don’t know what to tell you. She’s obviously having a problem with me, and what am I supposed to do? Chase her every time she decides we’re moving too fast? Run after her every time she thinks I’m no good for her?”
He meets my eyes. Doesn’t speak until he has every ounce of my attention.
“Yes.”
I blow out a breath. “Fuck.”
Zarah knows what to say if she wants me to leave her alone and she didn’t say it.
“Fine. Did you track her phone?”
“I didn’t want to. I wanted to find her some other way first.”
“Well, your other way doesn’t know where she is. You did put the app on her phone that traces it, didn’t you? When you took it after her breakdown?”
“I might have,” he mumbles, “but only for her own protection.”
–Shattered Dreams, King’s Crossing Book Six, VM Rheault
That scene goes on for a while… I don’t want to give too much away, but this is a great example why book six was so fun. I hope you enjoy their “bromance” too.
It took me a long time to get the ending just right. You don’t end a six-book series without trying to tie up every loose end possible. I ran into that when I finished up my Ghost Town trilogy. That trilogy is over 300,000 words, and I wanted to get the ending just right. I wanted my readers to get a serious book hangover after reading the last book, and I hope I accomplished that.
I took the ending of this book seriously, too, and when I first wrote it, Zarah finished up. It felt good, the way she had the last word. It felt right… until it didn’t. There’s something about an Epilogue that, when stunningly written, can leave a reader wanting more, even if there is no more. I liked the way Zarah’s point of view ended the books, but I realized it ended hers and Gage’s story, not necessarily the series.
So, I took a few days to mull over what I wanted to do about that. Stella started the series, the first chapter of the first book is in her point of view. She’s the catalyst that began the beginning of the end of the Blacks, and so I thought, well, maybe Zane should be the one to wrap things up. Completely. Forever.
There was always one tiny part of book two that was never addressed in the rest of the books, and it niggled at me. Before I decided to write the Epilogue, I wondered how I could mention it, bring it up, so it could be resolved, and I never figured out a way. I read through these books several times, as you can imagine, and nothing ever popped. Then I had a lightbulb moment and thought writing the Epilogue in Zane’s point of view could be just what I needed to address what could have been considered a minor plot hole, and test Stella and Zane’s love…again. Of course, saying that Zane and Stella have a happily ever after isn’t a spoiler, and they do have a happily ever after as do Gage and Zarah. I was just so happy that I could circle back to book two, the entire premise for the books, if you want me to be perfectly honest, and end in Zane’s voice because I started in Stella’s.
I don’t know…this series is long and maybe no one will ever get to the Epilogue. I’m asking a lot of readers to read 500,000 words, but I hope if readers make it that far, they are as pleased as I am.
Here’s the cover and the blurb for book six.
Gage
Zarah made it clear she wants space to do her own thing, but that doesn’t mean any of this is over. Zane asks Pop and me to look into another murder, and I reluctantly agree. We find some interesting evidence at the crime scene, pointing fingers at people I never considered could be a part of it all.
When Zarah’s therapist kidnaps her, Zane, Stella, and I race against time to figure out where they could have gone, and what she wants with Zarah.
What we find will change my life forever.
Zarah
Breaking up with Gage was the biggest mistake of my life, and he’s the only person I can call when I’m in trouble.
Despite getting back together, he still encourages me to go through with a trip I had planned. Jerricka intercepts me at the airport, and she knows just the right buttons to push to convince me to go with her instead.
Revealing secrets from the past seven years, she explains the real reason why Ash locked me away in Quiet Meadows, why my memories have disappeared, and what she plans to do with me.
I know, without a doubt, if she gets her way, I won’t survive.
I’ll be getting the ARCs together as soon as I possibly can. I’ll have more information when my proofs come. How soon the ARCs will be available depends on if I have any tweaking I need to do to the interiors or the covers and if I run into any issues formatting the ebooks. I shouldn’t, but formatting the ebooks and uploading them to Bookfunnel always takes longer than I think it will. I’ll keep you updated.
In the meantime, don’t forget you can download a copy of My Biggest Mistake as a thank you for stopping by and (hopefully) subscribing to the blog. Lots of news coming your way–don’t miss out!
https://BookHip.com/CMSVSNK
VM Rheault 