And that's a wrap!
I've spent ten years writing these characters, and in some ways, it feels like a long, slow decade, and others, it feels like a blink. I'm insanely proud of the final books in both the Dartmoor and Lean Dogs Legacy series, for a variety of reasons. Both are brimming with full circle moments, but both are bursting at the seams with all the characters we've met along the way; all their baggage, all their growth, all their love for one another.
I tend to focus on my failings, and what I need to do next, but sometimes it's important to look back and see how far I've come.
All told, there are eighteen books across the original series and its spin-off series. They're best read in chronological order, which is also the order of publication. It goes:
Fearless
Price of Angels
Half My Blood
The Skeleton King
Secondhand Smoke
Snow In Texas
Tastes Like Candy
Loverboy
American Hellhound
Shaman
Prodigal Son
Lone Star
Homecoming
The Wild Charge
Long Way Down
Nothing More
Lord Have Mercy
Beware of Dog
Shaman (Ian's novella) is the only book not available in paperback, and all the rest are also available for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo, as well as paperback.
Over the course of the series, the club goes from a big criminal fish in the relatively small pond of Knoxville, to an international underground superpower. It's wild to look at everyone at the end and see how far they've come.
If you ask me about my favorite book, or favorite scene, or favorite line, it would shift from day to day. Walsh is my favorite Dog, but I don't know that his is my favorite character journey; I'd be hard-pressed to choose that. As of right this moment, I'd say my two favorite scenes in the whole series are two from Lord Have Mercy: feeding Big Son; and Aidan, Ava, and Ghost in the St. Louis cathedral.
I'm not going to lock the series away in a time capsule and say I'll never return to it. It's always a possibility. As of now, I don't have any pressing stories within the universe I want to tell. The series has found some new and first-time readers in 2025, and I hope its audience can grow. These characters are so vivid for me, and have taught me so much as a writer, that I'm always going to find blog inspiration in them, and maybe a fluffy bonus scene or two to share here on the blog.
I'm also running a chapter-by-chapter Fearless read-along, so be sure to join us for that every Monday!
And if you haven't read Cass and Shep's story yet, it'll be one week old this Saturday! You can grab it here:
Now I'm curious: after ten years and eighteen books, do y'all have a favorite book? Character? Couple? Scene? Any character you were hoping to get a book for? Lemme know!
Thank you all for all your continued support! It's been one heck of a ride. 💖
Ave and Mercy are forever faves -- so Fearless and Lord Have Mercy, although I also adore Price of Angels and The Skeleton King. If you eventually do return to this world, I would love to see Alex get a HEA and find out if he joined the club, and I'd love to see little Remy get aged up and get a book (or any of the Lecuyer kids). And if this is the end, it's been an amazing ride, thanks for sharing your fab talents!
ReplyDeleteAva & Mercy will always be my go-to comfort couple, followed by a tie of Reece/Tenny & Michael/Holly. I wonder what will happen to sweet little Gray and how he deals with the knowledge and skills he has against his quiet demeanor. But I am looking forward to your next story, whatever you decide to share I will eagerly read.
ReplyDeleteAHH I can’t believe its been ten years! Still so obsessed with this series. I love Ava and Mercy, and of course Ghost and Mags too. Reece and Tenny have a soft spot in my heart and after reading Beware of Dog, so do Shep and Cassie now. My fav scene has to be Mercy and Ava having their moment in the storm after being caught in the rain - the way you described everything sends tingles through my body! I would love to see some more of Lecuyer brothers together and hopefully some more of Alex and the ‘friend’ who helped him. A second gen would be super cool too! I definitely want to see a grown up Remy especially after the events of Lord Have Mercy. And I would never say no to more sweet and intimate scenes between Ava and Mercy. Thank you for sha4ing this world with us.
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