That's a Wrap on Raven and Toly

Some initial, next-day scattered reflections upon wrapping up Nothing More yesterday:  

• I'm sure it's obvious by now, but I'm extremely partial to all of Devin Green's brood. Each one of them was initially crafted as an intriguing, larger-than-life secondary character, a hefty dash of cayenne to the sauce of the story, if you will. Because of this, because each one has such flavor, I wanted their individual stories to fully reflect that spiciness. I didn't want, once the spotlight hit them, for them to get hit with a fatal case of Main Character syndrome, and turn bland and overcooked. All those quirky, bold notes had to stay forefront of the recipe...which is the exact reason I dig in my heels and resist the thought of focusing on any of them as part of a central romantic pairing. If I'm going to write them in love, then I have to get it right. It's why I was nervous about Raven; why, in years previous, I rejected a half-dozen romantic possibilities for her. I was always so sure, just as she was, that she wouldn't, couldn't fall in love with a Lean Dog. Each time I thought of pairing her up, it was always with an in-charge, presidential sort. A boss Dog, someone older, and stern, and unimpressed with her wealth and influence. And it was always wrong. So wrong. I flirted, very briefly, with the idea of pairing her with Maverick, but quickly dashed the notion. It still wasn't right. Toly was the missing, secret ingredient I never expected, but which made the whole dish sing. Okay, enough with the food metaphors, now. 

• I had no idea this book would turn out as long as it did. Genuinely. But both of these characters had emotional turmoil to sort out, and I'm a big believer in the gardening approach to writing, rather than ruthlessly forcing a story into a fixed schedule. It wound up at 188k words pre-edits, and there's a chance the count will go up rather than down. 

• I love Tenny and Devin in this one. I said on FB that one of my favorite things about writing a series is the chance to watch characters continue to grow and adapt to their circumstances, and that's never been more evident than here, watching Tenny learn how to be a brother, and Devin finally have a go at fatherhood, better late than never. 

• Mercy is like Where's Waldo? Be on the lookout for the cameo, minus the striped shirt. 

• I'll readily admit that, from conception, I built Toly with all my favorite tropes and traits; put them in the blender and poured out a guilty pleasure concoction. But by the end of the book, I really loved him. As a character. The him that was waiting to hatch out of the portrait I painted in The Wild Charge. I hope you'll all love him, too. I think he might not be what anyone ever expected for Raven, but they're so very good together.