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. 

#TeaserTuesday 2/7

 Nothing More is a story about being caught between two worlds for both Raven and Toly...Toly's predicament is just a lot more likely to get someone killed.

Slowly but surely, it's all coming together! I can't wait to share it soon.

Be sure to get caught up on Long Way Down, first, so you're up to speed on characters and overarching conflicts.

“Take care, little brother,” Misha said in Russian, voice warm and bracing.

Toly stood a moment after the call ended; let his head fall back against the wall and breathed deep, because he could, now. He felt lighter inside, something bright winking from between his ribs, a glow that he was afraid someone inside might see. He didn’t relish the idea that he was all lit up over little brother. That for the first time in a long time, he felt as though the world had tipped back into place, because he’d been floundering as a person who was Misha’s enemy. He was being disloyal to the Dogs, after they’d given him a new home, accepted him into their ranks and protected him from the bratva’s wrath…but there was no smothering the spark in the center of his chest. He stood and enjoyed it, the way it eased the constantly-clenched fist that lived behind his breastbone, until he heard voices through the wall and let himself inside.

That lovely spark winked out; sank like a cold stone in his belly when he saw that Raven was in the foyer. Rooting around in the coat closet, dressed warmly, for going outside. She came out with a long coat on a hook, turned and saw him. Smiled.

A smile that hit him so hard he nearly staggered back.

She wasn’t guarded anymore; those sliding, sideways glances and pursed lips of his short-lived stint as her “assistant” had given way to unbridled gladness. A warmth and a welcome that made his little hallway spark seem pale as a firefly glimmer in comparison. Misha had never called him little brother, no, and the Dogs had never cared for him as a real brother, but no one had ever looked at Toly like Raven did now. It was too much to look at; the emotion in her gaze too strong to accept without flinching.

But there was sadness there, too. Traces of something like resignation in the corners of her mouth, at the edges of her eyes. As though she was both delighted and unutterably sad all at once. Like she was thrilled to see him, and grieving him, too.

She knew.

He knew in that moment, standing like an idiot inside the front door, that she knew he was a dirty, treacherous liar, but she cared enough about him to smile anyway.

#TeaserTuesday - First Meetings

 The day Toly met Maverick. 

Almost a month later, he was washing his hands in a McDonald’s bathroom when a man loomed behind him in the mirror, and said, “Anatoly Kobliska?”

Toly froze, glanced up at his reflection, and then froze again.

The man had a friendly, weather-beaten face, handsome in an easy sort of way. Dark hair getting some salt in it, jaw rough with purposeful stubble, brown eyes. He wore a plain blue hoodie.

And a Lean Dogs cut.

Night Shift

 

I've always hesitated to say that having a puppy is like having a baby, because I know parenthood is a much greater challenge. But there are similarities. The watching their every step, the teaching, the disciplining. "What's in your mouth? Don't eat that!" applies to both species. Worry over electrical cords, and ponds, and household cleaners. Apologizing to strangers in public: "I'm sorry, he's friendly! He's just excited." The way "no" stops feeling like an actual word because you've said it so much. 

In many ways, Strider is shaping up to be a good barn dog. He loves the horses, and they at least seem to tolerate him. My last dog, Viktor, was not only hyper-aggressive, but angry. I've never met such an angry puppy. He was terrible with children. Strider is cheerful, and bouncy, and loves life...but I can't get him to sleep through the night. He started teething at the start of October, and, like a human baby, was feverish, cranky, and had an upset stomach. He was up three, four, five, sometimes six times a night. Cue me standing in the yard, robe and jacket over it, with a flashlight, searching for coyote eyeshine while he did his thing. His teething is better, and he is sleeping a little better - at least two or three nights a week all the way through - but there's no consistency. He's been to the vet, and there's nothing medically wrong with him. I've tried with and without canine probiotics, tried keeping him away from certain treats (horse manure, let's be real), but so far, the only common denominator I can find is the weather. If it's freezing, and windy; if there's a storm front moving in, he can't sleep. Cry-cry-cry, scratch on the crate door, and then it's outside. At one, two, three, four. Every hour, some nights, until he crashes as the sun comes up, and then it's extra coffee for me throughout the day. He's an anxious bird - gee, wonder where he picked that up? - and I'd like to think this is all just a stage he's going through, that as he matures, and comes into his own - the big boy bark is in full effect, these days - he'll be less anxious, more confident, and I can find some kind of sleep rhythm. 

Until then, I'm still on the night shift. 

And I won't lie: it's messed with my head a little. 

I like spooky. Halloween is my favorite holiday. My dad likes to say that I'm Claire from Modern Family. But that's just it: spooky. I love horror, but I tend to swerve more toward ghosts, and creepy forests, and old legends, haunted Victorian houses. I rewatch Sleepy Hollow every year, and prefer Crimson Peak to Nightmare on Elm Street. Less existential dread horror, more creature feature horror. Vampires, and werewolves, and Loch Ness Monster documentaries. It's fun to be frightened by fictional monsters. 

But as someone who's grown up on farms, I've learned it's not Lon Chaney Jr. who's going to come at you across a field at night. 

When I worked at an "in town" farm, I came face to face with coyotes on multiple occasions. My boss's son shot one, one day, and brought it around in the golf cart to show us all. Tall, leggy, shaggy: it looked just like a wolf. In movies, on news clips, they're small, skinny, furtive creatures. They snatch a few toy dogs in Cali every year, but are solitary, skittish, and not a threat to humans. Right? If that's your coyote experience, you've never run up on an Eastern coyote. Nor heard them howling at night. Eastern coyotes travel in packs, hunt in packs, routinely bring down deer, and are as tall as my dog. Thick-coated, like a wolf, less fearful, known to kill sheep, and goats, and small donkeys. There are three packs who spend their days in the woods that border my farm. If an ambulance siren breaks the peace of an afternoon, you hear them start up, one, two, three, like sirens of their own. That awful hyena squalling. 

About four years ago, I heard a mountain lion in the woods for the first time. Georgia Fish & Wildlife are adamant they don't live here, but there's no faking that sound. That spine-tingling, murdered-woman shriek. It's the sound a female makes while trying to attract a mate, and I've only ever heard it in January and February - mountain lion mating season. Go Google "mountain lion scream," and be prepared to have all your hair stand on end. I don't know if the cats in my woods are Carolina panthers come down, or Florida panthers come up, but a friend's caught them on trail cam, so suffice to say they're there, amidst the bobcats, and chuckling foxes, and howling coyotes. The rabbits, the skunks, the woodchucks. It's Wild Kingdom out here, northwest of Atlanta. 

These are the animals I've been thinking of, as I stand shivering, scanning with the flashlight. When I see eyeshine coming toward us up from the hollow, fast and unafraid, while Strider sounds the alarm. When I hear the drip and plop of heavy dew, and the who-cooks-for-you call of the barred owls, the resonant whooooo of the great horned owls. When I hear some odd, gargling shriek that I can't identify, but which echoes through the hollows and hills; shivers through the bare tree trunks; ehcos strangely in the rocks. 

Night shifts with Strider have left me wanting to write a proper monster tale. Fitting it into the repertoire is the challenge. If only I could get more sleep...

Getting Organized

New Year, New You? Well, probably not for me. I'm playing my goals close to the vest this year, though be assured at least one of them is impossible and guaranteed to leave me disappointed. But aim high, right? 

If you follow me on Instagram (@hppress), you'll know that last August I brought home a new Doberman puppy, and he's more or less turned life upside down. From the itty bitty baby stage, to the runaway toddler stage, to the difficult, up-all-night-teething stage. Now, at seven months, he's in the rowdy teenager stage, and keeping his brain and body active is every day's top priority. He knocked the back half of 2022 for a loop, so now I'm trying to gather my thoughts, and notebooks, and stories, and get back on track for 2023.

Let's Recap:

Last year I released three new novels. 

The Wild Charge (Dartmoor Book 9) in May, which was the culmination of a multi-book story arc featuring the sinister Abacus, starring Tenny and Reese. The big, crazy, biker-cum-spy book that I absolutely didn't want to write but ended up being quite proud of. It was fun in its best moments, pull-out-my-hair stressful in its worst. A lot happens in this one, and it introduced a host of new characters whose stories I'm now working into the rotation. 

In June, Demon of the Dead (Drake Chronicles Book 4) dropped, continuing the overarching main story of this epic fantasy series, with a special focus on Corpse Lord Náli, his Fault Lands, and necromantic powers. Each book purposefully expands the magic of the series, slowly peeling back the layers, and further developing our motley cast of kings, ladies, princes, and bastards. 

Long Way Down (Lean Dogs Legacy Book 4) came out in October and marked the first of the spinoff stories to come from The Wild Charge. Because one half of the central couple is a Sex Crimes detective, the novel veers a little from the MC format into crime thriller territory. A whodunit with an outlaw twist and a reluctant (on our leading lady's part) romance. 

Looking Ahead:

I'm currently working on the next Lean Dogs Legacy book, as well as Drake Chronicles Book 5, Fortunes of War. I've got other projects slated after those, some long-overdue, some new ideas, some series continuations. Frankly, I want to write an obscene amount this year, and I'm afraid even saying that is jinxing myself. But I'll do my best, and am eager to see what I can accomplish, dog willing. 

Thank you, all, for your support last year! For your kind words and encouragement. I'm hoping to bring you more stories to get lost in this year. 

Let me know what you're looking forward to most. Dartmoor? Drakes? The not-abandoned but woefully-on-pause Sons of Rome? 😅 (I really am going to get back to that, I swear! She's just a BEAST as far as research and story scope goes). Which characters are you most hoping to see more of? I have my favorites, for sure (Ragnar, anyone?) 😏

...And We're Back

Hello, all, and Happy New Year!

I took two weeks off - one to prepare for hosting Christmas dinner, and one to recover from it. I'm back writing this week, and hoping to be able to blog more consistently this year...? No promises, though, given the Dog Situation is still very much controlling all aspects of my life. I figure when I have work time, I should be working on books, rather than posts.

I'm diving back into the next Dartmoor book, Toly and Raven's story, which, shockingly still doesn't have a title, even 90k words deep. Oh well. It'll come. Please accept a snippet of one of my favorite scenes, and be on the lookout for more soon.

“She’s a bit stressed,” she heard Ian say.

“Well, yeah.”

“And about to become more stressed, I hate to say.”

New Release - Long Way Down

 Lean Dogs Legacy Book Four

Long Way Down 

Long Way Down is finally live! I say finally because I’d originally hoped to release it at the end of July; was in fact racing to complete the first draft because I found out in June that my new puppy had been born and would be ready to come home the first weekend in August. I wrote 75k words in July, but alas was unable to finish LWD (that had been a foolish hope, anyway.) Strider came home, and it’s been chaos ever since. But I did manage to finish, and then, with painstaking slowness, work through my edits, fold in my editor’s edits, and finally put the book on sale. Woohoo! (I say with a yawn, because sleep deprivation is my closest companion these days.)

Some of my series, like Sons of Rome or the Drake Chronicles, have a pre-planned overarching plotline, the finish of which I’m always working toward. But Dartmoor is much more of a gardening project. As I work on a book, I decide which characters I want to highlight next, and start building toward their featured stories. Sometimes, like with Tango, that process unfolds slowly over the course of several books. With LWD, I introduced our main couple in the previous book, and was so charmed by them that I decided to feature them next.

The novel picks up in New York, right where The Wild Charge left off. With Abacus toppled, there’s rumblings of a shakeup in the underworld. Nathan “Pongo” McCoy has spent the last few years working more or less solo in Manhattan, keeping tabs on the club’s various dealers and gleaning intel with his sunny personality while the rest of the club stays stationed in Albany, where the clubhouse is located. In TWC, we learned that he has a “working” relationship with a Vice detective, Melissa Dixon, that’s turned romantic, and LWD starts with Pongo offering to help her locate a rapist. He’s coincidentally asked to investigate the very same rapist by an angry pimp who’s heard that the Lean Dogs are in the white knight business these days. The underworld is talking about the Dogs. Their reputation is shifting, and that leads Pongo toward new potential allies in the city. It also draws some unwanted attention from other powerful criminal organizations.

This tale is mostly Melissa’s, though. We learn the story of her past one memory at a time as the novel unfolds, a dark secret from her childhood that haunts her still, and which has been the driving force behind her law enforcement career. I couldn’t help but think of one of my earliest female leads, Lisa Russell, while writing Melissa’s story. She’s prickly, and foul-mouthed, and doesn’t want anyone’s help. She’s clothed herself in Hardass to keep from revealing any weakness, and, at the end of the day, isn’t sure she trusts her own instincts at all. Her dynamic with Pongo is one of my favorites to write: grump and sunshine, with Pongo providing the sunshine – and sly charm – in spades.

Along the way, we see more of Toly – who I love and will be writing a book for (next, hopefully) – and meet two new characters, Kat and Prince, who were especially fun to bring to life. I also really enjoyed Melissa’s partner, Rob Contreras, who is such a dad and a genuinely good guy.

Typical trigger warnings apply here, since Melissa and her partner are Sex Crimes detectives investigating a serial rapist. Tread lightly if that sort of violence hits too close to the bone.

I love mysteries and police procedurals, and so this book, while an unexpected addition to the saga, was a blast because I got to dabble in one of my favorite genres. My editor said it reminds her of Whatever Remains, which is one of her favorites in my catalogue. She also says it reads like a standalone, so thumbs up for that. And for my part, I think it moves the needle on the overall club plotline in an interesting and genre-bending way.

I hope you’ll all enjoy it! Thanks so much for your patience and support.

~Lauren