Emma's Story

The next book I release will be about an old character who surfaced in my very first series named Emma. No, this isn’t a continuation of the Wrong series. It’s a side story that turns out to have little to do with the original. In fact, I’m certain that you wouldn’t even have to read the original series to get the full enjoyment out of this book. That isn’t what I really want to talk about, though. I had this idea to let my readers, as well as anyone who just wants to know what the process of creating a book is like, in on my experience with this story. I’ll tell you about when I first had the idea for a story featuring Emma and Jasper, how long I waited to let this story out, the struggles and triumphs of writing this book, and what I believe the impact of her story will have on you, the reader. For starters, I guess I should tell you about when I was first inspired to write Emma’s story.

It all started when I finished up Wrong Life, which was one of my favorite books I’ve ever written. Without spoiling that book, I’ll say this. Emma is the daughter of two characters in the Wrong series. Back then, I thought I was done with the series, and quite honestly, that was a little depressing. I had hope, though. I thought that just maybe I could have some kind of spiritual successor to Wrong through her. First I needed to finish work on my other series, Strange Visions. I got to work on it and found myself lost in a whole new group of characters. I forgot all about the world of Wrong for a few weeks until my first batch of books from the Strange Visions series was out there. Then my thoughts drifted back to the story that started it all. Should I challenge myself to write Emma’s story now, I wondered. What did I really know about her? My idea for her story was a romantic one. I barely had romance in my own life, so how could I go there?

I chickened out and settled on a different idea that I had been toying around with called Wrong Regrets, which allowed me to revive the series through a character I’ve become very fond of named Zane Green. His story was so fun to write, and for a moment, I found myself lost in that world again. I wrote four more books in the Wrong series and two in the Strange Visions series, all the while thinking of the story that I had originally wanted to write. Pretty soon, I found myself wrapped up in a new book called The Divide, which took me to a totally different world that was darker and wonderful all at the same time. Then came the short stories that expanded upon the Wrong and Strange Visions’ universes. I even wrote a different spy series named The Unseen. After that, I decided it was time to finally write my romantic book, only I had been away from the Wrong series for a while, and I thought perhaps that I had written enough stories set in that world. I left Emma’s Story locked away in my brain as I instead turned my attention toward Destiny.

Destiny was an entirely new chapter in my writing journey that was more wonderful than I could have ever anticipated. I figured out that I could not only write romance, but I was in love with doing it. I had found a whole new passion to add to my love of action and sci-fi. At the same time, I wrote a prequel to The Divide, which underwent many changes that forced me to only put my attention on it for a while. It actually had two endings and a few other chapters. Maybe some day I’ll release an alternative version. From there, I dipped my foot back into the romance pool with A Magnolia Romance, a story that was for a younger audience and reminded me of home.

By that point, I had just about given up on returning to the series that started it all or any spinoff of it. I wrote Hollow and its sequel Revelations. I have to say that I had a blast writing it. The story was more challenging than any other I’ve ever written, but its subject matter and characters sucked me into a world that I didn’t want to leave for a while. When I was done, I was left with the question of what should I do next, though. I had some new ideas, one being a very complex sci-fi series, which we might be discussing some day, but it seemed so challenging. My brain was tired, and I just needed something easy. I thought back to how easy writing the Wrong series and Destiny was. It was almost like those books wrote themselves. It was then that I knew. Emma’s Story had to be written, but I couldn’t make it a continuation of my old series. This truly had to be her story. It was at that point when I started brainstorming and truly putting the pieces together that would become my next novel.

I would love to tell you that the process was painless, but it wouldn’t be true. Emma’s Story came with some roadblocks, and at the same time, so much joy. You see, the story of this book doesn’t really start when I was finished with Hollow. It begins way back when I finished Wrong Life. I didn’t know how to write a story like this back then. Sure, I could have jotted down some type of story that would have ended up focusing more on old characters while using her as an excuse to write a new Wrong book, but that wouldn’t have done her character justice. I had to experience the wonder of Trent and Ally, get to know the Wrong group as older individuals, explore new and very different paths, and gain confidence as a romantic writer through Destiny and A Magnolia Romance. I had to give this story time to marinate like a very fine steak. This is a story that is 3.5 years in the making. I’ve thought about it, dreamed about it, and now I’ve finally written about it. The beginning of Emma’s story started for me like it does for most great things. It was an idea that I had no clue would become so complex, frustrating, and infinitely joyous. It was more than a simple project or writing experiment. It was truly a journey that I would take again and again if I only could.

So there you have it. Emma’s Story is her own, but it’s inspired by everything I’ve done mixed with time to mature as a person and a writer. I can’t wait to share it with you, but before that, I want to tell you what I believe this story will be like for you. This is a fun story that’s about the joy of learning to truly love. I believe that you’ll walk away from reading this book with a brighter perspective on life and feeling like you were glad you took the journey into Emma and Jasper’s world. You can preorder now, and I’ll include the link below, but I just want to stress this. I’m very passionate about this book and the positive effect it has had on me. I want as many people as possible to read it, so whether you buy it, read it through kindle select, or find it through other means, I just hope you’ll read this novel and it will brighten your day as much as it did mine. 


www.amazon.com/dp/B01MYM75IK