END OF BOOK SHIT
Can you believe it’s been three and a half years since I published the first appearance of Five in Guns? I can’t. If you’re reading this book, and this EOBS, then you’re probably a fan. And you know what this part of the book is all about. Just a place for me talk it all out.
Wow. I’m still awed and amazed at the response I’ve gotten for a series that started my career as a romance writer.
Tragic published in May 2013 and it found its audience almost immediately. Some of that had to do with the special pricing, some of it had to do with a Book of the Day promo opportunity I had with the people over at Ereader News Today, and some of it was probably because of that cover. I had an agent tell me once that the cover was awful and I should change it immediately if I wanted to try and shop it to a “real” publisher.
I ended up telling that agent to fuck off, and even though I did change the covers eventually, it wasn’t because I hated that cherry one. It was just because I really didn’t know what I was doing when I made those first three covers.
The cherry cover might’ve been a mistake, but it was an honest one. And even though branding the covers in the series was a good idea, no one (and I do mean no one) has ever said, “Damn, Julie. I love that second Tragic cover so much! I need it on my bookshelf!”
But they do say that about the cherry one, bitches. They do.
Most of why Tragic took off and the rest of the series did so well (and has remained one of my most beloved stories), was because I put a lot of truth into those books. I think there’s a little bit of me in each of my books, but especially Rook & Ronin series. It’s hard for me to choose a favorite female character because I love Rook, Ronnie, and Ashleigh so much more than any of the others. Especially Rook and Ronnie. They are my two favorite female characters after Sasha. But Sasha was part of this series too… so it’s fitting that all my best girls came early. It might just be because I’ve known them the longest. They feel like childhood friends, not new friends. But it might just be that I gave them more opportunities to grow. I gave them bigger problems. I raised the stakes to unbelievable levels. And I never gave any of them an easy way out.
I wanted Rory to be testament to these women who came before her. I wanted her to suffer so that the end, when it finally came, was sweeter. A little more delicious. And a tiny bit bitter at the same time.
No, her ending (so far) isn’t perfect. But neither was Rook’s. Ronnie and Ash didn’t get that perfect ending in Guns, either. And Jesus, no one who read Sasha’s end in Wasted Lust would think she got a perfect happily ever after.
Because you don’t get to erase your past. You just have move forward and learn to live with it. Make the most of the lessons you learned and try to make better choices in the future. That’s all you can do. And that’s all anyone should expect of you.
I have also spent the most time with these people. And yeah, to me—they are people. Not just characters. And I’m pretty sure my fans think the same way about them.
I’m writing another book about them, BTW. The final Mister book (called Mr. & Mrs. and up ) will have that perfect Happily Ever After you’re craving for Five and his Princess. This book was, after all, a prequel to the Mister series. So we had some loose ends to tie up. And if you enjoyed the “final” Rook & Ronin book (Happily Ever After) then you’re gonna love this one too. It’s full-length, not a novella. I wanted to make sure all the Misters and Five got to have one last chance to make you swoon and fall in love with them.
Some people might be asking… Will you ever stop writing about this world? And even though if you had asked me this question two years ago I’d have said yes, that answer today is a very firm, NO.
I won’t. Not as long as I love the story I’m telling and I assure you, I’m still in love with it. ;)
It’s kinda confusing with two generations (and we’re coming up on the third, bitches, just you wait…) but whatever. People can jump into these books in lots of places. Then if they like what they read, they can go back, start it from the beginning—and there’s plenty of beginnings to choose from—and get the whole story.
But for the sake of new readers—those who haven’t yet read the entire saga, I’m gonna explain how all the books connect.
The Rook and Ronin series are first generation and the books, in order, go like this:
Tragic, Manic, Panic – all three focus on Rook & Ronin love story and introduce Ford Aston and Spencer Shrike. Then Slack and Taut –both of which are about Ford looking for love and finding it with Ashleigh. Sasha Cherlin also makes her first appearance in the book Slack. Bomb and Guns are about Spencer and Ronnie finding their happily ever after while also dealing with the aftermath of what happened at the end of Panic. At the end of Guns we get two happy moments—Ford’s first biological child (Five) is born and then we skip ahead six years to Princess Shrike’s first day of kindergarten.
They are already destined to be together in Guns, but we gotta move on and get more stories in before they can grow up and get their own book…
So we start a new series, which was called Dirty, Dark, and Deadly (and the books were called Come, Come Back, and Coming for You) but it’s now called The Company. The Company books feature James Fenici (Uncle James in this Five Book), his love interest, Harper Tate, and… tada… our little Sasha from Slack (who is also “related” to Five in a weird way.)
After Coming for You winds down, I have a book about Merc. He’s been in so many books by this time… (Slack, Taut, Guns, Come Back, Coming for You) that he needed his own book. That’s called Meet Me in the Dark and also features Sasha, all grown up.
After that, Sasha, who is now an adult, needs to find her happy ending, so I gave her a book called Wasted Lust. Five and all the Rook & Ronin kids are in this book for the very first time. They are all small still. Just kids. But their names are already familiar. Kate. Sparrow and Starling. Rory, Belle, Jasmine, and Ariel. And little Oliver makes his first appearance as Spencer Shrike’s very first son. Pre-teen Five has developed an app “that will change death as we know it”. Just a hint at what’s to come later…
The “final” book in this world was supposed to be the Happily Ever After novella. That’s when we meet Cinderella, Ronnie and Spencer’s final princess. Better known as Cindy… but I’m getting to that. In HEA, Five and Rory are teenagers. They’re at a crossroads. Five needs to go away to college. He’s a genius, like his father. And he’s got plans. That’s where the love story between Five and Rory starts. That’s where he hands her the Love Notes app as her Christmas present. And that’s where he makes his promise to never forget her.
Now, things diverge a little because we start a brand new series called The Misters. Five books about five men, and one extra… to make six total Misters. The Shrike sisters appear in this series too. All grown up – every single one of them in some way. Sparrow and Starling are there. Sasha gets a mention or two. Rook, Ronin, Ronnie, Spencer, Ford, and Ashleigh all get hinted at. And a brand new mystery starts.
This is how the Five book converges with the Mister books. And this is why the final Mister book () will be the last book for this series. I didn’t include Five as part of the Mister series, but it is. A prequel, remember. Everything you just read happened about fifteen years before the Mister series starts and most of your unanswered questions about THIS BOOK will be answered in that finale.
It took me a LONG time to get here. I realize that. I know that most of you have been patiently waiting for Five and Rory since he was first mentioned in Guns way back in April of 2014. But even though I write fast and publish often, I don’t believe in rushing a book. If I don’t’ have a story, I don’t start the book. And even though I had quite a few possibilities for a Five and Rory story, none of them felt right to me. So I put it on hold until halfway through the Misters when I realized… there it was.
So all the apologies for taking so long to get this book out to you. I just didn’t want to rush it. I hope it was everything you wanted. Or at the very least, it was satisfying, even if it wasn’t what you imagined.
I have SO MANY NEW THINGS to tell you this fall. October-December are gonna be filled with so many announcements. Most of it is about my 2018 release schedule. If you’ve read the Turning Series, then you already know I’m writing four books next year about Jordan. But there is SO MUCH MORE coming, you guys. BIG. HUGE. SURPRISES coming your way. Look for that announcement in early December. :) I’m so excited about all the new things happening and I think you will be too. 2018 will be a monumental year for my fans. Because you’re gonna get so much more than you ever imagined.
If you’re waiting for me to finish the marketing videos on my website… well, I’m gonna get back to that in a few weeks once this Five stuff has died down.
So whew, that’s it for now, I guess. If you’d like to pick up that Mr. & Mrs. Book on pre-order, you can . If you want to start any of the other books, just and find the book you’re interested in.
Thanks for reading, you guys. If you’ve enjoyed my books, please don’t forget to leave a review where you purchased it. I’m STILL INDIE! And as I’m sure you’re aware, Indie authors need all the help from fans to get the word out about their books.
Julie
JA Huss