After all this time, I truly enjoyed writing another firefighter book. As you know, I released a five-book series last fall, To Serve and Protect, which follows the Secret Service and trauma doctors who protect us in a different way from what firefighters do. But with this new novel, I was excited to return to my guys and gals, as I call my firefighters.

One thing that will stand out to you in ALL I NEED is the inclusion of two romances, equally developed. Including multiple storylines made this book a lot longer. But it was fun and challenging at the same time.

I wonder which couple you liked best. I have to say Chase and Vanessa’s relationship development came as a surprise to me. I expected Holly and Joe to have an easier time working out their problems, but what happened was just the opposite. To me, Chase is simply wonderful. He doesn’t complain about the difficulties life has thrown at him, but instead, faces all obstacles head on. I love how sensitive he was with his grandkids, and how he treated Vanessa. She went head-to-head with him professionally until she comes to see the man he truly is. I hope Vanessa is a role model to women, which might seem odd in light of her affair. But it’s my belief that people make mistakes and can redeem themselves.

As for Joe Santori, he was a hard guy to like. You probably felt like smacking him upside the head. But this is what happens to writers. Characters develop in ways contrary to your plans for them and to intervene in that process usually doesn’t work out well. Besides, Joe did have good qualities that Holly comes to see in the last chapters: he’s grown up since book one, he treats his grandparents with love and reverence now, he is adorable with kids. And man, that dog scene! Was he great or what? So I hope, in the end, you were rooting for Joe.

Holly also turned out differently from what I expected. At first she’s over-the-top about making her grandparents happy, and she gives her father too much control over her life. And she has low-self esteem because of Linc. But she learns to stand up for herself, even if she does get a bit hard-headed with Joe, primarily because she’s afraid of her feelings for him. Until the end. How about that epilogue? I swooned when I wrote it. (Hopefully, this is the only time you’ll see me use the word swoon.)

I hope you enjoyed this complicated book. It was long in coming because of those complications, but I’m pleased with end result. Let me know if you are too.

Kathy Shay

She saves him from a fire, then steals his heart without even trying. When white hot attraction kicks in, sparks fly!

She’s the only woman he can’t charm. He’s the only man she can never love.

He was the most upstanding lieutenant in the department, until he made a critical error in judgement that almost ended his career. And she’s a mistake just waiting to happen.

She’s a feisty counselor of troubled teens. He’s the fire department psychologist who’s trying to outrun his demons. They clash at every turn.

––After being trapped in a fire, the Malvaso brothers and sister decide to make changes in their lives.  Follow Mitch Malvaso as he struggles to get closer to his kids and out of a doomed marriage.  Jenn, his sister, wants to have a baby and asks Grady O’Connor, her best friend, to be the father.

––Fire Chief Noah Callahan and Albany Fire Investigator Eve Woodward butt heads while she investigates the cause of accidents at Hidden Cove fire scenes. Who knew they’d fall in love? And watch Zach Malvaso become the kind of man he wants to be with feisty firefighter Casey Brennan.

––Injured 9/11 firefighter, Ian Woodward (Eve’s twin), and a disgraced cop, Rick Ruscio, struggle to salvage their lives with the help of the women who love them.

The men and women on another Rescue Squad in the Hidden Cove Fire Department have complicated personal relationships due to the nature of their jobs.  Each of the six novellas details the love and work of one firefighter, but the stories are tied together with an arson case and a blogger out to discredit them.

––Beckett Sloan is an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who comes home with PTSD. He joins the fire department and finds the love of his life in army nurse Lela Allen, but his demons keep them apart.

In another set of novellas, CHASING THE FIRE, the past catches up with three brave firefighters and they must wrestle with it to find love and contentment.

—Fire Department Psychologist Jack Harrison has spent his life helping firefighters in Hidden Cove deal with a variety of personal and professional issues. Now, after a one night stand with Tess Righetti from the Rockford Fire Department, he needs help in dealing with this feisty Captain. 

—Dan Collins and Lucy Coretta have been friends for years. But when he divorced his wife, they finally find each other. But their whole life is thrown off balance when he inherits a boatload of money, which brings problems from his ex-wife.