Author’s Notes
Written on May 3, 2017
As the last book in the series, writing Tempting the Wolf was a special challenge. Daric, so far, has had the longest story arc in the series and Meredith’s was pretty long, too. I wanted to make this book amazing, for them and for you readers who have been on this journey with me.
Also, Taming the Beast was a hard act to follow. You all loved Sebastian and Jade so much, and I could tell that story was going to be special. So when I sat down to write Tempting the Wolf, there was some apprehension and a lot of doubt. After a few days of struggling with writer’s block, I sat down with my music teacher and we talked about the difficulties I’d been having with my voice breaking and her advice was just to work through it - keep singing and vocalizing until you work through the problem. And I thought well, that’s what I should do with Daric and Meredith. So I sat down the next day and worked through it. And you know what? It worked. The words flowed out. The ideas came and I was struggling this time, to write them down so I don’t forget them. I’m still sad I was unable to incorporate all the scenes and jokes I wanted to include (hence the alternate scene at Muccino’s, which you can read by signing up for my newsletter).
When I first introduced Meredith in Witch’s Mate, I already had an idea of her background and her old mentor, Archie Leacham (did you “catch” that reference?). Daric’s background was a little more fluid, but from the moment I wrote him, I knew he would need someone special to match him and challenge him.
I sure hope I did Meredith and Daric’s story justice, and I’d really love to hear what you think, so email me at for your thoughts or all other comments. I do my best to reply to each and every email I get (even if it sometimes takes me a while). Can I just say, it’s been such a pleasure writing these stories for you.
Still here? How about I tell you more about the background of this series…
I actually started writing the True Mates series back in 2014, though the idea came to me earlier than that. In 2011-2013, I was been living in China with my then-boyfriend (now husband), JT who was teaching English there. Now, you may be wondering, “What does China have to do with werewolf shifters?” Well, bear with me…
As you may or may not know, China has had the one-child policy in effect since 1979. Many of the friends I met there had no brothers and sisters. The people who were my age were the first of their generation to grow up in households without siblings. Growing up with several siblings of my own, the idea seemed even stranger. At this time, I was also voraciously reading a lot of paranormal romance stories because we didn’t have good Internet out in the sticks were we lived. So, one day, it just struck me: what if there was a group of people (or in this case, Lycans) who could have only one or no children at all? And well, the idea just kind of evolved into the True Mates Series.
Fun fact: Blood Moon (Cady and Nick’s book) was going to be the first story in the series, but I had a hard time trying to put the lore together and have to explain what the Blood Moon is, as well as True Mates pregnancies. (They were also going to be stuck in an avalanche in the first draft, but that’s another story). So, I realized I needed to first set up the world and use an outsider (Alynna) who would be seeing the world of the Lycans for the first time.
So I began writing in 2014, first I made outlines and tried to put the world together. I adore world-building and I had so much fun. I wrote the first six chapters and then real life happened - I got engaged. We also moved to two different countries and I had couldn’t get to my half-finished manuscript. Finally, a year after our wedding, I decided to go back to the manuscript and I published Fated Mates (originally titled, Finding the Pack) in August 2016.
And here we are, six books later and I’m still here. And you’re still here! From the bottom of my heart, thank you! I’m going to keep writing as long as you keep reading. Oh, and reviewing too! Please consider leaving me an honest review (and any other authors you follow) - it really helps me, not only with sales, but also tells me what you want and how I can improve (and I’m always trying to improve).
So, as you have seen in the previous page, True Mates isn’t over yet (not this generation anyway). Killian, Quinn, and Connor’s stories are still waiting to be written, and I’m excited to bring them all to you. If you’ve been a longtime fan, you know I try to plant my characters in advanced. Did you happen to see that little clues I left you about their stories and the special ladies who’ll be coming into their lives? Oh, and for all you Dante fans (and I know you’re out there), I’m listening and you’ll just have to wait for the right season for our favorite chef’s story.
Ok, I’ve rambled on enough. But let me just tell you thank you again, it’s been my honor to tell you these stories and I have also enjoyed getting to know you through your reviews, email, messages, tweets, and Facebook comments. You all inspire me and you’re the reason why I do this.
All the best,
Alicia