Mount has been making waves in my mind for the last six or seven months. He’s had a lot to say about the plot hole I left behind, and I’ve been listening to him. Some characters are much more than characters. They’re real in their own unique way. Mount is one of those. He came to me fully formed, on a coke-fueled night, in a third-world country where every day of my life was an adventure. While I stay far, far away from cocaine these days (thanks, Fentanyl for making it stupidly deadly to the point where no sane person would ever want to touch it again), Mount is still one of my companions. What does that mean for all my Mount lovers out there? Only time will tell. I may have written some words though… We’ll see how it shapes up. I already know how the story begins and how it ends. It’s just everything else in the middle I’m not certain about yet. This means I’ll do what I do best: let it simmer and see what develops.

If you haven’t met Mount and Keira yet, I’m here to tell you that this trilogy is one heck of a wild ride. Fair warning: It’s the darkest story I’ve ever written, but I loved it so much. I loved Keira so much. I think she’s the strongest heroine I’ve ever had the privilege to live through—even stronger than Magnolia. In order to be the consort to a ruthless king and rise above the challenges life sent her way, she had to become a completely new version of herself. Stronger. Wiser. But also, more vulnerable. It’s a paradox, to be sure. She was my first New York Times bestseller in Defiant Queen, and I will never forget how writing this trilogy changed my life. I believe it was fated. This story was meant for me. It changed me. And after I wrote it, I started down the road to becoming a completely new version of myself. Without Keira’s influence, I don’t know if I would’ve had the courage, fortitude, and perseverance to keep walking through that dark night of the soul that seemed like it was never going to end. But it did, and like Keira, I emerged anew.

No one can ever tell me that books aren’t magic. I know they are for a fact. I feel it when I read them, and I know it when I write them. The Mount Trilogy is no exception. It will take you places and transport you into a completely foreign world where the rules are whatever Mount says they are. He didn’t become the king of the criminal underworld of New Orleans for no reason. That was fated too.

If you’ve already enjoyed The Mount Trilogy, we’d love it if you wanted to share it with your book-loving besties. Either way—we are so grateful for you! Thank you for being part of my journey and being awesome. You have no idea how much I appreciate you or how often I pray for life to bless you with its very best.

Cheers and happy reading!!