Reviews are slowly starting to trickle in for The Gathering Storm (Daughters of the People, Book 6). Deidre at Night Owl Romance gave it five stars, making it a NOR Top Pick, not an easy accomplishment, saying “I have been waiting anxiously for this next installment in the series and was not disappointed.”
Marisa at Reading to Distraction gave The Gathering Storm a solid four stars and says, “All in all it was wonderful to be thrown back into the series and I cannot wait to hear what happens next!”
Many thanks also to Launch Team members who took the time to read and review the latest Daughters of the People novel. You’re the best!
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As a Valentine’s Day (or Singles Awareness Day) treat, I sent a free short story to subscribers of the Fantasy/Paranormal Romance segment of my mailing list. “Tomorrow’s Promise” features Naomi Spillfeite and Mike Fairfax, whom we met in In All Things, Balance. I really liked both characters, so when Naomi confessed that she had a bit of a crush on Mike, I had to explore that. What was supposed to be a short story wound up being more than ten thousand words long, and I kept writing beyond the six scenes that comprise “Tomorrow’s Promise” and have the beginnings of a full-length novel on my hands.
Interestingly enough, a second romance develops within the story, between Mike’s daughter Jilly and Heath Freeman’s younger brother Theo. It is perhaps this budding romance that kept me writing, as it allowed me to explore facets of the People that I hadn’t been able to before.
To be honest, that’s why I write the shorter stories. How else can this fascinating, complex story world be fully explored!
If you’re a Fantasy/Paranormal Romance subscriber and would like to see “Tomorrow’s Promise” (eventually) turned into a full-length novel, shoot me an email (lucy@lucyvarna.com) or reply to the email you received containing the story and let me know. I’m always happy to hear from readers, especially when they’re encouraging me to write a fascinating story!
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That brings me around to another point: Daughters of the People short stories. I’m working on gathering some of them into a collection, including many of the ones I’ve been releasing to newsletter subscribers over the past four years. At the moment, those are only available to subscribers, and only when I release one for a special event (or just because), but I do plan on releasing a collection of short stories at some point after the final novel is published.
In the meantime, there are a few free extras over at the Daughters of the People website, including a suggested reading order for all stories within the story world.