Recently I sent out a survey to my readers about which series they would be most interested in reading. I gave a few suggestions and asked for input. Thank you for participating!
First, a couple of disclaimers:
- I do NOT tally your responses. I receive hundreds of replies, and as much as I am a number lover, it would be a waste of my time.
- No matter what I do, I CANNOT make everyone happy. For every reader who says, “Don’t write paranormal because I’ll never read it,” there will be another reader who says, “I only want paranormal stories.”
Here’s what I gain from these surveys:
- I look for trends in my readers. This time, I saw a new trend—more readers are saying they’ve had enough of the Grants and Ramsays. Now, for all of you Alex lovers out there, don’t panic. These readers were still outnumbered twenty to one, and we won’t be leaving the Highlands anytime soon. But it is important to listen, and this feedback gives me motivation to follow my muse, which has been encouraging me to try something a little different.
- It was my readers who told me they loved Logan Ramsay and wanted more, which is why I have spent so much time exploring the Ramsay family in addition to the Grants. I do pay attention when readers say they want someone’s story. These surveys help me gauge the interest in various characters.
THE GOOD NEWS FOR 2020!
I already have three books written for next year! I’m not really sure how this happened, but it’s true. All three are in various stages of editing, but here’s what I can promise you’ll see in the first quarter of next year, and what I think you may see for the rest of the year:
- A novella written in another author’s world featuring two of your favorites, Logan and Gwyneth, as ghosts who come to present day to protect a Ramsay descendant. This was SO much fun to write. The author will be revealed next year!
- The second book in The Soulmate Chronicles. Catherine and Graeme are back and will be sent to Scotland again. It’s another tough road for both of them.
- The first in my next series written around the three grandsons of Alex Grant, featuring Alasdair, Elshander, and Alick, plus Connor and Sela’s daughter, Dyna. Presently planned as a four-book series entitled Highland Swords, it won’t have many of the Grants and Ramsays you’re used to seeing, but one or two major characters will return for each book. Which ones? I won’t know until I write each book, and if this series is well received, I expect a fifth book could pop up featuring a Ramsay descendant.
The Scot’s Betrayal (#1 already written) features Alasdair and Emmalin. A primary secondary character will be Alex Grant. (I’ve told you he’s immortal!) Obviously, since it takes place nineteen years after The Band of Cousins, there will be missing characters. Death happens, especially in medieval Scotland.
This is actually a nice compromise. For those of you who’ve had enough of the Grants, you’ll find a very changed landscape.
Since this series takes place in the early fourteenth century, the enemy will be the English, which allows for some very exciting directions for these stories.
I hope you’ll keep returning for more. For my Regency lovers, I thought I was ready to write a Regency series, but when I stepped back into that time period to rewrite The Duke and the Dressmaker, now finished and retitled Reforming the Duke, I decided that as much as I loved that story, my muse was leading me in a different direction.
Thanks so much for those of you who said you’d follow me wherever inspiration takes me. Also know that I appreciate each and every one of you. This has been a fabulous career for me, and I’m doing all I can to stay in it!
Who, in my heart, would be the first of the remaining descendants to have their stories told?
- Jennet—As I’ve said before, if any character is modeled after me, it’s Jennet. I had an odd curiosity about medicine and healing at a young age. I also struggled with being a nerd in school. To this day, I still struggle socially. I relate to Jennet on a deep level, so I’m looking forward to writing her story.
- Elizabeth—Alex and Maddie’s youngest daughter is very shy, the opposite of her bold and fierce siblings. Yes, everyone wants a strong heroine, but strength comes in many different ways.
- Steenie—He’s a powerful personality with an even more powerful personality in his pet.
- Padraig—Quirky can be fun. If you haven’t read The Banished Highlander, this is where his personality developed for me. He’s a jokester with a heart of gold.
We shall see! I like to take things one book at a time. I make no promises except those that make it to my editor’s desk. What I start, I’ll finish.
Happy holidays to all and I wish you a wonderful 2020!
Keira Montclair