Blame Wraith. 🤣

The true story behind Sins of Innocence and Honorable Sins.

Hi Reader Babes,

I’m blaming Wraith. Seriously! If he’d behaved himself, Honorable Sins would have been a Christmas novella. That was the plan. Write a Christmas novella mafia style and revisit a couple you and I fell in love with: Mick & Kara.

I’ve only ever revisited characters in previous books once before, my 2017 Greek Tycoons Christmas Coda and that was a series of vignettes, not a story with a new plot and exploration of relationship dynamics. Honestly? As hard as it is for me to finish a book because I hate letting the characters go, once I do, I fall headfirst into the next one and let my characters enjoy their happy beginning without me looking over their shoulders.

But Mick and Kara wouldn’t quite let me go and I had a plan for that. Simple. I’d write a Christmas novella called Mick’s Christmas Vow so readers (and I 😊) could spend a little more time with the Fitzgerald family. We’d get a glimpse of their life several years later, catch up with everyone, meet the new members of the family, have a little mafia intrigue, maybe let Mick show how much he hasn’t changed in certain ways, and celebrate Christmas with one of my favorite fictional families.

It was a lovely plan. Then Wraith met Áine and that was the end of that.

The minute those two shared the page, I realized there was a whole new story unfolding alongside Mick and Kara’s. The same external events were driving both books, but from completely different perspectives. Wraith wasn’t going to wait politely for his turn either. There was no way I was going to force him back into the wings. (Trust me on that!) Once I understood what was happening, I knew I had to write both stories together.

Inevitably, it stopped being a Christmas novella and became two separate books: Sins of Innocence and Honorable Sins.

Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. I almost always discover there’s more story waiting for me than I thought when I first sit down at the keyboard, but it’s usually a matter of few more chapters, not a whole freakin’ book! I fought it at first, trying to wrap both stories into the same book, but it just wouldn’t work.

All of that writing angst was worth it though. A truly heartwarming number of you have fallen in love with Wraith and Áine just like I did, but now it’s almost time to go back to the family that started this whole unexpected adventure.

In two weeks, I’ll finally get to share Honorable Sins with you, and I can’t wait for you to see what Mick, Kara and their family have been up to for the past six years.

Anyway...that’s the story of how one perfectly innocent Christmas novella turned into two full-length novels. One short and one long (Sins of Innocence I am looking at you!👀), but both longer than the novella I planned.😅

I regret nothing. Actually, Wraith probably should. This is entirely his fault and I feel like he owes Mick an apology. I wonder how that would go?

Wraith: Mick.
Mick: What?
Wraith: I owe you an apology.
Mick (eyes narrowed): What did you do?
Wraith: Nothing.
Mick: Then why are you apologizing?
Wraith: Apparently, I hijacked your Christmas novella.
Mick (blinks): You what, now?
Wraith: Lucy says it’s my fault.
Mick: Ah. That tracks.
Wraith: I didn’t do it on purpose, boss.
Mick: Did you claim Áine?
Wraith: Aye.
Mick: Then you absolutely did it on purpose.
Wraith: I object to that characterization.
Mick: You’re objecting to facts now?
Wraith: I merely...recognized my future wife.
Mick: And proceeded to commandeer my book.
Wraith: That’s a harsh way to put it.
Mick: You stole Christmas.
Wraith (long pause): ... I did not steal Christmas.
Mick: You stole my Christmas novella.
Silence.
Wraith: Fair.
Mick: You owe me.
Wraith: You got to spend more time with Kara and the chisselers.
Mick (after another long pause): Aye.
Wraith: So...are we good?
Mick: Don’t make a habit of hijacking my books.
Wraith: No promises.
Mick mutters something in Irish that definitely isn’t a blessing.

I would like the record to show that Wraith still insists none of this was his fault. Mick remains unconvinced. 😄

If you’d like to come back and spend time with Mick, Kara and the family that accidentally launched this whole adventure, you can preorder Honorable Sins here:

👉 https://mybook.to/HonorableSins

We all have characters we’d love to see get their own story, don’t we? Hit reply and tell me who yours is. I have a feeling Wraith is in very good company.

Can’t wait to hear from you!

Happy reading until next time,
Lucy

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Internationally bestselling and award-winning author Lucy Monroe has over 95 published novels and more than 12.5 million copies sold worldwide. She writes emotionally intense, spicy romance about flawed characters finding someone who truly sees them and loves them for who they are. Her stories pull readers in, keep them hooked, and deliver a deeply satisfying happily ever after. Just ask her readers!

Now publishing independently, Lucy’s has written for 4 of the 5 big publishers in New York. Her latest series, Syndicate Rules & Syndicate Sins, explore the dark and decadent world of mafia romance with morally gray heroes, fierce heroines, and all the spice fans crave.

A voracious reader and longtime romance fangirl, Lucy loves connecting with fellow book lovers online.

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For info on all of Lucy’s books, visit her website.

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