“Every beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

– SEMISONICS

On August 26^th, the finale of the Accidentally Yours Series will hit stores and etailers, so I thought it appropriate to formally say goodbye to our crazy story of Mayan gods and their immortal buddies who went on a quest to find true love while fighting the apocalypse.

What better way than to do a little bit of Q&A from readers!

1. Why was book #2, ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO A VAMPIRE?, not a continuation of book #1, ACCIDENTALLY IN LOVE WITH A GOD?

Answer: I was drunk, hit my head, ended up in a bar in TJ stripping, and forgot I wrote #1!

The real answer is a bit less scandalous. Book #1 was a book that I didn’t quite know what do to with.  I loved it and believed it in, but after getting back a ton of rejection letters (boo on those lame people!), I figured it was better to move forward and keep on writing. “Maybe gods aren’t that interesting to readers or publishers?”

But I wasn’t ready to let go of my immortal cast of characters and saw them each having different stories that would one day weave together into one big ending.  (Yeah, at the time, I was SO into LOST, the TV show.  Haha.)  Anyway, I started writing the next character’s story, Niccolo DiConti, unsure if I’d ever publish VOTAN and EMMA’s saga.  Obviously, I ended up publishing both, but realized that readers weren’t going to wait 7-8 books to find out what happened in the BIG ENDING BOOK.  I wrote SUN GOD much differently than I’d originally envisioned it because of this, making it the sequel to books 1 & 2.

2. THE BIG ENDING. Did it change from how your originally envision it?

ANSWER: Yes and no.  I REALLY had not planned to write about Máax originally, but as I got into my outlines, after writing SUN GOD, I realized that what attracted me to this series was the challenge.  I LOVED the idea of writing about Mayan gods because, let’s be honest, they are NOT sexy.  Seriously. Not. Sexy.  “But,” I thought, “wouldn’t it be fun to make them sexy and quirky and dysfunctional…not really god-like at all, but more like humans who have to find their way in life?”

Anyway, I landed on Máax because he is invisible, and the challenge of making HIM sexy—and a character that people would love without seeing—sounded like so much fun!  Too delicious!  It also opened the door for some creative, kinky sex!  Say no more….

As for the ENDING, I knew from day 1 what scene would be the series’ climax.  And if you LOOK really hard, you’ll see little hints throughout all the books!  All I am going to say is it has to do with one of my favorite childhood games.

3. WHAT the HELL is with the cliffhangers? Why do you love them so much?

Hail to the mighty cliffhanger!  I worship thee! You frustrate me. You give me something to look forward to and pine for.  And yet I hate seeing your ugly face at the end of my story!

Yes, it’s a love/hate relationship for all of us.  But not all stories can be told in one book.  And, as I mentioned earlier, The ACCIDENTALLY YOURS SERIES was planned to be like a woven tapestry that leads up to one big ending.  There was no real way to encapsulate each story or thread without ruining the finale.  So…it really is like an immortal soap opera.  But think how much richer and funnier the story gets along the way as you start to see everyone’s seemingly random lives come together.  The POST IT people have made a large fortune off of me!  (That’s what I use to track all of my little threads.)

That said, I also LOVE stories that don’t drain the life out of me with the twist tracking.  HAPPY PANTS CAFÉ and FATE BOOK are good examples of this. One story. Simple. Also enjoyable!  THE KING TRILOGY is somewhere in between as it’s really just a 195,000 word story broken into three parts.

So, it’s not so much that I love cliffhangers, but I have to go with whatever gets the job done to tell the best story possible.

4. This was your first series. Did you learn anything from it?

Learned a lot! You might even say I grew up as a writer with this series.  I learned about being Indie, working with publishers, and all about social media.  I learned about dealing with the “mean people” and the art of not taking everything personally.

But most importantly, I learned that NOT everyone is going to “get” you and to be very grateful for the those who do.  It’s just a fact that people’s tastes, humor, and preferences in literature are simply different.  The ACCIDENTALLY YOURS SERIES taught me to be grateful for each and every person out there who somehow made their way to my books and connected.

5. Are you sad to see the series go?

No way!  I loved that series, but it had to end at the right spot instead of living a life well past its prime.  And the way I see it, the end of this series means that I will be able to start whole new ones!  I can’t wait!  I already have two new series coming out in 2015!  One of them is going to be another challenge.  A HUGE risk!  Because not even I consider the species of the characters to be sexy or cool.  I’m going to attempt the impossible and make CLOWNS hot!!  (Just kidding.)  But seriously,  the new series is going to be a challenge.  The second series, IMMORTAL MATCHMAKERS, INC., was inspired by the Millionaire Matchmaker TV show.  But sexier.  And Crazier.  For immortals.

I hope readers enjoy it!

In closing, I bid you a fond farewell, ACCIDENTALLY YOURS!  It’s been an awesome ride…

LYRICS: CLOSING TIME,

By the Semisonics

****

Closing time

Open all the doors and let you out into the world

Closing time

Turn all of the lights on over every boy and every girl

Closing time

One last call for alcohol so finish your whiskey or beer

Closing time

You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here

I know who I want to take me home

I know who I want to take me home

I know who I want to take me home

Take me home

Closing time

Time for you to go out to the places you will be from

Closing time

This room won’t be open till your brothers or your sisters come

So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits

I hope you have found a friend

Closing time

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.