Thanks to all of you who’ve posted reviews about Tempting Fate . Your love for this series is so incredibly gratifying. Your support means everything.

Being an author is something like being a cook. A cook works for hours — sometime days — on a meal, only to watch it be devoured in a fraction of that time. An author works for months — sometimes years — on a book, and readers finish it in a matter of hours. Before the author has slept off the post-writing hangover, they ask, “What’s next?”

That’s a good question. Here’s what I can share with you.

In May, I bought my way out of my contract with Penguin, which means I am free to write and publish anything I wish to write an publish. I no longer have any contractual obligations that prevent me from writing romantic suspense (I-Team or an I-Team spinoff), historicals (Kenleigh-Blakewell and MacKinnon's Rangers), or straight contemporary (Colorado High Country series).

Though the I-Team series is the most popular series I’ve written, my historical fans are hardcore. Hardcore . They have waited years for the next book in the MacKinnon’s Rangers series. I-Team fans, meanwhile, are hoping for Joaquin’s story and perhaps a revamp of the series or a spin-off, while my contemp fans just want the next Scarlet Spring book yesterday (but no pressure).

My plans through the end of this year include giving Rain and Joe their story as part of a Scarlet Springs Christmas novella. This will include some history of the town complete with historical flashbacks. I’m really looking forward to writing it.

I also want to write book 5 in the series. I’d imagined that Conrad would be the hero of Book 5, and I did leave him wandering the Himalaya in a state of grief over a fatal accident on Everest. I need to bring him home. His heroine might be a woman on the team. I’m not certain yet.

That will bring me up to three full-length novels and a novella in 2017 — a record for me. My novellas are the size of some people’s novels (around 50,000 words), so really, it’s almost like four novels.

What about next year?

For 2018, I plan to give historical fans Joseph’s story. Set just at the end of the French and Indian War (Seven Years War), it will give the last “MacKinnon” brother his own HEA and get us back in touch with Iain, Morgan, Connor, Dougie, Killie and the rest of the motley Ranger crew. If I have a very productive year, I will continue the series with Lord William’s story, which I have wanted to write for so very long.

I also plan to give Joaquin Ramirez (I-Team) his HEA in 2018. I haven’t settled on a concept for his story yet. It might be straight romantic suspense, or I might tie his story together with Scarlet Springs somehow. I’m exploring a variety of ways to bring the two series together. Gabe Rossiter ( Naked Edge ) is a member of the Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue Team, and Zach McBride (Breaking Point) has made a couple of cameo appearances, too. But it would be so fun to get Julian, Marc, and the others in on some kind of action in Scarlet Springs.

I’d like to launch an I-Team spin-off series with Derek Tower getting his story as we follow the exploits of Cobra International Solutions, Javier and Derek’s private security firm. This would definitely include Nick and Holly, who work for Javier and Derek, as well as Laura and other I-Team members.

And then I’d like to get another Colorado High Country book and novella written.

That makes for a very busy year, but there will be something for everyone.

In the meantime, if you haven’t tried the Colorado High Country series because it’s straight contemporary and you don't like straight contemporary romance, you might want to give Chaska’s book a try. No, it’s not suspense, but it’s sexy.

Tempting Fate has a 4.8 average on Amazon after 51 reviews and a 4.51 average on Goodreads after 184 ratings. One reader told me she thought I could never write anything she liked as much as she liked the I-Team series but that now she couldn’t choose between the two series. That was wonderful to hear. The book is available in ebook and paperback.

Barely Breathing , the first book in the series, is only 99 cents in ebook — a great way to get caught up.

A lot of you have asked about the Colorado High Country series as well as Dead by Midnight and when they’ll be out in audiobook. I don’t have an answer for that yet, but I know it won’t be soon.

I hope everyone is having a safe and happy summer!