by Vivian Ward
I thought for sure that we’d see Brooke and Tyler around here but we haven’t. Tyler really is keeping true to his word that he won’t bring Brooke here again—as long as she stays away, I’m happy. He’s more than welcome to come alone but I don’t think she allows that in their relationship. She’s very dominating but I think Tyler likes that about her otherwise they wouldn’t be together.
Who knows? Maybe I’m wrong and maybe I’m right; to each their own. One thing this lifestyle has taught me is to never judge. What works for one person or couple doesn’t work for everyone, and that’s okay. It’s what makes the world go round.
Bonus Material
Listen to the Risky Gamble playlist on Spotify
Listen Here
A Note From Vivian
Thank you for reading this series! I know it’s not easy to wait for the story book by book but you were all so patient and I will never be able to thank you enough. You guys have encouraged and inspired me, and I feel very humbled to call you my readers and friends.
Telling Ally and Colton’s story was fun and challenging. I’ve always loved a good challenge but I didn’t realize how much I bit off with this plot until I started chewing. It’s kind of like when you make a grilled cheese sandwich and you’re starving so you want extra, extra cheese. And when you’re finished cooking it, you start eating but can never quite chew all of the cheese? Yeah, writing this series was sort of like that.
Every time I felt discouraged, I’d head over to Amazon to look at the reviews and remind myself how much you guys loved the story. I’d make myself keep going; not only for you, but for me too because I knew I could do it.
I know that this story is much different from anything I’ve written before but there’s plenty more where that came from. There are so many stories in my head that it’s hard to choose one sub-genre and write only for one type of audience, which is why there’s so much variety in my catalog. This fall, I plan to publish an even wider variety of stories which I hope you’ll enjoy.
I’d be lying if I said Colton’s character wasn’t hard to write. He may have been my most difficult character ever! There was a fine line that I had to walk to keep him twisted and fucked up, yet likable and sexy. One of my author friends asked me what the series was about so I told her and said, “But don’t worry, I put him in a suit so he’s not a creep.” Lord knows if he lived in a trailer, you guys would be calling the cops for little miss Ally. LOL
This series was a lot of ‘firsts’ for me. It was my first true series (not standalone series that are interconnected), the first time I made a playlist (and I made one for each book), the first time I created pre-orders, and the first time I had readers ready to kill me. “Vivian! When’s the next book coming out!?!?!”
I even made playlists for this series! Yes, for each book! I’ve never done that before and was worried that nobody would listen to them but my readers never fail me. They told me how much they loved the music so you may see more of that in the future. :)
I also went to my first signing during this series. Let me tell you, it was so much fun! I wish I could go to them every weekend. I’m a people-person, so I genuinely enjoy meeting and talking to people. I’m very extroverted. I also got to meet a few authors like Pam Godwin (we didn’t talk much), Winter Travers (I talked her ear off), Vera Quinn (whom I FREAKING LOVE!), and many others. I also met Jonny James and took a picture with him! In case you’re wondering, he’s so sweet. He’s a very genuine person, approachable, and easy to talk to. I also met other models—both male and female—and took pictures with them, too.
I also went live on Facebook in my reader’s group for the first time—and I did it twice! If you’re part of my group, you also know that I posted lots of pictures and gave plenty of updates. Did I mention how much fun this was? haha
While writing this series, some very ugly things went down in the Indie community. I am so proud of all of my fellow authors for uniting together and standing up for what is right. There was so much love and encouragement from one another to keep doing the right thing. It made me so proud to be part of this community. I even put a special giveaway on my fan page where I try to host giveaways, do cover reveals, post teasers and more. If you’re not into joining Facebook groups, at least head over and give my fan page a like so that you can follow me and stay up to date with everything that I’m doing.
Speaking of my fan page and Facebook group, I’ve posted a special form where you can sign up to receive mail from me. It’s just a Google form where you give me your name and address. Please don’t forget to put your last name when filling it out! I promise I won’t stuff your mailboxes (I can’t afford it) but you never know when I’m going to mail out some special goodies. Sometimes it’s bookmarks, sometimes it’s postcards, Christmas cards, or some else fun. Who doesn’t like getting free shit in the mail from an author who’s books you’ve read? And I don’t do it often. Sometimes I’ll just pick random people to receive some treats while other times, I’ll hit every person on the list. And yes! That DOES include my international readers! I take care of you guys. I’ve mailed things to Sweden, Australia, Canada, India and all sorts of neat places. If you receive something in the mail from me, feel free to snap a picture and tag me on social media. It’s so fun to open the mail and find a surprise instead of bills. We don’t get enough presents, so please let me spoil you.
I also have a website, which is another great place to see what I’m doing. I’m trying to blog more but I’ve just been so busy that it’s insane. My good friend, Chantel Seabrook (C.M. Seabrook) has turned me into a book signing whore so I’ve got plenty of those lined up which take up a ton of my time. My schedule is pretty heavy for the rest of 2018 and fairly heavy for 2019. It’s insane how much time going to an event takes up but trust me when I say there’s a lot of work that goes in to them.
Please don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads when you’re finished reading! They are the best way to help authors because it allows other readers to find our work and know that we’re worth taking the time to read. So please, pretty please, with icing and cherry on top, leave a review. Recommend our work. Share our book on Facebook (if you can) or if you really love it (hope you do!), go to my website and order the paperback! If you order paperbacks from my website, not only will I autograph them but I include free swag with every order. Yes, really! What are you waiting for? Go get yourself an autographed book and some free swag! And don’t forget to leave a review of this book on Amazon. Happy reading!
