Broken Compass
Page 51
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you have enjoyed the story of Sydney and her boys. I know the book is long, but I really hope you had a good ride.
This story has been on my mind for more than two years – before Caveman was even a glimmer in my eye, lol. Sydney hadn’t existed then, but I called the story “A girl and many boys” and put it in my Stories To Write folder.
It was on my mind all this time, though, and when I was writing Mancave I decided that Gigi’s best friend would have a harem of boys. I thought three is a good number. That is how Broken Compass was born. And then I set the characters up in Bad Wolf: there you meet Sydney, Nate and West, and hear about Kash.
I spent almost a month plotting this book. It has four plotlines, one per character, and already then I knew it would grow into a long book. I wanted all characters to be hiding secrets, and I wanted some of them to know some of the others’ secrets. It was going to be complicated, I knew it. I also wanted it not to be insta-love but I wanted to show that love grow from lust and affection to something deeper. Grow from children to adults, and from friends to lovers.
There were constraints set up in Bad Wolf where I introduced Sydney and her boys, such as for how long Sydney has known Gigi, the fact that Kash went missing, and that Sydney and the other boys were looking for him. That timeline had to fit in with this story, and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. Sometimes a book does its own thing, the characters demanded certain developments and twists, but it still had to fit in with everything that was said in Bad Wolf.
Fingers crossed I got it right in the end! I love these characters so much, and I do hope you liked them too.
PS. In case you were wondering: West’s granddad may have the surname Kingsley, but he has no relation to Joel Kingsley of Candy boys.
Love,
JO
What Comes Next
My “To Be Written” list is never getting shorter… always longer, and that’s as it should be. Here is what I think comes next:
My next book will probably be the story of Merc (brother of Gigi), followed by another book in my M/M (gay) romance series which started with Jagged Edge, and then the third book in the Hot Candy series (MMF romantic comedy).
Other books I want very much to write are Ross’s and Evan’s stories (if you read Caveman and Mancave, you know who they are: Octavia and Gigi’s half-brother and Matt Hansen’s friend from Destiny).
For next year I have planned The Lost Boys series which is a spin-off of the Inked Brotherhood and Damage Control series has been on my mind a lot and I would love to start working on it.
Also in the plans are books in the Bad Boy Escorts series which started with Riot, the Soulstain trilogy, about the tattoo shop guys who visited Damage Control in Ocean and Jagged Edge – and Jackass and Co.: the trilogy about Jesse Lee’s funny roommates.
Finally, I still want to write Colt’s story (Inked Brotherhood spinoff story. If you read Rafe, you may remember Colt who also fought in the underground fight club).
Any particular story you would like me to write?
Let me know! Also, if you haven’t, join my readers group where we discuss and vote on projects, covers and generally have fun! ▶ http://on.fb.me/1K2LvzO.
Acknowledgments
Hello… *waves* I’m really bad at this end of book thing… but I have so many amazing people I would like to thank. My greatest fear is to forget half of them.
The romance community is marvelous. I have met so many lovely readers, authors, bloggers and friends since I started my publishing journey. Selfless people, helpful people, people who brighten my days and hold my hand when I’m stressed and doubting.
You know who you are. And I love you dearly.
First of all, let me thank certain people without whose friendship, support and help this book wouldn’t exist:
Sam Destiny, woman, what would I do without you? I love you so much. Don’t ever leave me. I don’t deserve you.
Jade West, I love you to bits. Don’t ever forget that. Thank you for being my friend.
Kerry Fletcher, you’re so amazing. Love your face!
Lainey Da Silva, you’ve always been there for me, and thank you for stepping in when I needed you and saved me. Love you so much.
Cassie May, I love your humor and your honesty. Never stop telling me everything you think!
Rebecca Teem, you’re a genius and I’m so grateful you seem to like the mess that is me. Love ya!
Deanna Roy, you’re such a loyal friend, I can never thank you enough for being by my side all these years.
Kia Zi Shiru, you and I should finally meet! We’ve been friends forever, and you keep saving my ass on a regular basis. Have I said I love you recently?
Clarissa Wild, I love our crazy and useful conversations. You make me laugh, and I hope I make you laugh, too. Thank you for everything.
Willow Winters, thank you for having me in your groups and always offering help and advice. You rock.
Maxine McCormick, I can’t thank you enough for always helping me out and being the voice of reason. You are one amazing lady!
Brandy Freeman, thank you for always checking my ARCs and catching so many errors. You’re lovely.
Gel Ytayz, you’re so sweet and such a great artist. Thank you for all the teasers and banners. So important in a writer’s life.
I wish I could name every single person who has been kind to me – and there were so many, it is just mind-blowing.
Let me thank especially these ladies who beta read Broken Compass and sent me pages of comments: Sam Destiny, Kerry Fletcher, Brandy Freeman, Cassie May, Rebecca Teem, Maxine McCormick, Hillary Becker, Jessica Elliot, Susanne Scott, Courtney Jewell, Diana Manolova Dimitrova, Toya Garin, Lisa Turner, Nico Maeckelberghe, and Karen Atkinson Lingham.
In fact, extra huge thanks to Karen Atkinson Lingham for pointing out that the names of the characters corresponded to the cardinal points—yeah I know, how could I not have seen it? Wait, don’t comment on that, lol. Lady, you rock!
Lots of love and thanks for Jo’s Ravens—my amazing readers’ group—and my review team for their enthusiasm, support, and general awesomeness.
As always, my gratitude to my amazing editor, and also to my formatter, 5 Times Chaos.
And finally all my thanks to all my readers for their love and support. Your enthusiasm and love for my tortured boys keeps me going. I love hearing from you and talking with you about stories. It means so much to me and I can’t tell you how grateful I am.
If you commented, messaged or otherwise helped me while writing and editing this book, or any of my books, I thank you with all my heart. You’re really incredible.
Author Bio
Jo Raven is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, best known for her series Inked Brotherhood and Damage Control. She writes edgy, contemporary New Adult romance with sexy bad boys and strong-willed heroines. She writes about MMA fighters and tattoo artists, dark pasts that bleed into the present, loyalty and raw emotion.
Find all my books here ▶ http://joraven.com/books
Be the first to get your hands on my new releases & offers, giveaways, previews, and more by signing up here ▶ http://bit.ly/2cQmBuF
Meet me online—on Facebook ▶ https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJoRaven, chat with me on Twitter ▶ @AuthorJoRaven, and join my readers group for sneak previews of my covers and stories ▶ http://on.fb.me/1K2LvzO.
Reviews Matter…
If you like my books, please think to leave a review on amazon or any other site. It would mean the world to me, and it helps me get the word about my books out there. Thank you!
Other books by Jo Raven
Have you read the Inked Brotherhood series?
Five boys brought together by fate. Five young men trying to overcome their troubled pasts. Five tattoos marking them as a brotherhood built on tragedy. Will they find understanding and rise above the pain?
Five girls tied by friendship. Five young women fighting their
own demons. Five lives laced with sorrow. Will they be strong enough to save the men they love and make them happy?
The series comprises five interconnected, stand-alone novels: Asher, Tyler, Zane, Dylan and Rafe.
GET IT HERE
After the Inked Brotherhood, comes DAMAGE CONTROL:
The Damage Control series is set in the same world as Inked Brotherhood. The boys of Damage Control were taken in by Zane Madden and Rafe Vestri and offered apprenticeship and work in the tattoo shop Damage Control.
The series comprises five interconnected, stand-alone novels: Micah, Jesse, Seth, Shane and Ocean.
GET IT HERE
Do you like romantic suspense and bad boy millionaires? How about giving my new series, SEX AND BULLETS, a try?
LINKS HERE
Do you like ménage romance and romantic comedy? How about checking out my series HOT CANDY?
LINKS HERE
And of course, there is Caveman, Mancave, Undone and Bad Wolf. Have you read them?
These are the books coming before Broken Compass. If you want to see more of Gigi and Jarett, then check them out!
LINKS HERE
Have you read the INKED BROTHERHOOD series?
Five boys brought together by fate. Five young men trying to overcome their troubled pasts. Five tattoos marking them as a brotherhood built on tragedy. Will they find understanding and rise above the pain?
Five girls tied by friendship. Five young women fighting their own demons. Five lives laced with sorrow. Will they be strong enough to save the men they love and make them happy?
The series comprises five interconnected, stand-alone novels: Asher, Tyler, Zane, Dylan and Rafe.
Get It Here: After the Inked Brotherhood, comes DAMAGE CONTROL:
The Damage Control series is set in the same world as Inked Brotherhood. The boys of Damage Control were taken in by Zane Madden and Rafe Vestri and offered apprenticeship and work in the tattoo shop Damage Control.
The series comprises five interconnected, stand-alone novels: Micah, Jesse, Seth, Shane and Ocean.
Get It Here
Do you like romantic suspense and bad boy millionaires? How about giving my series SEX AND BULLETS a try?
Links Here
Do you like ménage romance and romantic comedy? How about checking out my series HOT CANDY?
LINKS HERE
And of course, there is Caveman, Mancave, Undone and Bad Wolf. Have you read them?
These are the books coming before Broken Compass. If you want to see more of Gigi and Jarett, then check them out!