The front of the Defiant trading cards

There’s something bittersweet about finishing book you really love. If the story was emotional, you feel drained, raw around the edges. You’re sad that it’s over, and yet you’re also basking in the joy that the story brought you.

I think authors experience their own version of this when a book they loved and worked so hard on finally hits bookstore shelves. I know that last Tuesday when Defiant came out, a part of me just wanted to cry. The wait for Connor’s book had been so long. There was a time when I didn’t think I’d ever be able to write it. And then, last Tuesday, it was out.

The breathless emails I’ve gotten, the raving reviews, the sweet messages you’ve sent have also choked me up. Knowing that something I’ve written affected you so deeply is very touching for me. Not everyone loved it, but most of you have really enjoyed it. And, well, you can’t please everyone all the time.

I thought I’d answer some frequently asked questions about the book and the series. (Contains spoilers! Ye be warned!)

1. Am I going to write Joseph’s story? Yes, absolutely. I can’t say when it will be out, but I will write it. He is a brother, even if he isn’t a MacKinnon, and he deserves his own happy ending.

2. Am I going to write Lord William’s story? How could I not? I adore him, even if he is a selfish, manipulative jerk. Now that he has experienced absolutely powerlessness, true suffering, and fear, he is going to be a changed man. No, he won’t be courteous, kind and forgiving. But he will be in a position where I can put him through his own transition from anti-hero to hero. His character arc is four books long. It starts in book one and moves through to the end of his own story. But, again, I’m not sure when I’ll be writing his book.

3. How can you say goodbye to the MacKinnon brothers and to the Rangers? That was hard. It was so very hard! I sobbed! We’ll see the brothers and their families again in Joseph’s story. We might even see a Ranger or two. But the time when the Rangers were a unit and lived and fought side by side is at an end. But then all good things must end. Even Star Trek: The Next Generation ended.


4. Will I write any novellas about the brothers in the future? I hope so! They’ve lived in my head for eight long years. I don’t want to let them or Annie, Amalie and Sarah go. I think a nice MacKinnon Christmas novella or some other short story might be fun.

5. What about the MacKinnon children? I don’t know. They’re too young to fight in the American Revolution but that doesn’t mean they can't have stories. I’ll have to wait and see what the Muse has to say about it. Interestingly, the MacKinnon men are young enough that they will fight in the Revolution. I don’t know what that means, but maybe I’ll have to bring them back for some novellas set during that time.


6. What can you do to support the book? Post reviews. Share your love of the story with your friends. Mention the book in discussion groups and loops. Share the link for the trailer (your friends will thank you!). “Like” the book on Amazon.com and B&N. Word of mouth is the most important thing.

I’m saving other questions and answers for Thursday evening’s big video chat via Shindig Events. Last time there were some technical difficulties. Hopefully that will all be worked out this time. Also, there is a private discussion group on Facebook dedicated to talking about Defiant chapter by chapter. Click here to ask to join. We just started, so you haven’t missed much.

To register for the After the Epilogue live video chat, click here. The fun begins at 8 PM Eastern Time/7 Central on July 12. You’ll be sent a reminder email just before the event, which is FREE, begins. During the chat, you’ll be able to chat privately with other readers or ask me questions about the book. It’s your chance to talk about the story without worrying about spoilers. It works best if you have a camera and a mic, whether built-in or not, but you can participate by hearing what’s being said if you don’t. Five participants will win $20 Amazon gift cards IF we can figure out how to collect names and make it work. We weren’t able to give books away last time like I had planned.

And now I just want to give a heartfelt thank you to all of you who made the release week for Defiant so very special for me. I am so grateful to you for your support and your excitement. If I started a list of names of those people who contributed to the joy of this past week, it would go on forever. But I do want to mention the Street Team and thank them for their support online and in the bookstores in helping to spread word about the novel. You know who you are!

As a way of saying thanks, I would love to send a signed Defiant trading card and/or signed book plate to anyone who wants one. The cards are glossy and pretty and work nicely as bookmarks. The book plates have my signature and stick to the inside of the book, turning the copy into an autographed copy. (Ebook readers! Check out Kindlegraph to get your autographs!)

To get your signed Defiant trading card(s) or signed book plate, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:


I’ll get them in the mail. Please specify which you prefer — a trading card (up to four), a book plate or both.

So what was your favorite moment in Defiant?

Sorry to have vanished. I typically like to reply to each and every one of you, but this week has been a madhouse. I might still get a chance to go back to my previous post and reply. If not, please know that I’ve read your posts and really appreciate them.

Also, please know that if you’ve sent me e-mail, I'm behind on that, too.

First the news: I have a senator willing to carry the bill about the shackling of inmates in labor. I’m meeting with her on Tuesday afternoon to help write it. Now, that’s something I've never done before. Draft a bill. OK, sure.

“And there shall be cookies and milk for all at precisely 3 p.m., followed by nap time. Bedtime stories shall consist of romance novels with heroines who present positive role models for inmates. Sexy man posters shall be posted in all cells so that all female inmates get their recommended daily allowance of man-chest and six-packs. Chocolate shall be included with each evening meal. And there shall be absolutely no shackling of pregnant inmates in labor! Duh! What were you people thinking?”

Hmm... Probably needs some work.

Some other folks have connected with me hoping to be a part of pushing this forward. But, typically I guess, there are people who want this bill but want it on their own time. As in, “How about we do this next year?”

Call me naïve. Really, call me anything you want. I don’t care. I want to do what I can while I can, not next year. There are inmates who will be having babies this summer whose experience will be different if we pass a bill before the session recesses in May. So I remain undeterred.

Less interesting news: I want a new back! I‘m taking steroids and narcotics, and every day is an exercise in endurance. I am not enjoying this. Obviously, as I'm whining about it in public.

And now on to the fun stuff!

On Saturday, I’m inviting any of you who’ve read Naked Edge and want to talk about it — but don’t want to spoil it for your friends — to join me for an After the Epilogue chat where you don’t have to worry about spoilers.

Here’s how it will work:

I will put up a new blog post tomorrow at about 7 Eastern/6 Central/5 Mountain/4 Pacific time right here on this blog with a link to a Chatzy chatroom. These are just chatrooms you can create and sign into on Chatzy.com. Registration is minimal.

You’ll just follow that link to the chat, register and pop in.

The chat itself will begin at 9 E/8 C/ 7 M/ 6 P and continue as long as you like. This is for you, and I want it to be fun for you.

During the chat, I'll take down the names of participants and someone will win a signed copy of Naked Edge, plus a $25 gift card to Borders.

Spread the word. Bring your friends.

I’ll be having another one in a couple of weeks because there are people who want to participate but who can’t.

If you have questions, post them here or e-mail me: pamelaclare @ earthlink.net (remove spaces). Also, feel free to propose discussion topics, but if please be careful not to post spoilers or at least to warn people before you do.

This is the first time I’ve done anything like this, so I’m very excited!

See you tomorrow night!

Congratulations to Lori, Joy, Liz P, Ronna and Alba!

You each won a signed copy of Naked Edge! E-mail me your mailing address, and I’ll pop your books and matching bookmarks in the mail.

Sorry to have vanished. No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth or get arrested. I simply was consumed by problems at the paper this week. We missed our press deadline by more than an hour due to serious, prolonged computer problems in the production department, and it wasn't pretty. But we did eventually get the paper out. And we're getting a new computer for production.

As a result of the chaos, however, I missed hanging with you on release day — the problems started Tuesday morning — and am just getting caught up now.

I’m starting to hear from those of you who’ve had time to read the book, and I’ve been relieved and thrilled by what you’ve shared with me. Several of you have told me you wanted to talk about the book with others who've read it.

So... I’m setting up a chat. It’s the “After the Epilogue Naked Edge Chat” for Saturday evening, March 13 at 7 p.m. MST (9 Easter/6 Pacific). If anyone has a chatroom, let me know. Otherwise I’ll set it up at Chatzy and post the link.

What will we do in this chat? Well, we'll chat about the book without worrying about giving spoilers away to those who haven’t read it. You can ask me anything you’d like, and you can compare your thoughts and favorite scenes to those of other readers. You don’t have to be a regular poster on this blog to participate. Whether I know you from my blog or Facebook or Goodreads or a past life, you are welcome!

Everyone who participates will be eligible to win a signed copy of the book with a bookmark. Think of it as a perc for those of you who zipped out, got the book and read it — people like Kara C, who seems to have inhaled it. I’ll share some things that you don't know about the story — not the boring stuff about my falling off mountains, but more the specific details in the story.

It's also my way of thanking you for not giving away the surprises at the ending of the story in your reviews. I’ve been amazed at everyone's restraint, and I'm very grateful that no one has spilled the beans! Since you've all been so circumspect, you deserve a place to hang out and talk all you want about you know what!

So here were some fun things from the first couple of days of the book’s release:

Chatting at Leontine's Book Realm, Sapphire Romance and Borders True Romance.

Leontine's question about the kind of personal ad Gabe would run had people laughing, including me. Jenn J at Sapphire Romance asked some insightful questions based on her deep knowledge about the story. At Borders, I met a lot of new people.

And then there was the review at Smart Bitches. I loved it! SB Sarah gave the book a B+ and offered my favorite description of Gabe so far:

"[Y]ou see him act so honorably one moment, like when he comes to the heroine’s rescue after another police officer way oversteps his boundaries, and then you see him act like a callous, heartless self-absorbed dickbag and wonder how it can be the same person.”

I fell in love with the word dickbag and have tried to use it in as many situations as I can since then. I may have to put it in my next I-Team book.

I still have bookmarks. If you work at or own a bookstore and would like some, please let me know. Or if you’re a reader and would like one, also, let me know.

Other fun and games to come:
More contests
An interview with Gabe Rossiter
Naked Edge trivia
An interview with a true powder hound/extreme skier friend of mine (complete with video)

So has anyone seen the book on bookstore shelves out there anywhere? Does anyone have any release week stories to share?

Also, please RSVP if you'd like to come to the After the Epilogue Chat. I'll need your e-mail address to invite you in.

Thanks!