For all those who have suffered, who have waited in darkness, too scared to hope they might see the light again… You aren’t alone.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for purchasing a copy of Unwanted Complication. I hope you enjoyed the story! If you have a moment to leave a rating or review at your favorite retailer, Goodreads, or BookBub, I’d appreciate it!
I realize this story was a bit darker than the first. In fact, it’s a little darker than most of my books, and a teensy bit more violent. If you read book one of Owned by the Mob, Collateral Damage, then you’ve met Feliks before… and most likely hated him. I needed him to maintain that same asshole level, and yet I wanted to show there was a human side to him, too. I hope I managed to pull that off with Unwanted Complication.
Sadly, human trafficking is a very real problem worldwide, and most of those women and children don’t get a happy-ever-after. Men are trafficked as well, although they tend to be purchased for labor. Not always, but the percentages of slave labor for men are significantly higher than for women.
While roughly 50% of women sold globally are used for sex, that number is much higher in the US. In 2020, in my state alone, there were over 1000 cases of human trafficking. Larger states, like Texas, had closer to 8000 victims. In just the first two months of 2022, Texas already had nearly 1000 cases. It’s a much bigger issue than people realize.
It breaks my heart to think of anyone in the same situation as Raina or Vera. Sometimes to fight monsters, we need a monster of our own. In this case, Feliks was the monster on Raina’s side. As a romance writer, I want everyone to have a happy ending, both in real life and in books. Most importantly, I want everyone safe.
If you’d like to find out more about human trafficking and what you can do to help stop it, you can find information at https://ijm.org (International Justice Mission), https://polarisproject.org (Polaris Project), and https://unodc.org (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime).
Thanks so much for your support!
Harley
Thank you for reading Unwanted Complication! I hope you enjoyed the story. Want to read a deleted scene between Feliks and little Vera? Click https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/2a28d7d0-a2fb-11ec-a1c7-376c971ce7a3 to join Harley’s newsletter and download the free scene!
This section seems to get longer with every book… but there are so many people to thank! I couldn’t do this job if I were entirely on my own. It takes a village…
Thanks to Crystal… editor extraordinaire! She’s patient. Understanding. And by some miracle, she hasn’t murdered me yet. I think she’s up for Sainthood.
Thanks to the staff at Changeling Press… M, thanks for believing in me with that very first book submission in 2010. It’s been a wild ride, and I’m so glad to have you and Bill in my life. You guys are awesome. Huge thank you to Bryan Keller, the wonderful cover artist for this series. He puts up with me. That should be reason enough to provide him with a lifetime supply of beer. And to the line editors and proofreaders -- thank you for making this story shine!
Beta Readers -- you guys rock! Big shoutout to Carly, Dawn, Andrea R., and Andrea G. Thanks for taking the time to read Unwanted Complication and give me feedback. It was a huge help!
And thanks to my ARC Team, Support Team, and Wyldlings fan group! You guys know I love you!