I INITIALLY wrote this book as a writing exercise in first person. I’ve told the story before. It was supposed to be a humorous fantasy novel about a one-eyed, one-balled rapscallion and a perfect princess. I wrote from the hero’s point of view, and I never could get the stubborn fellow to say anything! I worked for days and almost tossed the story.
At that point, I took someone’s advice and turned the story upside down as completely as possible. I replaced the princess with a prince. And something rare and wonderful took place: my original hero liked this new prince. A lot. And this new prince had a lot to say. The first words on that first page read,
“A whore is a whore is a whore. Unless he’s something else completely. I guess I must be an uncommon whore.”
My hero even told me his name: Helios. He totally overturned my original plot and turned the story into a science fiction romance. And to my great good fortune, he and Griffin live a busy and active life in the back of my imagination, even when I’m focused on writing something else. I guess they really are imaginary friends, right?
If you’re new to this world, welcome, and I hope you enjoy the story. If you’re an old friend, thank you for taking a chance on the new vision of the book and series.
And as always, many thanks to the creative teams who have worked on this book and series with me.
Much love,
Belinda