If you’re here, you’ve hopefully started with 1970, followed by 1972, 1973, and 1974.
This is the fifth book of seven, and if you’re a reader of The House of Crimson & Clover, you might begin to see the future come together quite neatly—and, in some cases, tragically—in this story. When I wrote The House of Crimson & Clover and the accompanying histories of the characters you’re reading about now, many years before The Seven was even planned, I remember 1975 as being a watershed year for the Deschanels, in more ways than one. I made that decision long before I ever decided to write this series, and it’s a decision that shaped every character involved, past and future.
There are benefits to knowing the general histories before sitting down to write an origin series. To have the high-level timeline already mapped out makes outlining that much easier, and I’ve surprised myself with how well the past and future flow together. But the downside is that what is written in canon cannot be changed. And while my past self, writing for the future, decided 1975 would be a significant year for the family, my present self, writing for the past, felt the emotional toll of that decision.
1975 is a story filled with equal amounts of joy and tragedy. It’s a banner year, one that sets up both the remainder of this series and The House of Crimson & Clover, where the children of The Seven are the lead characters. This book will likely be an emotional roller-coaster to read, just as it was to write, but—and if you tell the other books this, I’ll deny it—for these reasons and more, it’s my favorite in the series so far. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t go back and change a thing about the year 1975. As we know, in real life, big years happen. We can all look back on certain years of our life as being a little bit more.
One thing I feel compelled to point out, as I believe I have in prior books: Although I mention The House of Crimson & Clover several times, it’s not necessary to read that series to fully appreciate The Seven. I do, however, hope that when this series ends, it leaves you feeling the urge to see what happens next, for both these characters and their children. The Saga of Crimson & Clover is designed to have multiple ways of experiencing the world that never need to connect, unless you want them to, but I’ll always hope I’ve done my job by making you want them to.
As with the earlier novels in the series, I feel it’s important to add the disclaimer that I was not alive at any point in the ’70s. I was raised on the music, values, and results of that period, coming up in the ’80s with a vision of the world that matched what my parents had experienced in that pivotal decade. I’ve leveraged experiences and memories of those who did come of age in the era, but any errors are solely my own. If this paragraph looks familiar, you probably read a version of it in the Prefaces of the earlier books.
Lastly, if you’ve read the short story A Band of Heather, you’ll recognize a story involving Colleen (no spoilers) that is also told here, in 1975. The short was written years before this series was planned, so to remain true to both, some of the passages are very similar, though this book expands considerably upon that original story. A Band of Heather was meant to be a glimpse into that piece of Colleen’s life, whereas this is a full look.
With all that said, proceed with a full heart and an open mind. Tissues wouldn’t hurt, either.