Why did I do the "fast forward" thing towards the end of the book?
Two reasons. The first is because Maddy cut herself off from everyone, as did Jackson. I didn't go through those times in their lives because it would've just been "page fillers".
The second and main reason is this: The timeline will be gradually filled in during the upcoming series. Though the series will not solely focus on Jackson and Maddy, their stories will be told. Maddy's skills will be put to use. Jackson's time before he shows up in the bar will be explained. Violet, Michael, Agent Mace and Will have appearances later in the series. A lot of things will be explained during Wall's story.
The reason I did this is not to leave y'all hanging or tell sell more books. I never do things like this to sell more books.
Which leads me to another question about backstory and scene setting.
It's just personal preference, but I don't like to do backstory (when I say this, I mean the word in the sense of re-telling the reader what happened in the first book), which is why you notice I didn't do much of it in Lowlife. I didn't want y'all to be bored to death, essentially, re-reading the same thing over and over again. There are authors that I absolutely love and buy every single one of their books that do pages and pages and pages of backstory that I end up skipping through.
This is also the reason I don't take pages to describe furniture, wall colors, etc. I do this at times, but not often, and usually when it adds to the mood. Why? Because when I'm telling a story out loud, I have never once had someone ask me if the couch in the room was leather or floral, or if the floors were Brazilian Cherry or Southern Chestnut. Again, I love the authors that do this . . . I'm just not one of them.
I understand why authors do both of these and why some readers want this (and I may do more of it in the future). Right now, though, it just isn't my style.
Lowlife was very different from Bottom Feeder. Why?
There were several reasons for this. 1) Anyone that knows someone who went through basic training (or other military training), knows that person most likely didn't come out the same. For example, my husband's battle buddy came in as a long-haired, self-proclaimed hippie who sat around smoking weed naked with his friends in his free time. No, really. There were pictures. When he left, he was high-and-tight, all soldier, all the time. I have other examples, but I'll spare y'all that. Or maybe . . . maybe I'll get permission and add them to the new series. Hmm . . . Methinks I like that idea.
With that said, Maddy had a lot of free time while in Basic, AIT, and Airborne Training. She stayed to herself. She had time to think. Doing this, she became angry. Hardened. But underneath that, she was still the same Maddy. 2) Maddy continued to come off as a doormat because that's all she knew in life. She felt hurt deep in her bones, but she forgave quickly. She forgave quickly because that's just her personality. Most of us know that one person who forgives easily, even when we think the other person/people don't deserve that.
3) Maddy held onto relationships that hurt her because, again, she never knew anything other than being hurt. Maddy had PTSD just as much as Jackson did, but instead of lashing out, she folded in on herself.
What's the new series going to be about?
I'll be vague on this answer, just because I'm still working on the finer details of the series. I know where it's going to go, why it's going to go there . . . the how is still being determined with each page I write.
The main question I get about the new series--not yet titled--is if it is going to be new adult, adult, contemporary romance or erotica. Well. It's going to be a mixture of them all. I'm going for a cross between Jamie Begley, Kristen Ashley, Tammara Webber, and Penelope Douglas. Though, honest to Cheez-its, not too many authors can write a steamy scene like those ladies, so I'm surely not putting myself on their level.
I will say if that genre is not your thing, I might do a novella for just Jackson and Maddy.
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