Aiden's Broken Heart

Quick note... Today, Aiden's short story will be live on Amazon for sale. It's the exact same story I wrote for Love Words & Books Blog back in February. NO CHANGES OR ADDITIONAL MATERIAL! Here is the link where you can read it for free (http://lovewordsandbooks.com/2014/02/14/the-anti-valentines-day-our-broken-hearts-club-with-layne-harper/#more-3549).

Why did I decide to offer a free story for sale? I have a lot more readers of the Infinity Series than I do social media followers. I like the story too much not to try to share it with all fans. If Amazon would allow me to give it away through them, I would. 

The thought of making money off of this makes me cringe. So, I'm donating all of the profits from "Aiden's Broken Heart" to a rescue animal organization that is near and dear to my heart. Not every animal is as lucky as Pancho :-)

New Quote From "Infinity."

I wish I could share the context of this quote from Charlie... It's one of my favorite scenes and makes me laugh every time I read it. Hasn't everyone felt this way about their partner? 

"How’s it possible to want to smother him with kisses and at the same time long to twist his balls while he writhes in pain?"

Have a lovely day :-)

Infinity. Favorite Quote

What's happening on April 17?

Great question! Infinity. will be live on Amazon. I'm so excited to share the end of Colin and Charlie's story with you. That's not entirely accurate. I dread the series coming to an end, but I'm tired of keeping their secrets. Does that make sense?

I will not be posting teasers from the book. Why? Because there is really nothing I can share without giving away major plot points. This book is not an 85,000 word epilogue. A lot of story happens in the 340 (or so) pages.

What I do plan on sharing is some of the story that didn't make it into the final book. For example, I had originally written the back story to Colin's first marriage. In the end, I found it was more of a detraction than an addition to the conclusion of the book. I'll post on my blog some of his first marriage. I might even share his ex-wife's name (she does have one :-)).

One of the most frequent questions I'm asked is am I happy with the conclusion to their story. The answer is yes. Absolutely. When the book is complete, you will not have any lingering questions. Is everything wrapped up with a pretty bow? No. But, neither is life. However, if you don't have a huge smile on your face at the end, I'll be blown away.

One of the biggest criticisms I've received is why the story took four books to tell. I hope that Infinity. answers that question for you. I've never been okay with the prince rescuing the princess from the tower and the story ends. As I wrote in Finding Infinity...

"All fairytales that I read as a child cut off at the wedding. No one hears about how the princess dealt with the prince leaving her every weekend to slay dragons. Or what happens when the wicked step-sisters waggle their perfect asses in his direction. Do the princess and prince have a baby? Who knows? That part of the fairytale is omitted. Does Prince Charming want to have sex with the princess to make his ego feel better?"

That's the kind of author that I am.

Stay tuned for deleted scenes, as I've come to call them... Yay!

Rachael and Aiden

One of the most common questions I'm asked is "will Rachael and Aiden have their own book?" The answer I give is "at this time, I'm not planning on writing their story." It sounds like a cop out answer. Here's the truth. I adore the character of Rachael. I also love Aiden desperately. However, I don't think they would be as popular if you saw more of their flaws. I think they're fabulous secondary characters. Superficially, they're very fun to write.

However, just the short story I wrote about Aiden's most miserable Valentine's Day resulted in hate mail - like I got a couple of death threats. Did I hit publish on "Falling Into Infinity" to make friends? No. It was a my bucket list item which took on a life of its own, and for that, I'm very thankful.

I will never create my characters or write my stories to pander to the masses because I'm not a fairy tale kind of girl. With that being said, I'm desperately afraid if I did give Rachael and Aiden their own book I'd have to soften their character flaws to make their story somewhat endearing so you wouldn't hate me. As of right now, I'm not willing to compromise their story.

Will I one day give Rachael and Aiden's story a life of its own? Maybe. There are elements I love. I'm obsessed with the bi-racial aspect of their relationship. I think its one that hasn't been explored, and it does add a layer of added relationship tension even though it shouldn't. I also love how completely different they view their relationship. I think this is very common, and one of the main reasons the divorce rate is so high.

What I have thought about is giving Rachael a story of her own separate from Aiden. Have you read "The Paper Bag Princess" by Robert Munsch? It's one of my all time favorite books. If you have daughters, seriously, go buy it (http://www.amazon.com/The-Paper-Bag-Princess-Annikins/dp/0920236251). Here's the book synopsis...
The Princess Elizabeth is slated to marry Prince Ronald when a dragon attacks the castle and kidnaps Ronald. In resourceful and humorous fashion, Elizabeth finds the dragon, outsmarts him, and rescues Ronald --- who is less than pleased at her un-princess-like appearance. 

My mom bought me the book when I was in high school. Rachael is very loosely based on Princess Elizabeth. I'd love to write a story about a smart, resourceful, female who's succeeding in a world of alpha male politics. Her goals aren't to get married or have children. Her happily ever after is defined by the level of influence she achieves over the nation's policies.

Just a thought to ponder when I can't sleep...