When the character of Allan Avery was first introduced in the Valentine series, he appeared in book number three, Queen of Hearts. By that time, I already had plans to introduce his sister, Mac Avery, later on. I came up with an interesting scene, in which the siblings are standing over a man inside the trunk of Mac’s car. This became a short story titled, “What’s in the Trunk?” That short story developed into a book, and unexpectedly, the Valentine Apart series was born.

The Apart series focuses on characters apart from Valentine herself (get it?).  Each book can stand on it’s own, but they generally end in a way that connects the main character of the story to Valentine. Thus, when you read both series, you’re bound to come across a common scene in a Valentine book and a Valentine Apart book. My goal was to focus on the lives and backgrounds of the people in Val’s life. How did Lola Vencent join the Syndicate? How did Jo Fuentes come to work for Kelly McCormick? And how did Kelly McCormick get started in the first place? Reading about who they were, offers insight into who they have become.

There is one major character in Val’s life who’s background has never been explored: John Rafferty. I’m working on that now, along with the introduction of another important character. I think readers will be very surprised at how Rafferty got started in the Syndicate, and who helped him make his mark in the first place.

The Valentine Apart series is available on Amazon , BN.com, and the Woolaston Entertainment site