The end is near...

Hello again. 

I would like to say that July and the beginning of August - historically, my best months for writing - pulled me into the last full-length novel for the In Love and Blood series, but that would be a lie. Schedules did not permit me to finish book 4 by the end of July like I initially wanted, but 10 days into August, and the end is very near. 

6 chapters to go, in fact. 

Once book 4 is done, that will leave me with 1 book to write and then that closes out the series as a whole. I do have 28 short stories and outtakes directly taken from the series and expanded planned that, depending on length, will likely be released in volumes. 

Yes...volumes. How many? I don't know. Up to three, at least. 

I hate myself sometimes. 

No, that's a lie. I actually love how my brain forces me into processing and managing and healing by bringing me characters that are reflections of myself and those around me whom I love. 

Anyway. Why 28 short stories/outtakes? That's a very specific number, right? Okay, so here's the thing. Unintentionally, by the end of the second book, I realized I had written myself into an interesting quirk. The book starts with a prologue, because in some cases, the inciting event happens before what we see on the pages and that is a theme in this series, and then 28 chapters follow this prologue. 

28 chapters, with the 28th being the epilogue. That's literally the title of every 28th chapter in all 3 books that are currently finished, and it will be the title of the 28th chapter in the current book I am finishing now. It will also be the title of the 28th chapter in book 5. 

That's a lot of 28s. I'm sorry, not sorry. 

Also, a rarity in my writing journey, I'm giving chapters titles. Part of me started to regret this by book 3, but I'm back to loving it in book 4. There are Easter eggs in chapter titles for book 1 that, someone paying attention, will pick up in books 2, 3, and so on. 

So, I thought while we all wait for October to come and a more official, firm date is given...I could share a little more about the In Love and Blood series, what it is and what it isn't. 

This isn't like anything I have written before. I have never told multiple romantic arcs within a single book. Some couples are in their forties and some are 18/19/20, and others are younger teens. I have also never given multiple generations within the same series the way I have with this one. My typical go-to would be to create further series for following generations. But not here. This is a multi-generational saga told over several books.

The books are also told in rotating POVs, and yes, always in 3rd person. Don't you know me well enough by now? 

There are 6 total books - with the 6th being the one to come out in volumes - in the series and I'll try to break them down with varying degrees of info...hopefully without too much spoilers. 

Book 1 - Made in Love and Blood

• Welcome to the Gallos and Russos. Francesca 'Frankie" Gallo and Nico Russo are 17/18 and 19 respectively while Salvatore 'Sal' Gallo and Carina Russo-Gallo are older. Sal, in his 50s, and Rina, in her mid 30s. They are the main couples in book 1.
• Mafia politics in this book is at mid-level. This is not Chicago War, but it is not the Marcellos, either. 
• Expect triggers around child abuse, EDs, mental health, partner death, pregnancy/loss/trauma/abortion, CSA, and violence. There are more. These are the most significant, and I'm not responsible for coddling people's traumas by making a whole page for this list. In fact, there will be a single disclaimer in this book and it will encompass the entirety of the series. I use writing as a way to process my own trauma. If words are so triggering to you that you are in need of a full, detailed list...I'm just not the writer for you. And that's okay. 

Book 2 - Darling, Dove

• This book kicks off 18 years AFTER book 1. 
• Main couples: Frankie/Nico, SJ Gallo/Fiume Ricci/Damiano Russo/Mia Ricci, and Dove Darling Gallo/Fiume Ricci/SJ Gallo. Yes, this gets messy. (I know somebody just went EW, NOT A LOVE TRIANGLE - oh, baby doll. This is SO MUCH WORSE THAN A LOVE TRIANGLE, muahahahaha)
• Also, there are other couples - 2, specifically - who do not get POVs in this book but what is happening to them are just as significant and play out through the POVs of the main characters. 
• POVs in this book: Nico, SJ, Fiume, Dove
• This was my favorite to write (up until book 3, and then 4) - I love myself some sapphic fun. 
• Mafia-lite. 

Book 3 - His Father's Son

• This book starts 2/2 and a half years after D,D.
• POVs - Frankie, SJ, Damiano, Christopher
• Yes, there is a reason I am not putting couples here like I did in the last two lists because that is a spoiler. Sorry, not sorry. 
• Mafia-lite, leaning toward mid at various times. 

Book 4 - What We Leave When We Go

• my current WIP
• starts 18 years after book 3. 
• 3 rotating POVs; Mercy, Nic (not a typo, he is a jr. and the baby), Blu aka JJ.
• Mafia politics are back to mid-level here; these boys don't know how to mind their own damn business. 
• told between New York and Maine. 

Book 5 - Paid in Love and Blood

• and here is where things get sticky...and interesting. 
• This book goes back to 20-25 years BEFORE Made in Love and Blood. 
• multiple POVs; this is spoilerish, so I will say the initial older couple that we see heavily in book 1 are the focus here but separately until later in the book. How they came to be; who they left behind; what they paid and the violence they inherited so that the generations after them would not have to. 
• the structure of this series is deliberate with book 1 being present day, the books following expanding the family and POVs into the future, and the last going back to the very beginning so that we all truly understand why things happened the way they did. 
• this is not written yet, obviously. 
• another sapphic couple appears here. 
• this will be mafia politic heavy. 
• and triggering. Oh, my God. If the small list/warnings for book 1 concerns you, don't even bother here. Please. 

Book 6 - In Love and Blood: Short Stories and Outtakes

• I don't want to scare people with how excited I am for these short stories but just know I am. Just know I have already heard the questions that will be asked between books 1 - 5 about what happened to XYZ, here, there, and after...There is only so much that can be put on a page. I wrote 168000 words for the first book before cutting it down by 35k. Same, but slightly more for books 2 and 3. While my brain also wants to dive off into random tangents and TELL ALL THE THINGS, that is not good writing or storytelling. Do not worry. I saved all those not-on-page moments, deeper fleshing of backstories, and where are they now moments for these book(s). 
• It really could be 3 volumes of just straight Bethany-Kris bullshit because I can't let things go. 
• That scares me. 

Um, so anyway, that is the gist. I have added a few questions and answers below that I think might be warranted and will give further context to me/this series. 

Are you planning to do promo, BK? - not heavily. 

ARCs? - book 1 will be free (Amazon not withstanding, they have to price match because they still do not allow authors to control permanent pricing for freebies) and so, that will be your ARCs, loves. 

Will you be writing more in this world/vein? - I promise nothing and never say never. I love writing but it is time consuming. My oldest will be 17 in January. My youngest of my 4 boys just turned 9. I am busy, I have a life, job, and people who depend on me outside of writing. I am happier because I no longer owe myself to writing. I am proud to have spent over 10 years of my life dedicating myself to my craft and becoming the best at making words go that I can be...but I also have daily nerve pain in the tips of my fingers on my dominant hand as a reminder of how physically demanding doing this is on me. The nerve pain will never go away, in fact, it will only get worse from here. 

Can we follow you/keep up somehow? Here on this blog and I am duskri123 on X/Twitter. That's it, that's all. 

So for now, if you want a peek at the cover for book 1 and the blurb, as well as an entire chapter, see the blog post HERE. 

BUT...I will leave you with this very buzzy moment from book 4 that is only a little spoilerish and a bit NSFW, but it just makes me so happy. Until I have something else to say, dear readers...or October, maybe.

XO,
​BK

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Earlier,” he said then, “when you were…you had my dick against your pussy after you had been sucking on it, rubbing on me like you were riding me…what did you say to me?”
Darcy smirked. “Say the magic words?”
“Yeah, that.”
“What about it?”
“I said please.”
And sweet hell, she had answered his begging immediately. A simple adjustment of her wrist on her next hip roll made Blu’s eyes roll into the back of his head when she sunk down on him.
“But please wasn’t the first thing that came to my mind,” Blu admitted.
“Let me guess—”
She wouldn’t get it. He hadn’t even expected the thoughts that almost rushed out of him instead of a breathless plead. “It was I love you, Darcy.”
Across the room, her pretty lips fell open.
Blu shoved his shaking hands into his pockets, determined to say it again even if she didn’t. “Because I think I love you, Darcy.”
She didn’t get the chance to reply that time. The clattering of newly trimmed nails came down the hall, letting Blu know the dog had finished with his morning meal and was ready for a proper walk to the dog park.
“You better get Pal out before he gets in bed and starts farting again,” she told him.
“Um, yeah, I’ll just—”
“And have the rest figured out by the time you get back, okay?”
Blu turned back to find her smiling softly. “Have what figured out?”
“The thinking. Either you love me or not, Blu. But don’t waste my time on maybes.”