Trinity (50 page)

M
oto was a bitch to write. I won’t lie. Three POVs? I won’t even start. Motorcycle racing? I knew zip.

Like, zero.

So, I embarked on a journey, immersing myself in hours upon hours of documentaries about MotoGP. Learning about the sport, the culture, and the racers themselves. I have to say I loved every second of it, and now I’m pretty sure I can not only build my own bike, but race it as well. (Maybe not.) I have to thank my husband for letting me interrogate him since I’ve never actually driven a bike. Him, Google, and YouTube were very patient educating me and walking me through the basic steps (like how to turn one on).

If you do follow MotoGP and are wondering who my inspiration for Reese was, Nicky Hayden would be it. His career was the biggest influence for the character. (Although not based directly on him.)

I’ll give you a little background as to how this book came to be. I had the idea for almost two years. An idea, and then a picture of a hot guy on a bike. (I never thought in a million years the Michael Stokes photo that helped inspire this novel would actually become the cover one day——> insert happy tears.) I knew the end before I knew the beginning. It’s how I write all my novels. I always knew from the start who Kayla would end up with, although I didn’t foresee readers loving Reese as much as they did. The epilogue was the whole point of the story. I wanted to get to there, as tragic as it was. My career really started in contemporary romance, so this book was a familiar place (as opposed to my dark works that I write by the seat of my pants!) Reese (Cici) was originally supposed to be a boy, the storyline wasn’t supposed to be a ménage, but a love triangle, and Reese’s character was supposed to be much darker. But as I wrote, Reese, Kayla and Dev’s relationship evolved, and the more I learned about the sport, the more my viewpoint on the plot changed. So it ended up being an erotic racing novel instead of a dark one. Which is fine by me. I love the end result. My vision came to life the way it was supposed to.

With all that being said, I have a lot of people to thank. When I first started writing, I read an exorbitant amount, (not much has changed) and with every book I would always read the acknowledgements, (again, not much has changed) devouring that little look into the author’s life. What fascinated me the most was the people they would acknowledge. Family, friends, bloggers etc. and I often wondered if I would ever get to a place where I had a core. Had a team of people to thank for undying love and support and extra effort. Well, after almost ten years of writing I can tell you with certainty that I do have a core. I have amazing people who surround me and support me and have become dear, dear friends. I don’t know where I would be without them. Wait, yes I do, nowhere. They go above and beyond and I am so unbelievably grateful.

To my core—

My awesome friend and cover designer Marisa Shor, (Cover me, Darling). How many covers is this now? Linda Russell, (Sassy Savvy Fabulous PR) thank you believing in this novel from day one. You believed in its potential way before I did! I love the intellectual orgasms we share! Sarah Piechuta and Melissa Gaston, my teaser extraordinaires and fantastic PAs. You make me smile each and every day! For a writer that is so critically important. My beta readers Candy, Jennifer, Amy, Alecia, Debbie, Missy, Serena, Jaime and Sarah thank you suffering through a horrific first draft and being blunt with your feedback. Like always, you lifted this novel up and made it one thousand percent better. My editors Holly, Candy and Jenny, one day I will conquer the comma. To Nichole and Christine, the amazing and wonderful (and patient) duo who make up Perfectly Publishable. I am still vying for the title ‘biggest pain the ass client.’ Thank you for just putting up with me. Especially you, Christine! To every single blog that has posted, reviewed, and/or shared anything I have ever written—THANK YOU! Your time and effort does not go unappreciated or unnoticed! Especially KinkyGirlsBookObsessions, Alpha Book club, One Click Addicts, Give Me Books, Schmexy Girl Book blog, Stephanie’s Book Reports, The Literary Gossip, and Holly’s Red Hot Reviews. To my Naughty pimps, thank you for taking time out of your busy life to read my novels, love them, and share that love with the world. Those freaking fan made teasers! You don’t know what seeing them does to me. <3 <3 <3 <——Dani Rene, this includes you too!!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO Carley Phillips, Alessandra Torre, Erika Wilde, Clarissa Wild, and Jade West, for reading and blurbing Moto for me. I know how busy each of you are and I am eternally grateful!

LAST BUT NEVER, EVER, LEAST my readers. You blow me away every single day. I am so lucky to have the rabid following I do. Thank you for making it all worthwhile!

Till the next!!

~M