Its coming time for Sarah MacLean to say goodbye to another series.
Though as MacLean points out, when it comes to her novels, she has her own MCU.
Youll see them again in future books, she promises.
Courtesy Sarah MacLean
Its like a MacLean Cinematic Universe; everybody comes back around.
Do you feel back in a similar space?SARAH MACLEAN:Partially, yes.
Theres nothing really new about that for me.
Avon Books
Were all doing that work all the time in life.
And right now, it feels like women are doing it all the time.
Redeeming Ewan is a tall order, and its a challenge youve tweeted about openly.
Avon Books
And what is the key to redeeming characters youve written into pretty despicable corners?Aghhhhhhh.
Ewan [has been] teed up as the villain of this story from the beginning of the series.
If Im going to establish him as a villain, he has to be villainous on the page.
The problem is when you get to his book, hes done all this despicable stuff on the page.
I cant wave it away.
No, you all saw it.
So, now its really about motivation.
It has to be.
He has been despicable.
He has done despicable things.
And Grace is too strong a heroine to just accept an apology and move forward.
She is very angry, going back to feminine rage.
Because ultimately its my favorite trope, which is childhood love to enemies to lovers.
Where did the idea for that come from?Its Jada Pinkett SmithsMagic Mike XXLpleasure house.
[Laughs].Magic Mike XXLis the greatest feminist text of our day.
I hope thats my brand.
Ultimately, I think the brothel will become a standing set piece in future series.
I really love this idea of a place where women can explore their sexual fantasies safely and privately.
Its the brothel as metaphor for romance novels.
It is not a job Ive taken lightly, and I hope I do it justice.
[Laughs] Pure fanfic.
You will see all of the Bastards, a lot.
The fact that they arent blood-related doesnt matter.
They are a family.
And when you get one, you get all of them, for better or worse in Devils case.
I love those guys.
I love their wives.
Theyre just decent, good guys, so Im always happy to bring them back.
Youve had pink and blue, now this cover features our heroine in a bright yellow dress.
Was that your choice, and if so, why?I knew I wanted it to be yellow.
Youll see that its immediately present everywhere in this book.
I knew yellow was going to happen.
Harper Collins is so long-suffering with me.
They sent me eight different shades of yellow.
Its very garish if its wrong.
The model is a former Miss New York,April Rose Catherine Maroshick.
I dont think Ive ever seen two more beautiful people.
Did they have like eight different yellow dresses on hand?No, no, no.
Its a white dress, and then they do everything in post.
The reality is theres usually a lot of magic anyway.
But these two, their chemistry was just so perfect and they were so hot together.
When you see her in all the other books, its veryAssassins Creed-style.
Its interesting because hes a duke and he lives this very different life.
A ballgown, for readers, will be a really interesting question for them.
We talked about it a lot, and we landed on ballgown.
I hope it will leave a question in readers minds, like What is the story going to be?
and maybe its a little bit of a misdirect.
This step-back is stunning, and it looks like Grace and Ewan are in a garden.
Can we expect some garden-variety hanky-panky?
[Laughs] Thats really awful, but yes, you absolutely can.
Theyre in a very specific garden.
That scene is written.
People fell in love with the supporting characters Nik and Nora inBrazen and the Beast.
Might you grant them a novella or something along those lines?Absolutely.
Nik and Nora is the Christmas story I would like to do.
In the background ofBrazenand then again inDaring and the Duke, youll see them living their lives.
My hope is in the not-too-distant future, there will be a little gift for readers about them.
Itll be small, and itll be a present.
