BEYOND THE BADGE SERIES CONTINUES . . .

It’s funny sometimes – how things work.  When I wrote Brotherhood By Fire, I really had no thought of it being part of a series.  I hoped to write more books about firefighters but I wasn’t quite sure the direction I was going to take.  I then wrote Brothers In Service – Through Thick & Thin and in the quest for a title, a friend suggested Beyond the Badge.   I loved that but wasn’t quite sure it was a match for the book.

Another friend, the alpha reader for Brothers In Service, asked what I was going to write next.  I told her I was thinking about writing a book about Lucas and the continuation of his story.  She came up with an absolutely brilliant idea to first write a young adult novel about Lucas’ struggles growing up – something young adults could relate to and serve as an inspiration – and then, the next novel start with where Brotherhood By Fire left off.  Loved it!  But still, not sure what to do about the title for the current book.  When I asked my agent, what she would suggest for the title, she said Brothers in Service – Through Thick & Thin and then put the three books plus the young adult novel into a series named Beyond the Badge.

Well, I was ‘beyond’ excited about that idea so that is the direction I’m headed and in fact, have already started.  My great nephew, who is an avid reader, suggested a book for me to read that he really likes for me to get a feel for young adult novels. It was a great suggestion as it was a very powerful and well-written book. It gave me exactly what I needed.

When dropping off a copy of Brothers In Service – Through Thick & Thin at Plano Fire Rescue Station 12 as a thank you for their help with my research, I mentioned to them the third book is going to include lots of realistic and gritty firefighting. They invited me to drop by any time with questions they’ll be glad to answer.

Wow!  It truly takes a community to bring a book to life on every level.  Brothers In Service – Through Thick & Thin is certainly no exception and in fact, the overarching theme of the book is relationships. The story revolves around three best friends – friends who are closer than brothers. Two are firefighters and one is a police officer. The story follows their relationship both while on duty and off.  It also involves their relationships with each of their families, the guys’ relationships with their father in particular.  And of course, you’ve got to have a little romance, so the story includes those relationships as well.

As the book became the second book in the Beyond the Badge series, there are also some familiar names and characters from Brotherhood By Fire in there too.  It was fun to bring them back and see how they’ve grown and advanced with the Abernathy Fire Department.

I’m very excited about Brothers In Service – Through Thick & Thin. I hope you enjoy the rea and would love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading!