The Midnight Breed Series Companion Read online

  Marek was an evil man, no doubt about it. But I was about to introduce an even bigger threat in the series—and begin sowing the seeds of a larger story arc that had the potential to expand over more than just the next three books.

  To make this transition to a greater evil, it was important to me that it feel organic to the first three books somehow. I didn’t simply want to shoehorn it in, I wanted a clean dovetail. So I went back to the beginning to see if there was some creative portal I’d left open and could make use of now. I found it in Kiss of Midnight. Specifically, I found the answer I needed in the medieval tapestry hanging in Lucan’s study at the Boston compound.

  In Midnight Awakening, we discover that one of the original members of the Order, back in the Middle Ages, helped conceal the last remaining Ancient—his alien father—instead of killing the creature as Lucan’s edict demanded. That Order member, Dragos, had an infant son also named Dragos. And between the separate actions of the two of them, the hidden hibernation chamber where this last Ancient slept remained sealed for centuries. Until the close of Midnight Awakening, when the Order uncovers the betrayal and finds the chamber empty.

  Midnight Awakening was a challenging book, but one I’m ultimately very proud of. It took a bit longer for me to write than the first two books had. Of course, 2006 had been a long, difficult year on the personal side. I finally wrapped up Tegan and Elise’s story in 2007, around the same time that Kiss of Midnight (the formerly titled Kiss of Darkness, until it was discovered that an established New York Times best-selling author was releasing a vampire book by that same title in 2007) was about to publish.

  Kiss of Midnight debuted on May 1, 2007, and immediately hit the USA Today best-seller list. On May 29, Kiss of Crimson released. This book hit the USA Today best-seller list too, but it also hit the New York Times list! Not long after the books came out, I noticed readers online were beginning to call the series the “Kiss” series. At this time, Random House was not printing the series title on the front covers, only inside on the title page (for what reason, I have no idea).

  In an effort to root some part of the actual series name in readers’ minds, I decided to begin putting the word “Midnight” in every title. So, for those of you who wonder why Kiss of Crimson is the only oddball title in the series without the word “Midnight” in it, now you know!

  Midnight Rising

  BOOK 4

  Romantic Leads

  Rio (Eleoterio de la Noche Atanacio)

  Dylan Alexander

  Plot Summary

  After surviving a savage betrayal, Rio has given up hope of redemption...until he finds himself craving a fiery tabloid reporter who’s in pursuit of a sensational story that’s closer to the truth than she could ever imagine.

  Primary Story Locations

  Bohemian mountains in Czech Republic

  Andreas Reichen's Darkhaven in Berlin, Germany

  Various locations in New York City

  Order's compound headquarters in undisclosed location in Boston

  Croton Dam in New York

  Playlist

  Who Will Love Me Now by Sunscreem

  The Undertaker by Puscifer

  Apologize by OneRepublic

  Dance with the Devil by Breaking Benjamin

  Savin’ Me by Nickelback

  Make Me Believe by Godsmack

  Story Background

  Midnight Awakening came out in late November, 2007, to lovely reviews and further appearances on national bestseller lists. I had a contract to write the next three books in the series, and based on the success of the first three that year—and the amazing response from readers in just a few months’ time—I had the feeling that Random House was probably going to allow me to run with the series even beyond books four through six.

  To avoid writing myself into another corner with my next overarching plotline, as I began working on Midnight Rising, I decided to sketch out basic story premises for all of the main characters I knew I wanted to write. And I also came up with the Big Finale for the series (which, by some miracle, played out in Darker After Midnight, Book 10, right down to the final scene, just as I’d planned it).

  But back to Midnight Rising. Poor Rio! When I nearly blew him to pieces in Kiss of Midnight and killed off his duplicitous Breedmate, Eva, I had no idea I’d need to put him back together again and find him a suitable heroine. But as I was writing Tegan and Elise’s book, I already had my eye on the sexy Spaniard, and had begun trailing breadcrumbs that would lead to a hidden cave in the Czech mountains—the place where Rio’s second chance at a happy ending was to begin.

  One of my first hurdles with Rio was his name. What kind of name is that, anyway, for a hundred-something-year-old vampire? Frankly, things went so quickly on the initial publication side with these books, I hadn’t done much homework on the characters beyond the first three heroes of my “trilogy.” So, in addition to plotting for the overall action thread of the series, I also went back to the drawing board and fleshed out character profiles for the rest of the cast going forward.

  For Rio, coming up with his true name, Eleuterio de la Noche Atanacio (or, loosely translated from Spanish, “he who is free and of the night everlasting”) inspired his entire background and the dark circumstances of his youth. It also gave me the answer to what Rio’s unique Breed ability was—his “manos del diablo,” (devil’s hands), which allowed him to kill with a touch.

  I don’t recall how Rio’s heroine in Midnight Rising, tabloid reporter Dylan Alexander, came to me initially. I knew he needed someone fiery and forthright, someone whose own personal goals—to find a juicy story that would hopefully save her loathed, but necessary, job—came into direct conflict with his. And at the time that Dylan stumbles upon Rio, his primary goal is to be left alone to die in peace.

  Of course, Dylan didn’t merely stumble upon Rio’s hiding place; she was led there by Eva in ghost form. I felt bad for the way things ended between Eva and Rio. I knew Eva wasn’t a horrible person, just a selfish one who let her possessiveness become a disease, one that made her do something so reprehensible, there was no turning back. But I wanted to redeem her, even if only in some small way. Using her as the conduit for bringing Rio out of the dark place he’d retreated to after Eva’s betrayal felt right to me. I like things that come full circle, and letting Eva atone for what she did by guiding Dylan into his life—and later, for allowing Eva to assist Rio in saving Dylan when she was in mortal danger—is one of my favorite parts of Midnight Rising.

  In addition to the emotional, romantic side of this book, we also get our first glimpse at the new villain of the series—Dragos. I wanted him to come on scene in a big way, demonstrating right up front that if Marek seemed dangerous, this guy was diabolical. Hiding behind assumed names and secret alliances that wormed deep into the highest ranks of the Enforcement Agency, Dragos was going to give the Order a real run for their money.

  Midnight Rising came out in April, 2008. John and I were driving home to Michigan to visit my parents when my editor called late in the afternoon, as we were approaching Buffalo, New York (yes, I remember where I was!). The New York Times bestseller list had just come in. Midnight Rising had debuted at #6!

  Rio and Dylan’s story stayed on the New York Times list for another four weeks. It spent two weeks on the USA Today bestseller list, and was my first appearance on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list. Later, Midnight Rising’s German translation, Gebieterin Der Dunkelheit, would be my first bestselling title there, debuting on Der Spiegel.

  Veil of Midnight

  BOOK 5

  Romantic Leads

  Nikolai

  Renata

  Plot Summary

  A mission to stop an assassin that’s targeting Breed elders calls warrior Nikolai to Montreal, where he crosses paths with—and finds an unlikely ally in—the one woman capable of bringing him to his knees.

  Primary Story Locations

  Various locations in Montreal, Quebec, Cana
da

  Sergei Yakut's lodge outside Montreal

  One of Dragos's labs outside Montreal

  Order's compound headquarters in undisclosed location in Boston

  Playlist

  Bring Me to Life by Evanescence

  Ghostflowers by Otep

  Time of Dying by Three Days Grace

  REV 22:20 by Puscifer

  The Bird and The Worm by The Used

  Woman by Wolfmother

  Closer by Nine Inch Nails

  Personal Jesus by Marilyn Manson

  Story Background

  I can still recall the surge of excitement I felt when I was jotting down the preliminary concept for Veil of Midnight. I’d never written a truly kickass heroine before—one who dressed in black leather and spike-heeled boots, and who bristled with as many deadly weapons as any one of my vampire alpha heroes of the Order. So much the better, that this Breedmate was also gifted with an extrasensory ability that could take down even the most lethal Gen One Breed.

  Dear reader, meet Renata.

  Naturally, a woman like that needs an equally strong partner. I couldn’t think of anyone more suited to go toe-to-toe with Renata than the adrenaline-junkie, combat-loving, gear-head of the Order, Siberian-born Nikolai.

  As you can probably tell from the playlist of music I listened to while working on Veil of Midnight, Niko and Renata’s story was hard-driving, fast and gritty, full of action. It was also sexy and dark, at times very tender. I strive to make each Midnight Breed book feel new and different from the others, while still maintaining a sense of cohesion within the series. Veil of Midnight was certainly different from the others, but it also marks a turning point in the series. One that set the second half of the series into motion, but also laid the groundwork for what I didn’t know at the time—that the ending I’d plotted for Book 10 would actually be the beginning of a whole new generation of characters and a further arc in the series as a whole.

  Which brings me to Mira.

  Now, I’m not really into kids. I never had any of my own, whether that was the result of too many teenage years of babysitting jobs or something else, I don’t know. But as I was plotting this book, I realized that for all of Renata’s toughness and almost superhero invincibility, she needed to have a soft underbelly. She needed something to make her vulnerable, and I mean something aside from the reverb migraines she suffered after using her mind-blasting ESP talent. Renata needed to care about something, about some one.

  And that someone was an eight-year-old orphan girl (a young Breedmate with the gift of precognition) whom Renata had rescued from a Montreal blood club run by Renata’s future employer, the nefarious Gen One, Sergei Yakut.

  It was Sergei Yakut who brought Nikolai to Montreal on a mission for the Order, but it was the child-seer Mira who showed Niko that his future was tied to the hot female bodyguard who handed him his ass the first time they met.

  Writing this book was a hell of a good time, and I hope it shows in the text. It was also a challenge, because in addition to the romance and the action plot of Niko and Renata’s story, I was also introducing new characters and weaving external suspense threads that would continue into the rest of the series.

  It is in Veil of Midnight that the storyline of my next book, Ashes of Midnight, starts to unfold. Since the arrival of Berlin Darkhaven leader Andreas Reichen in Midnight Awakening and his further involvement in Midnight Rising, I knew I wanted to include him in the series in a more meaningful way. This goes back to my own German roots, and to my awareness of how unusual it is to find German characters in American commercial fiction—romance, in particular—who are not straight-up Nazis or some other brand of bad guy. Plus, I really loved Reichen!

  It was difficult tearing his world down so completely. I loved the relationship he had with his long-time human lover, Helene. I loved his Darkhaven family in Berlin, such as the young mated couple with the new baby who’d only recently named Reichen godfather. I loved the life he had in Berlin, and I loved his easy-going, charming personality.

  But there’s a popular saying among writers: Kill your darlings.

  The fact was, the way I’d written it so far, Reichen’s life was perfectly settled. His storyline thus far did nothing to move the series forward. Reichen had no conflict, had made no mistakes in life, had no enemies…or did he?

  I realized that to give him a compelling story of his own, I needed to first destroy everything I loved about him. It sounds really cruel, but one thing I’ve learned as a writer is that happy characters make for boring fiction. So I set out to make Andreas Reichen very, very unhappy. And very, very angry. By the time his story takes place, Andreas Reichen is a man on fire—in more ways than one!

  Other introductions taking place in Veil of Midnight include the first on-page appearance of the Ancient, no longer in hibernation but imprisoned in Dragos’s breeding lab. We also meet for the first time, golden-eyed Hunter, one of Dragos’s homegrown assassins. Hunter is one of an unknown number of Gen Ones bred from the captive Ancient and raised to be emotionless killers, loyal to Dragos not only out of duty and training, but also because of the unremovable ultraviolet collar that keeps these lethal soldiers under his total control.

  By the end of Veil of Midnight, Hunter is no longer shackled to Dragos’s command. Thanks to the Order—and a vision glimpsed in Mira’s prophesying eyes—Hunter leaves Montreal to join the Order in the fight against his creator and villainous master.

  Veil of Midnight released in late December, 2008. It was my first book to stay on both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists for four weeks straight!

  Ashes of Midnight

  BOOK 6

  Romantic Leads

  Andreas Reichen

  Claire (Samuels) Roth

  Plot Summary

  Consumed by revenge for the murder of his kin, Darkhaven leader Andreas Reichen embarks on a quest of fiery retribution...a quest that leads him to the woman who once owned his heart, but who now belongs to his most treacherous enemy.

  Primary Story Locations

  Wilhelm Roth's Darkhaven estate outside Berlin, Germany

  Wilhelm Roth’s office in Hamburg, Germany

  Danika's little farmhouse in Denmark

  Order's compound headquarters in undisclosed location in Boston

  Claire's grandmother's estate in Newport, Rhode Island

  Playlist

  Broken by Seether and Amy Lee

  Close to the Flame by H.I.M.

  Going Under by Evanescence

  All of This Past by Sarah Bettens

  Dreamsleep by Collide

  Falls on Me by Fuel

  Story Background

  So, I’d left poor Andreas Reichen in quite a state at the end of Veil of Midnight. As his story picks up in Ashes of Midnight, he is a man with a plan. And that plan is the total annihilation of his newly recognized enemy, a Breed male named Wilhelm Roth. A Breed male who’s been mated to Claire Samuels, the woman Andreas once loved—and lost—a long time ago.

  Claire is one of the gentlest heroines in the series. But don’t mistake her calm exterior for weakness. True, she’s made some mistakes in her life—chief among them, doubting Andreas’s love for her and choosing another mate, the powerful Wilhelm Roth, after Andreas leaves her without a trace or a word of good-bye. Once she realizes the depth of her mistake many years later, after Andreas strides back into her life on a tide of fire and ash and bloody-minded vengeance over what Roth has done to Andreas’s loved ones, Claire is prepared to march into battle right along with him.

  After writing Veil of Midnight and spending time on the page with a kickass heroine like Renata, I came to Ashes of Midnight still very much on a “I am woman, hear me roar” kind of high. It is in this book that the women of the Order—who now included newcomers Renata, Dylan, Elise, Tess and Gabrielle, in addition to Gideon’s longtime mate, Savannah—first step in to lend their own skills to the Order’s rising war against Dragos and his followers
.

  Although Lucan and his cadre of Breed warriors are strong, none of them paired up with a woman who would be willing to stand by and let her man fight alone when she has unique talents to lend to their missions. For Claire, that talent is dreamwalking, which she uses in Ashes of Midnight to help Andreas and the Order locate one of Dragos’s breeding labs and defeat one of his most dangerous lieutenants, Wilhelm Roth.

  In the end, Dragos wins this round. His escape—and the hasty relocation of the captive Ancient—sets the stage for big things yet to come in Shades of Midnight and the books to follow. As for Andreas Reichen and Claire, while they do not come into the Order’s fold officially in Ashes of Midnight, they remain an integral part of the series.

  Another character we meet again in this book is Danika, the widowed Breedmate of Conlan, who was killed in action in Kiss of Midnight. During the events in Ashes of Midnight, I needed a safe house for Claire and Andreas to elude Roth’s men. With Germany being so close to Denmark, it only seemed logical that the Order would call upon Danika for this special favor.

  What I hadn’t expected was the response from readers after Ashes of Midnight released. So many people were thrilled to see Danika again! Apparently, they’d been wondering how the Breedmate, who’d been pregnant with Conlan’s son at the time of his death, was faring since leaving Boston to deliver her child back home in Denmark. Readers emailed, asking if I would write a story for Danika and give her a happy ending. Although I didn’t have plans to expand on her future at that time, the ideas started percolating, and eventually I got the opportunity to revisit Danika again.