A year ago today was the official release date of Blood Shadows (though some might remember it sneaking out early) and, with it, the launch of Blackthorn.

Blackthorn never started off as a project where I set out to get it published. It simply started as one idea that I found intriguing enough to write about…and keep writing about…and spend another sixteen years building and developing while I experimented with other genres and other books.

It’s ironic that the one project I thought would never see the light of day was the one that launched my writing career. But some works are a labour of love, where you’re led by the feeling in your gut that the story is best written than never said at all. For me, Blackthorn is very much like that.

The fact it got published and that so many readers have enjoyed it is the bonus I never saw coming. Especially because, when I first resolved to take the leap and try to get Blackthorn out there, I had the option to compromise. I could have easily pulled back on certain aspects or issues, have gone softer, lightened the darkness, let alone had my characters always making the right decisions or taking ‘appropriate’ actions. But life’s not like that. And fantasy though it may be, neither is Blackthorn.

So thank you every one who has accepted that. To everyone who has supported me, shared my posts and Bites, been on here and commented, retweeted me, taken the time to rate my books or write reviews, mentioned my books to friends, made open proclamations of your enjoyment of the series, and for every wonderful email – thank you for an awesome year and for being a part of it with me.

To Bookouture – thank you for your faith in the series and bringing it to readers, and doing so in such an exceptional and exciting way.

And to my long-suffering husband (who has spent almost twenty years stepping over post-it notes and notebooks, standing on blunt pencils, tolerating my excessive drifting off into space and switching on the torch at 3 a.m. to write down dialogue or plot points…), thanks for being there every step of the way.

So, to mark the occasion, here’s a reminder of the book trailer (now over 1,700 views on YouTube!) that launched the series…

Happy birthday, Blood Shadows. 🙂