OK, I’ve been following the gossip and news! It’s all official from the author and the Goodreads page. (Nothing feels official in the book verse without it popping up on GR, even with the official word coming from the author! I’ve been brainwashed.)
So it’s been official for a while that J.R. Ward is doing a Contemporary Romance series. It’s the The Bourbon Kings series. (Amazon | Goodreads) While I love it when authors start new series, it’s been making me said how many Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy are 
So the news is that it will be a younger generation of BDB trainees. But. Promise this is a good but. But it will tie in and show the original members of the BDB books. Focusing more on the aspects of basic paranormal romance. Personally I love the growth of the BDB series. In fact, the complexity of the world is what made me stick around for the series. (And let’s be honest if the epic world building of the Psy-Changeling books wasn’t present, the series would have fallen flat fast.) I like paranormal romance series that don’t just focus on the romance, because not going there can leave a romance and stories flat.
So the official blurb is out for the first book. The series is called Black Dagger Legacy—so fitting. The first book is titled Blood Kiss (Amazon | Goodreads) and here is the blub:
The legacy of the Black Dagger Brotherhood continues in a spin-off series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author…
Paradise, blooded daughter of the king’s First Advisor, is ready to break free from the restrictive life of an aristocratic female. Her strategy? Join the Black Dagger Brotherhood’s training center program and learn to fight for herself, think for herself…be herself. It’s a good plan, until everything goes wrong. The schooling is unfathomably difficult, the other recruits feel more like enemies than allies, and it’s very clear that the Brother in charge, Butch O’Neal, a.k.a. the Dhestroyer, is having serious problems in his own life.
And that’s before she falls in love with a fellow classmate. Craeg, a common civilian, is nothing her father would ever want for her, but everything she could ask for in a male. As an act of violence threatens to tear apart the entire program, and the erotic pull between them grows irresistible, Paradise is tested in ways she never anticipated—and left wondering whether she’s strong enough to claim her own power…on the field, and off.
OK, so I’ve given a very condensed shout out about the news, and more of my opinion then is probably needed. Here’s the official word from Ward:
As much as I LOVE the BDB series where it is now, and as much as I'm psyched to keep writing it and will continue to do so, I miss the good ol' days.
The issue is that the nature of a series is that it must continue to grow, and change, or it dies. The Black Dagger Brotherhood books started off with the original Brothers, but after their meet-and-greets with their shellans were told, by definition, they had to background it in subsequent books: With a world as big as the BDB one, you have to train your "camera lens" in a controlled manner, or you run the risk of a given story bleeding out for too much extraneous stuff.
(Something I've been tagged with doing from time to time, and it's certainly a fair point.)
So when my boss (my editor) and I were chewing on things last spring, I told her... hey, I got this idea.
I have a lot of ideas. She's used to this.
I described to her a new series, where the BDB training center is reopened to a new cast of recruits, and THE ORIGINAL BROTHERS teach these FNUGs wassup. In the process of the new recruits falling in love and getting into a sh*t ton of trouble, THE ORIGINAL BROTHERS could be shown with their shellans, their Brothers, their people in the mansion, in a more prominent way than I'm able to do in the BDB books.
Paperback, yo. Not hardcover. Traditional PNR, just like DARK LOVER was in the old days.
Sex. Lot of sex.
As in, you might need your BBQ tongs. Maybe a flame retardant suit.
Maybe a fire truck on standby out in your front yard.
My boss, who's brilliant, was like, wow, that really doesn't suck. (Okay, that's paraphrasing.)
So... we have the first of the Black Dagger Legacy books, BLOOD KISS, coming out this December.
Now, let me say this: the ORIGINAL BROTHERS are still going to show up in the BDB books. Hell, yeah! And from time to time, a BDB book is going to be about them and their mate if there's a big thing going on in their lives (think THE KING.) I am NOT taking a step away from the Brothers at all- if anything, I'm bringing them further to the forefront with the Black Dagger Legacy books.
But I miss my boys :( I want to show you where they're at. I want to take you back to them- in their new roles as... well, role models and teachers.
Before you ask, yes, they will still be colossal a&&holes- I mean, let's be clear. Things haven't changed THAT much. (As an aside, Doc Jess and I were talking the other day, and she was like, I'm so impressed with your ability to be offensive with your heroes. LOLOLOLOL)
This is not to say that the Black Dagger Legacy books will solely be about the Brothers, however. The book will have a lot of the Brothers in them, but the Legacy books will feature a main romance between a couple, and the Brothers will help that along.
eHarmony the BDB way.
Jeez, I gotta be insane for signing up for this. Can you imagine V offering dating advice? "Well, sh*t, just get her some black candles and dog collar, true? Then order her to pop up her ***** **** * * ******* * * * ************** At that point, you're going to want to inform her, that you'll tell her when she can beg."
Great. Really looking forward to this.
*sigh*
Anywho, the first Brother who's up?
A certain cop. From Boston. Who's going to have his hands full with the new recruits- two of whom you'll meet in THE SHADOWS.
A cover reveal is coming soon- but I couldn't sit on BLOOD KISS any longer!!!!
Gahd, I suck at keeping secrets. But come on now, don't lie. You've missed those leathers, those sh*tkickers... that golf cart... the Pit.
V nakey in the shower.
Don't lie.
I know I have!
Happy Reading, and thank you for all your support, J.R.
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