This note was originally published in the back of my book, The Scorpion’s Mate, but I have decided to move all of my longer, more involved author’s notes to my blog instead, so they don’t take up pages in my books that would be better served for a teaser chapter :D.
Still, if you’re a fan of the story, characters, and/or series, you might enjoy reading these notes, so check it out below. Please be aware that some of these notes may include spoilers for the book.
When I decided to break up The Scorpion’s Mate and Into the Dead Fall into separate books instead of offering them as one collection, I wanted to add a little more to each for my readers, and with Into the Dead Fall, I ended up adding significantly more to the story.
However, when I sat down to go through The Scorpion’s Mate, I realized that there wasn’t all that much to add that wouldn’t end up spoiling events in future books of the series.
I know there were some readers who felt frustrated by how little was revealed about the state of the universe and other characters at the end of The Scorpion’s Mate, and I’m sorry about that. Believe me, I would love to share all the secrets! It kills me to dole them out slowly over time, instead of talking about them all at once. On the other hand, I know the best stories are the ones you anticipate, with mysteries yet to discover.
I did add a little more to this book to help explain certain events from Claire’s perspective that will happen in the next book, and I hope you enjoy that small addition.
Other than that, know that The Scorpion’s Mate ended up for the most part unchanged from the original published version, and I think the reason for that is that I told the story as it was meant to be the first time around, and even in writing the sequels, I didn’t see anything I needed to add to the first book except for a few small areas.
For Into the Dead Fall, I’d discovered while writing the sequel that there was part of the story that would’ve fit better into the first book, and I went ahead and added it.
I hope you enjoyed reading The Scorpion’s Mate as much as I did writing it. I love to challenge expectations, and I absolutely adore heroes who fall outside the “norm” for the romance genre. This series pushes boundaries, and I’m aware it won’t be for everyone. I knew the market would be smaller for alien heroes like mine, but I went ahead and shared these stories anyway, because I wanted everyone who was craving something different and unusual to find what they were looking for. I hope—even though these stories are about the kind of creepy crawlies that haunt some people’s nightmares—you might find something to love in these heroes, just as I have.
Because sometimes, monsters really are more fun! 😉
Nemon and Thrax have existed in some form or another for many years in my head now, but always together, working in a partnership—usually as mercenaries. This final version of them pleases me the most, because it captures them in a far more primitive state than I initially intended when I first dreamed them up, but it really worked for their character designs.
Their “friendship” has always been somewhat contentious, but also always a strong one, and in every iteration of their stories, they had each other’s back, despite their personal issues. I loved being able to write their initial meeting as two predators eyeing each other suspiciously who end up having to work together.
Someday, I’d like to share with my readers excerpts from conversations they had in other versions of their stories, just because I always got a kick out of their attitudes towards each other. Until then, I hope you’ll check out The Kraken’s Mate to learn more about Nemon, and find out if the lonely male finally gets his mate.
The first eight books in the series are now available exclusively on Amazon, with the ninth book hopefully coming this year (2022), but I can’t make any firm promises yet.
There’s a wider story going on in this series outside of the individual romances, and the sixth book contains a finale that I hope will blow your mind in the best way possible. On the journey to that finale, you’ll discover a new, unique couple with each book in the series and they get their HEA at the end of their book. I hope you’ll join me for this adventure!
And if you loved Thrax and his…unique attributes, you should definitely check out The Clone’s Mate, book eight in the series, because those evil Iriduans are up to no good again, and when they realized they couldn’t recapture Thrax, they decided to clone him.
The Clone’s Mate isn’t directly related to the overarching story of the other books, save for The Scorpion’s Mate, so it could be read out of order without causing too much confusion. It’s RH, unlike The Scorpion’s Mate, and two of those dastardly Iriduans end up ensnared by their own hubris—and another unconventional romance heroine, as does a very intriguing Thrax clone, who is significantly different from his predecessor—except where it counts…his heart. I’m talking about his heart! What were you thinking? XD
Also, although Into the Dead Fall is no longer included with The Scorpion’s Mate as a “bonus” book, I hope you’ll check it out. I’ve added additional story that I felt would explain some things that weren’t in the original version that I included with the initial release version of The Scorpion’s Mate.
Into the Dead Fall is the start of another alien romance series that features plucky human heroines meeting their mates after being sucked into a dimensional portal and transported to a post-apocalyptic alien world. There are five books in that series and the overarching story is complete, though there is a spin-off featuring their offspring called Children of the Dead Fall.
I have a new book in the works that is nearly ready to publish, and the good news is that it takes place in the Iriduan Test Subjects universe! This new book is the first in a planned series that takes a lighter tone than the ITS series, but still features all the different alien species—and the humans who have now found themselves on a galactic stage after believing they were alone in the universe for so long.
This series will be titled “Iriduan Universe Love Stories” and is very romance-focused, featuring shorter stories (still novel length, around 70k words versus 100k +) with plenty of heat. I’ll be sharing more about book 1, “My Chameleon Mate”, very soon, but I can say that not only is there a whole new species in this series, but also another Lusian cohort getting their three-fingered hands into everything. XD
After that book is published, I’m looking at jumping back into The Director’s Mate, although first, I am doing a reread of the entire series to make sure everything is fresh in my mind. Roz and crew are so much fun for me to write, and Ava is a true romantic optimist, which is exactly what I feel like I need right now.
The Scorpion’s Mate is the first of my books to reach 1,000 reviews and ratings on Amazon! I’m over the moon with excitement about that! If you’ve ever left any review or rating on this or any of my other books, I thank you so much. It makes a huge difference in visibility for my books, and the positive reviews and ratings really make my day!
For a limited time, I’m celebrating with a giveaway that is Scorpion’s Mate-themed that you can sign up for if you’re a U.S. resident over 18 (I’m sorry I couldn’t do International this time, but I’m exploring options for future giveaways.)
The giveaway ends on July 26th, 2022 at 12AM EST, and if you read this before then, you can sign up here. Full official entry rules can be found here.
I love to hear from my readers! You all are so incredibly awesome with your support and encouragement, and I can’t thank you enough. Your excitement for the worlds and characters I create truly motivates me!
I try to spend a little time on Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok each week, but I’m not as active on social media as I probably should be. If I ever miss a post or comment from you to me, I apologize profusely, as it is never intentional, but rather just due to the sometimes overwhelming task of keeping up with social media that caused me to miss it. You can also send me an email at susantrombleyauthor@gmail.com.
I also like to add exclusive content to my newsletters as a thank you to those who sign up. That content could be anything from sneak peeks, to excerpts from unpublished work, to character art (including links to the spicy kind I can’t share on social media ;)), character interviews, or whatever else I think my readers would like to see. I also occasionally add giveaways that are exclusive to my newsletter subscribers.
If you’re interested in receiving these newsletters (one a month, plus any announcements), sign up on my homepage at www.susan-trombley.com.
Thank you so much for checking out this Author’s Note on my blog, and if you’ve read the book, thank you for your support. Let me know in the comments below what characters you’d like to see in future books (for this series or any of my others), since I take fan excitement into consideration when shuffling around my many projects to work on the next one.
