city of dragons 02 - fire storm (30 page)

To me, he’s a real person with clear motivations, and he wants nothing more than to control Penny in every way. He sees her as a possession, as an extension of himself, and he has no problem using her, hurting her, treating her like garbage. I don’t
like
Alastair. He’s the bad guy. Believe me, when I was revising this book, I sat down with him, and I was like, “Alastair, do you think maybe you could
not
assault Penny?”

But I couldn’t make it work. To take it out would be untrue to what a complete and utter asshole Alastair is.

If you found this book darker than the first and are on the fence about continuing with the series, I would understand that. But I do want to assure you that I don’t intend for the series to descend into deeper and deeper darkness. I have happiness and triumph in store for these characters, and if you love them as much as I do, then please stick around.

Thanks,

Val St. Crowe