Katie Porter | From Beginning to End

Since starting our first Katie Porter series of erotic romances, "Vegas Top Guns," Lorelie Brown and I have learned so much. (I'm Carrie Lofty, by the way, the other half of the Katie Porter partnership.) The release of BARE KNUCKLE marks the fifth and final book of the series. We have to admit some bittersweet feelings in having to let go of these characters. Our journey with them has been a long and exciting one.

I have only ever been on the reader side, when an author ends a series. There's disappointment and that question, "Can't there be just one more?" I didn't realize I'd feel the same way from an author's standpoint. Only, there can't be one more. We designed this series to flow just as it has, from the introduction of three wisecracking war buddies and one flaming hot romance, to a conclusion that sees a much larger family of colleagues and friends–with four more flaming hot romances to boot. We've taken them as far as we can. Now the rest is up to our imaginations as readers and writers.

But how did we get here? The process is boggling. Believe it or not, everything began with a song. One song. It dovetailed with Lorelie's then-recent trip to Las Vegas and her ideas about maybe setting a contemporary romance there. I wanted in on that! Writing historicals are my lifeblood, but doing something spontaneous and sexy sounded as much fun as a quickie trip to Vegas itself.

From there the ideas spun out from one young fighter pilot and his two best friends. They fit together so effortlessly that I don't remember them ever not being characters. Their personalities meshed as comrades-in-arms, and also determined what erotic theme their romances would take. Roleplaying, femdom–we were instantly supercharged with the need to make this happen. Now.

We wrote the first three books, DOUBLE DOWN, INSIDE BET, and HOLD 'EM, in less than a month. (Before you get too freaked out, just think that we weren't working on any other projects, and we were co-writing–half the work! Lots of free time! It was the perfect opportunity for a huge amount of output.) But what crazy ladies write three books without even trying to sell the first one? It didn't matter. These stories needed told.

Only once we got to the end of book three did we realize the series wasn't quite finished. The arc of relationships wasn't done, and two characters remained in their little band of bandits who didn't have the endings we wanted for them–happy endings. HARD WAY took on some serious subject matter, including a failing marriage, a very daring kink, and our first real inclusion of PTSD, which came about organically as we told the story but felt absolutely necessary to include in hindsight.

Now we've reached BARE KNUCKLE. The last to find his way is Capt. Eric "Kisser" Donahue, who started out in book two as an arrogant SOB who looked, from there, as if he'd never be good enough to be the hero of his own romance. Too cocky. Too boorish. But as with all good redemption stories with angsty heroes, he just needed the right woman (and a near-fatal plane crash) to get him on the right path to forever.

Along the way he frees his heroine, Trish Monroe, from a life she'd been wanting to escape for a long time: that of a showgirl. Raised on the pageant circuit, hitting the ripe old age of 25, and never having "made it," she secretly nursed quiet hopes of finishing college and moving on. Despite her initial need for emotional safeguards like stage makeup and platinum blonde wigs, she sheds them in favor of being herself–although she keeps her stage name, an ode to Marilyn Monroe, because Marilyn remained her idol. Flaws and all. Trish accepts her flaws and Eric's in order to conclude the last of our five tales.

So...it's been an amazing journey, one that began on September 6th, 2010. One song, one life-changing IM conversation, and a thousand ideas later, we offer BARE KNUCKLE to our readers and say goodbye to our first series of fictional friends.

Vegas Top Guns

(Don't worry. Another is on the way. "The Boston Boys" will arrive in May, June, and July of next year. You can't imagine how excited we are to start another family!)

We'd like to give away a copy of BARE KNUCKLE in any digital format. Just answer the question: If a series of romances appeals to you, what do you miss when it comes to an end?

What the critics are saying:

"The duo behind Katie Porter goes out with a bang in the last of their phenomenal 'Vegas Top Guns' series." ~ RT Book Reviews 4½ Stars

"It's deliciously explicit details is guaranteed to ignite the fire within readers." ~ Fresh Fiction

"These characters have depth, the sex scenes are hot, and the reader will root for this pair." — Library Journal

About the Authors

For more about Katie Porter, the co-writing team of Carrie Lofty and Lorelie Brown, visit their website!

Thanks again to Fresh Fiction for featuring Katie Porter and BARE KNUCKLE!