THE CHOSEN Q&A IN CINCINNATI

Presenting the Q & A from the Cincinnati Signing....please be aware that there are SPOILERS in the following Questions and Answers. If you don't want SPOILERS, please do not continue reading.

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There are going to be SPOILERS, so be forewarned!!!!!

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Ready? Still with us? Here we go.......

The Chosen Q&A Transcript

***Some questions have been condensed and paraphrased for clarity. Please remember, this is being transcribed during a live event and it is often difficult to hear both answers and questions, so they may not be verbatim to how they were asked during the event. Note: HEA= Happily Ever After (a happy ending for a couple)

JR: Who wants to start? (everyone raises their hands and lots of people volunteer.)

Q: What is the next ***ing book?
A: The 2018 hardcover book for the BDB is called….The Thief…Sola and Assail
*the crowd lost its collective minds****

Q: What’s going on with V???(Lots of comments and derogatory remarks)
A: I have to listen to my Rice Krispies. I was like…holy…sh*t…I came to the point where I had to decide if I was gonna be a p*ssy and write a Lifetime Movie of the week, or do I drink the Koolaid and write the books the way I see them. I decided to drink the Koolaid.
*lots of applause*

Q: Will V be *in* the next book?
A: Yes, V will be in the next book.

Q: Does V cheat?
A: Fair question. In my books, the HEA is never static. If you want to know the answer, I will tell you. (lots of ‘yes’es) Ok, gonna pull a Bill Clinton and ask, what’s the definition of cheating?
(answers varied from “emotional” to “touching” to “full on f***ing”)
Okaaaay then. No, he doesn’t cheat. I’m not gonna tell you it doesn’t get ugly. But, he does not. Where he and Jane are at, is very real. It’s not just that Jane is busy, but in long term relationships, you can pull apart. Something brings them back together, but they’re going to have to learn this lesson. 

Q: Is Lassiter bound by the Scribe Virgin’s agreements with people?
A: Yes, he is. 

Q: Does Lassiter have the power (of the Scribe Virgin/deity)?
A: He is all-powerful. The moment I realized he was taking over…the only second worse would’ve been Rhage. If Bette Miller becomes immortal tomorrow…

Q: Can Bitty ask for the dragon to come out and play?
A: Rhage can totally do that. He’ll still be blind, but he’ll do that for his kid.

Q: With Throe’s balloon friends, will Lassiter have to intervene? Is it related to Devina? (this question was hard to hear and discern, so we did our best piecing it together.)
A: Yes, it is related to Devina. And they’re going to need Lassiter’s help to resolve it.

Q: Will Adrian and Eddie come back?
A: Yes, with the Devina mess. But the Fallen Angels are on a different timeline than the BDB, so it will have it will take some time until they coincide. 

Q: Has Lassiter decided on a title he can live with yet?
A: He was devastated when he realized Grand Pooba was taken. But no, he’ll probably never settle on one. 

Q: When will Lassiter get a book?
A: I don’t know when yet, but he definitely will. I’m not sure I’m ready to see him naked and in action. He will soon, but the world needs to stabilize first.

Q: Will Murhder come back?
A: He will. He’s definitely getting a book, and he’s coming. 

Q: Is Murhder the father of Jo, Manny, and Butch?
A: I’m gonna have to throw out a Keep Reading on that one. 

Q: I just want to thank you for writing such good LGBTQ characters. Qhuinn and Blay are such strong men, and they’re good representations of all of us who feel underrepresented.
A: JR hugged the questioner. 

Q: Will we see more of Ruhn?
A: Yes, I think he becomes very much a part of the Training Center.

Q: Will Ruhn end up with Saxton?
A: I’m gonna have to give you another Keep Reading on that.

Q: Have you thought about having another strong female like Payne.
A: I think you’re going to find Novo, in the next BDB Legacy coming out in November to be really strong. She’s really kickass.

Q: Back in the King, when we found out that Layla had inadvertently fed the traitor, she kissed Wrath’s ring. Then, next, she was thinking about meeting Xcor. (This went on for a while, so we condensed and paraphrased) Did Layla think she could convince the BDB that Xcor was a good guy? Why would they take her word?
A: I think that’s fair. I think that what she knew about who Xcor is at his heart supersedes his actions. I think it’s a totally fair criticism. I think it’s easier, outside of the relationship to judge by his actions, rather than his heart and intentions.

Q: Having seen the flashbacks of Hharm, apparently bastards abound. Will we meet more of them?
A: Yeah, there seem to be a lot. We’ll definitely see more of them in future books.

Q: We have Therese, Jo, Manny, and Butch. Are they all related?
A: I will tell you that Therese is not of that lineage.

Q: Why did we have to wait so long for sex in this book?
A: Oh…my…god…*lots of laughter from the crowd*…it just worked out that way.

Q: Are there going to be any more children?
A: I’m sure there will be more children…I just don’t know when.

Q: Which Brother will be featured in the next Legacy Book?
A: I don’t know. I thought I did, but turns out, I don’t. 

Q: Why did Rhage not ‘beast-out’ when they were being overrun by the lessers? And why couldn’t Layla go into the mansion?
A: The Beast can’t just be called. If Rhage is injured, he may not be able to become the Beast. And Layla didn’t go to the mansion because it wasn’t her home and she didn’t feel welcome.

Q: Is Boo Darius. Is he John Matthew?
A: No, Boo is more than a cat, but Darius is John Matthew. 

Q: Is Michael (from The Story of Son) Butch’s brother.
A: Another Keep Reading.

Q: Who will be the next person inducted into the Brotherhood?
A: I know, but that’s going to be another Keep Reading. 

Q: Will we see the Bastards in the BDB world?
A: The Bastards are going to be interwoven into the BDB world.

Q: What is the next series, now that the Bourbon Kings is going to be finished?
A: I know, but I can’t say yet.

Q: Will everyone find out that JM is Darius? And why did Selena have to die if she was going to be reincarnated?
A: No, no one can know about JM being Darius. I hated that Trez had to suffer, but look, if Lassiter is going to be the divine ruler, it would make sense for him to have to give something back to the household. So, if Selena didn’t die, there’s no vacuum for Lassiter to step into and do something really wonderful. Like a sacrifice…that’s not right…like a gift. We know that the reincarnation has been done so we know it works. 

Q: What does Lassiter sacrifice to get Selena back?
A: You’re going to find out. The thing about the series is that I’m already four or five books ahead of what you’ve all read. So, I know what happens, and I just had to drag everyone through that book which was really horrible to write. 

Q: Will Selena or Lassiter know (that Selena was reincarnated)?
A: I promise someone other than Lassiter will know. 

Q: Now that the rules have changed, will the Bastards be inducted?
A: Yes, I think that now that the rules have changed, we’ll see the Bastards be inducted. Not all at once, of course. 

Q: Is Vishous going to be kinder to you?
A: F*ck no. As soon as I knew who was going to be in the next book, I thought, great, I can spend more time with his hairy @ss. (mild rant about V)

Q: I kind of thought that Lash was going to come out and join the fray. Where is Lash?
A: Yes, he will be back. Lash is coming back. 

Q: Will Payne lose her regenerative powers?
A: What we’re seeing is that the longer she stays on Earth, the harder it is for her to rejuvenate and to get her powers to work, so the question will be how to fix that.

Q: Since there was the power shift between the Lassiter and the Scribe Virgin, does that mean that the Omega is also having a power shift?
A: I will tell you that the answer is in the Dhestroyer legacy. But Keep Reading.

Q: When Tohr and Xcor shook hands for the first time, in the book it says that only one knew it.
A: At that time, Xcor didn’t know they’re brothers, but Tohr did. Xcor doesn’t find out until after the warehouse battle, but Tohr knew then.

Q: Are the BDB, Legacy and Fallen Angels all on the same timeline?
A: No. We’re getting there, but there’s going to have to be some time jumping to get them all aligned on the same timeline. 

Q: Is the BDB ever going to end?
A: Not as long as they’re still talking to me, and you’re still reading. 

Q: Will we ever get the Scribe Virgin’s back story?
A: I would totally love to do that. I’d like to do it, maybe in an ebook special? I’ll have to think about it, because it’s a very sad story...

Q: The Bloodletter’s camp and activity was sanctioned. When it was later unsanctioned, were all the Brothers at the camp already trained? Was Xcor there the entire time? (This was another question that was condensed and paraphrased for clarity.)
A: Xcor came in at the end. Not all Brothers were trained before it became apparent what the Bloodletter was doing and the camp was shut down.

Q: Will Manny ever get turned?
A: You can’t turn them. Manny…you know what, Keep Reading…I give up. (lots of laughter at JR’s reaction)

Q: Could we have something from George and Boo’s point of view?
A: I just don’t know how compelling that is.

Q: Will Qhuinn’s brother Luchas get a book?
A: He will absolutely get a book, but I sense it’s more likely to be in the BDB Legacy. 

Q: What are you currently reading?
A: I’m reading The Lost Order by Steve Berry. I’m a huge fan of his, and his wife.

Q: Will Syn end up with Saxton?
A: I’m a fan of Syn’s. But Saxton is busy, he won’t end up with Syn.

Q: Will there be another Insider’s Guide?
A: It’s about time, isn’t it? We’ll have to talk about that.

Q: Will we ever see the back story of Darius and Beth’s mother?
A: Maybe. That’d be interesting. It’s a sad story, they don’t have a happy ending, though. Maybe as a short story. 

Q: How is Manny going to keep Payne satisfied if he’s going to age?
A: They’ve only been together a year…he doesn’t need Viagra yet. I didn’t say that Payne wouldn’t be okay, but it’s going to take some intervening event. (to fix her inability to rejuvenate.)

Q: What about the coffins? (in the garage of the mansion.)
A: The coffins are a Keep Reading. Eventually, they’ll come into play, and it’s creepy as sh!t. But, you’re going to have to Keep Reading to find out. 

Q: The Bourbon Kings are ending?
A: Yeah, the BK were only three books. There’s a lot to work out.
The pacing of that book is quick, so there’s a lot to wrap up.

Q: You say that the Brothers talk to you. If you could pick one to write in your way, regardless of what they say, who would you pick?
A: Oh, that’s a good one. If I could take the reins and make him do anything, it would be Vishous and I would make him junior counselor at a girl’s camp, teaching basket weaving. No swearing, or drinking. He’d be miserable. (lots of laughter and suggestions of ways to make V miserable, like make him use iPhones. )

Q: Will you ever write about someone with special needs?
A: Um..we have someone who can’t see, someone who can’t speak…oh, you mean with mental illness? I’m going to get myself in so much trouble…if I say this, just so we’re all clear, I would never impose this on the world because it doesn’t work like this…but I don’t think that V and Jane should be together. I think V should be with Butch, and Butch could be with Marissa. That’s what I saw, originally. That Butch and and V ended up together. But that was ten years ago, and the publishing world has changed. But, I would never allow my personal beliefs to influence the world. The pictures would go away if I did. So that’s why V isn’t going to cheat and why, even with the rough spots, V and Jane will stay together. It’s not like the world is a la carte and I can say, let’s have one of these and some of those. The world presents itself, and if I try to change or influence it, the pictures dry up. 

Q: What about the Wolfen?
A: There will be a wolfen. There is someone who is not a vampire, and it’s someone you know.

Q: What about the kids, like Lyric?
A: What I would really like to do, but I haven’t even talked to my publisher about it, but I would love to do a focused series of books about who Lyric, and LW and Rhamp, and Aggie and Nalla end up with. But it would take a jump of forty or fifty years so it would be outside the BDB world. I would love to because it would be sad never to see, like not getting to live long enough to see your kid get married. 

***EDT*** Aggie will be Phury and Cormia's son. The deleted excerpt from Phury's book mentioning him can be found in The Insiders' Guide - he is not yet born. :) ****

Q: Can Fritz get some help?
A: Fritz has an entire staff. The Band of Bastards are going to live in the house. That’s a lot of testosterone. 

Q: Will they have enough room for The Band of Bastards?
A: The mansion is huge. They have wings for days in that house, there’s plenty of room.

Q: Is s’Ex getting a book?
A: Yes, he is. 

Q: Will the blood slave affect s’Ex?
A: Part of Assail’s book has to deal with the blood slave. It’s going to affect s’Ex’s story.

Q: When will we get more Z?
A: He’s very reserved. So, if I get pictures of him, they’re very limited...I don’t know…Z comes forward when he wants to, but he doesn’t usually want to.

Q: What about Throe’s book? (the book that Throe uses for his spells and power)
A: Devina is using Throe’s stupid-ass book to come back up from the well. She needs a body and a soul to come back.

Q: Did the Scribe Virgin save Xcor?
A: No, it was a hallucination. His mind placed her there in the memory.

Q: The favor between the Scribe Virgin and Wrath…do we get to find out what that is?
A: It will come to light soon.

Q: Will there be any emotional cheating with the Dhestroyer as the prophecy gets closer to being fulfilled. (cheating between V and Butch)
A: Nope, no cheating at all.

Q: Why is Nalla seeing the shadow?
A: Okay, soooo I would say that she has a special skill.

Q: Can Lassiter create a kumbaya moment?
A: I would suggest that given his personality, he wouldn’t even if he can. Given his propensity for conflict, he isn’t likely to do so. He can create situations, but he can’t overcome free will.

Q: Vishous is still taking birds to the Sanctuary. Is he still hoping she’ll be around? Is he projecting issues with his mom?
A: I think he still has some serious f***ing issues with his mother. He has some of the…and I don’t mean this in a flippant way, but he has some Asperger-type tendencies. I don’t know that he’s come to terms with his and his sister’s treatment. The SV isn’t dead…okay….okay….Boo is the Scribe Virgin.
*crowd goes wild*
She has been with them all along, and is with them still. Remember, she’s been in those black robes, and you know how black cats have those light eyes. So, I don’t want you all coming back next year and asking, who knows she’s Boo? The entire time, the Scribe Virgin knew how important Beth would be to the BDB world so she was there when they needed her. But the SV will never return to her original role. But that’s my gift to you and my thank you to you all for coming.