The Power of Four series was started in 2014 as one book to start, morphed into a 4 book series starting in 2017, which ended up as 6 books in 2020. Here we are in 2024, and I am still going back to Wisteria… more on that later. I had no idea how these ladies would change me, or what struggles they would get me through when I started this journey, but I know now I was meant to bring them to life. They allowed me to play as a writer, to practice my craft, and I will be forever grateful for their patience with me as I put them through hell in each happily ever-after I wrote them into.
When I relaunched my series in 2020 (what else did one have to do during Covid), the cover image for Playing With Fire (Book 3) stayed the same, especially since she was a perfect fit for Sera in my mind. My graphic designer rebranded my entire series with the look and feel you see on the left, and we talked about lightening the image so it was less of a silhouette. The images not matching in opaqueness was something I struggled with (some things just have to match in my mind) until I realized bringing the models from dark to light from Book 1 to Book 4 had great significance to the symbolism of the series. The image on the right is what we started with as a comparison.
We also kept Book One’s silhouette through all three iterations. This was also the best image in my mind, but as the series went on I had a hard time finding an adequate image of a couple for each book, and ended up with just the ladies instead. I mean to be honest, it’s their story really… so I’m okay with where we ended up. Winds Of Change (Book 2) received an entirely new image, as did the prequel Twist of Fate which really gives you the vibe I was going for when I wrote Heaven on Earth.
From the start, there have been Easter eggs in the symbolism, colors used, traits each woman has, and meaning in the names they were given. It is there in the writing, from the flow of the language and how the character reacts to situations, to the visuals used on the covers. IYKYK and if you have left a positive review, I know you do (and thank you).
I am proud of all of these books, but Book 3 – Playing With Fire is where I feel my writing turned a corner. The award(s) I won for the book validated the feeling. I challenged myself to listen to the critique with learner’s ears and apply what I learned. My skin thickened and my writing smoothed out, and most importantly, I was having a blast learning what I could do. I was having fun and couldn’t help but laugh each time I sat to write the friendship between Aleck and Logan. I adore that they irritate one another…Some of their banter cracks me up to this day, although I am easily amused. 🤣
Playing With Fire was one of my favorite books to write, and it took me writing the Shifters In New York stories to realize why. I missed writing marshmallow alpha wolves, and, most importantly, I missed my antagonist, Zilla. We reconnected over romance books, panties, and scotch on the rocks. When you read the collection you will understand the reference. 📚
My next collection ended up tying in nicely with current day Wisteria. No one was more surprised than me since I’m a pantser (writing by the seat of my pants), and perhaps Sera and Logan since I’m messing around with their lives once more. Let’s just say perhaps we will be telling stories about future generations of shifters in Wisteria. It couldn’t be helped. 🤷🏻♀️
The shifter who has been firmly at my side all along is Zilla. Not surprising since she is always there to lend a hand with the pot stirring. And she has been doing a ton of that lately! What is sort of crazy to me is that her story was never told outright, we just learned it through other character’s POVs, and so I would argue that we haven’t seen the last from her. There is so much more to learn, and my guess is she won’t be leaving me alone until I tell her story, her way. With the book I have planned next, I’m counting on it.
I’m sure she will have more to say as we go, and if you are on Facebook you can always check out her posts on her page: @everythingzilla. Full disclosure, I can’t be blamed for anything she says there. But she does share some fun witchy tidbits. 🔮
If you haven’t checked out this series, I would love it if you did! Be gentle with me, it was my debut series and I am still learning as I go, but I promise you if you open yourself up to the magick, you will love these couples just as much as I do! As even more incentive, you can read the first story, Sea Of Dreams, for free on most platforms by heading to your store of choice from here: https://books2read.com/Sea-Of-Dreams-POFSeries
Happy Reading!
Interested in the Power Of Four Series and want to learn more? Head here: The Power of Four series – Contemporary Portal Fantasy
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D.A. Henneman - Romance Author 
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