The Countdown Begins: A City of Two, Book 6

Closing a series is a strange kind of grief, even when it's a happy one. I've spent years now with Alex, Patrick, and James — writing them through hiding, through heartbreak, through decades of a world that demanded they be smaller than they actually were. And now I'm closing that chapter for good. I won't pretend that hasn't been emotional.

Not a Typical Happily Ever After

Here's what I can tell you without giving anything away: the ending is a happily ever after. But it's not the typical kind, and I mean that as the highest compliment I can pay these three men. It doesn't arrive because the plot demanded a bow on top — it arrives because Alex, Patrick, and James earned every inch of it, across five books of fear, distance, and quiet endurance. The ending honors all three of them. Not just the couple who gets the wedding. All three — the way each of them sees the world differently, the way each of them actually grew up rather than just aged, and the brave, specific decisions each of them makes to get to that spot standing in Carmel.

I'll be honest — these three are braver than the real people who inspired them. Braver than I've been, some days. Writing them to that finish line, and getting to cheer for their happiness, has been one of the great privileges of my life.

A Triumphant Return

I can tease this much: James is back. After the heartbreak of how things ended between him and Alex in Book 4, Book 6 brings him home — a triumphant return, not a quiet one. And yes, for anyone who's been paying attention since the beginning: still not wearing matching socks. Some things really don't change.

The Fear That Outlives the Law

The heart of this book is something I lived myself, not just something I wrote. Don't Ask, Don't Tell was always sitting in the back of my mind through my Academy years, and even more so once I was actually serving. Living inside that fear long enough turns hiding into instinct — you learn, early and thoroughly, how to erase pieces of yourself without even thinking about it anymore.

What I wanted Book 6 to be honest about is this: the law changing didn't change us. Long after DADT ended, we were still living like it hadn't — flinching at things that could no longer touch us, hiding from a threat that was already gone. That's the real emotional core of this book. Not just "the fear finally ends," but "what happens when the fear outlives the thing that caused it, and you have to learn how to put it down anyway."

The Easter Eggs Are Real

I've been dropping hints across this entire series — small details, callbacks, things that seemed incidental at the time. If you've been paying close attention, Book 6 pays a lot of that back. I'm not going to point them out. Readers who've been with these three men from the beginning will know exactly where to look, and I think they'll smile when they find them.

When You Can Read It

Book 6 releases December 25 — the best gift I could think to give you, or to give yourself. Consider it early.

And if you want to be part of it before then: I'm running an early ARC program ahead of launch. Sign up for the newsletter and you'll be notified when it opens, including access to a special ARC package with signed copies and a few other surprises I'm not ready to announce yet.

The countdown begins.

— Alex