Falling Castles #1
Falling Castles #1
DESPITE CHAOS
What’s worse? Hiding the brightest or darkest part of yourself?
Alexandra Castle hides the brightest part of herself. As the heir-apparent to the Castle Resort empire, her only fault—according to her controlling father—is that she’s gay.
Keeping her sexuality hidden seems a small price to pay for upholding the family image. When Alex’s father pits her against her twin brother in a high-stakes competition to choose who will take over the company upon his retirement, Alex knows she’s got what it takes to win. Until an ex-lover reappears and threatens to destroy her life.
Tyler Falling hides the darkest part of herself. On the surface, she’s a put-together middle-class wife and mother. In reality, she’s broken from a sexual assault twelve years earlier. When Tyler unexpectedly comes face-to-face with her rapist, a deep family secret surfaces and jeopardizes the life she’s created.
With both their worlds crumbling, Alex and Tyler escape to Napa where a brief, anonymous encounter sparks a mutual infatuation, changing the trajectory of their lives. Living a lie is no longer an option, but can an improbable romance bloom amid embezzlement, blackmail, and self-exploration?
GCLS Goldie Winnerfor Romantic Blend Category
Published: January 2022
Series Titles
Falling Castles Series
FROM THE AUTHOR
Despite Chaos, the first installment of the Falling Castles Series, is a re-envisioning of the first novel-length story I ever wrote. That original fanfiction story, dating back to 2016, titled Delayed Connection, was set loosely in the world of Showtime’s the L Word. Readers at LesFan.com received it well, inspiring me to continue writing. Two novel-length stories later, I’d written my first series.
Fast forward to 2019, a month after I signed my first contract with Bella Books, I sat down with the publisher, Linda Hill, over drinks at the Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) Conference in Pittsburgh. I was nervous as hell and felt intimidated by the talent I’d met in the preceding days, but once I’d cornered Linda for a private discussion, I took full advantage and pitched not just my next book but my next five. I went full-on bold and told her that I had two series in mind, intending to produce six books in three years—three from each series. Despite Chaos represents my fourth book in two years and kicks off that long-awaited second series.
After cracking open the original manuscript, I cringed at my pre-academy writing style. I barely got through the first chapter before realizing that too many subplots complicated the story. Drawing on my academy teachings, I stripped out an entire subplot, which had a dramatic, cascading effect for the better. While I’d removed a layer of my main character, the choices I had her making were now more logical. Much of the original story remained intact, and I even left in a reference to the original title’s inspiration—a cocktail I once enjoyed at a hotel bar near an airport called, Delayed Connection.
– Stacy Lynn Miller