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ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

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  2. Nice, so there will be snippets aplenty during the editing phase then? 😉

    Please, they taste sooo good.
    (You don’t want the loyal BDH to get hungry, now do you?) 😛

  4. Are you relieved? I hope you can take a vacation to celebrate! Excited to read it. I’ve been re-reading all of your books as we wait.

  6. Congratulations. Last minute deadlines are crazy but really do sharpen your mind and all the BDH knows you will end up with a Fabulous Book.

    (Also nice that you picked my favourite gemstone for this book. Yay!)

    • I’m a geologist and it didn’t occur to me that they’re using different gemstones for titles in this trilogy. Being a rock geek it would be cool to see those brought into the story. And it’s also cool because the same mineral produces different gemstones. For example, beryl if green is emerald but if bluish is aquamarine. Corundum is sapphire unless it is red then it is ruby (as a July baby I like to tease my September born sister that my birth stone is worth more). Environment also plays a role: diamond and graphite are both just carbon but diamond is the form at high pressure and temperature and graphite is the stable form at surface pressure/temp. I was so excited in the latest Innkeeper when they mentioned cinnabar but then it was never brought back.

  12. Woo hoo! Congratulations!
    That’s got to be a relief. We knew you were working really hard from the “silence” on the blog.

    Take a minute and breathe before you have to tackle the next project. I know you have a schedule for your various plans, but you can afford a day or two to unwind.

    (The funny thing to say here is “Long enough. Back to work.” However, it would be mean and someone might think I meant it. Y’all take what you need.)

  17. Thank you for the update! I’m sure that I wasn’t the only one beginning to worry about another health nightmare from the blog’s sudden silence.

  18. Put your feet up and buy an expensive bottle of high end champagne – oh and yarn. Lots of yarn. Grats!!

  19. Congratulations and yay and I can’t wait! I hope you two get a bit of a breather before your next effort!

  20. Woohoo! I was starting to get concerned when you guys went quiet, but didn’t want to hover. Congratulations!

    • It’s a good guess. SAPPHIRE FLAMES was about 400 pages. This one is a couple thousand words shorter, so about the same in length.

  37. Congratulations. I hope you can manage a nice little break to relax and recharge before you have to tackle the edits.

  40. Thank you for your blood, sweat and tears!
    So happy you both survived the creation and birth of your newest treasure.
    Please take time to regenerate your batteries and BREATH!
    THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR GENIUS WITH US!!!

  41. Excellent news!! Must be a relief to have it out the door for editing. Hope you can take at least a short breather and recoup energy, have some fun, before the next project whacks you. Best wishes!

    Looking forward to the end product more than you can imagine. The snippets have been amazing.

  44. CONGRATS!!!! Celebration commencing in 3,2,1 ….. now how to bend time/space so book is in our greedy lil hands!

  48. I LOVE your books so thank you for the hard work. Take a break make sure you relax then get back to work on the next one (ha ha). Really thank you for the hours of joy I get reading & rereading your ???? books.

  51. I LOVE your books so thank you for the hard work. Take a break make sure you relax then get back to work on the next one (ha ha). Really thank you for the hours of joy I get reading & rereading your ???? books.

  52. Yay! Now go binge watch Cdrama “Find Yourself”. Modern day older woman younger man romance. I was at first hesitant due to the excessive discussions about age, but the supporting characters are hilarious! Glad persisted. It just finished today. Forty-0ne ~45 minute episodes. Available on Netflix. ????????????

  54. Congratulations…we know it was a long road and truly appreciate and anticipate your work.
    Thank you

  57. I knew House Andrews was working hard to crank out the book since the past week was radio silence;) congrats!

  61. Looking forward to reading in in my Muskoka room at the cottage in August. Yay! Can’t wait. Congratulations.

  65. Whoo! Congrats! *sends tea and treats and a pile of other relaxation paraphernalia* Hope you get a chance to breath before the next thing hits.

  66. Soooo margaritas, chips and salsa and the best tacos in Texas?!? That’s sounds like a perfect reward for the finish! Or a nap, multiple naps, all the naps.

  67. Good for you. My preorder was my Christmas present to myself. I can’t wait. Hopefully this means that the two you can kick back to let the next book perk in the back of your minds until it rises to the top, ready for writing. I really don’t want you to overwork to the point where you don’t want to write any more. I enjoy your work too much to have you stop my main source of entertainment.

  70. Yay you! Break out the big teapot and procure scones! (Mmmmm . . . Salted caramel scones – some on counter. Bye.) Congrats!

  71. Congratulations to you both! I’m happy for you and for us. Right now I feel accomplished that I made it to my volunteer job at kindergarten today. I hate this time of year and the stupid sinus infections. Finally got a round of antibiotics that work so better living through chemistry.

  73. Congrats. Take a fun break before editing starts.
    Since you were heads down so long to finish up, I would guess you need a few mental health days.
    Have fun.

  75. 188 days til the audiobook goes on sale! Yay! Huzzah! Crikey! Woo Hoo!

    hope a month of sweet rest and calm is in store.

    Any clue who the readers will be?
    (There is just one that is not as excellent, for me at least)

  78. Huzzah! Congrats on your victory over the blank pages you were confronted with. I’ve already pre-ordered and am looking forward to another excellent adventure! ????????

  81. WooHoo! Enjoy some time off or at least some tea and cookies.
    I have been enjoying a lot of tea lately since I ordered a “Wee teapot” ???? I showed it my youngest and she was wondering about it and trying loose tea so I said I would order it and try it out. I told her she could get it at Spring break. I like it so much I think I am going to get her one just for herself

  86. Even though I am not an author I have a feeling that some books are harder to write then others even in the same series. Thank you for finishing

    • Congratulations; and THANK YOU! May you get many days off rest and relaxation, knitting, reading and gaming until the edits.

  96. Hearty ❤️ Congratulations to you both! And yay for me! I’ll get to read it soon! I love book presents!!

  97. I will now break out into a Snoopy Dance of Joy!
    (Jump. Jump. Jump. Shuffle-shuffle. Jump. Shuffle-shuffle. Jump.Jump. Shuffle-shuffle. Jump. Shuffle…..)
    (Bow).
    Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

  99. Woohoo! Way to get it there. I’m sure we’ll love it!

    Wishing you all the good savoring of the juice of this victory.

    Congratulations!

  100. We all knew that it was deadline time. So, congratulations to you and
    a job well done.
    Time for wee tea pot tea, apple pie, and Naps.
    Love the green cover. Really nice shade of green and Catalina’s looks lovely in her gown and sword. While Alessandro looks very European with a debonair aura around him.
    Gene has done a spectacular job with this cover.
    Thank you looking forward to the next adventure with them.

  101. Yay!! Can’t wait. I’m re-reading the first 4 books to refresh my memory … woo hoo!

    I was also just wondering, anything new with Derek and Julie? It’s been a while for them.

    • A tiny but vocal minority hated on Julie ???? so my impression was that the author lords put the kibosh on her storyline and have taken her away until we learn to play nice and beg her back.
      Julie was one of my favorite characters and storylines so I really didn’t understand the hate. Fingers crossed for a Julie and ultra-crazy aunt series 🙂

      • Personally I’d rather have them focus on Hugh, but I think a series of short-short stories about Julie and Erra (like Saiman’s rescue or Magic Tests) eventually put together in a single collection would be really interesting.

      • I didn’t like Julie being a brat, but as she got older I liked her a lot better. Time away from Kate will allow her to become her own person, I think. Erra is something different, for sure.

    • There was a post about this last April; apparently there are a lot of Julie haters out there and Gordon and Ilona don’t want to write a book that might not be well received (reviled even) by their fans. Yeah, I don’t get it either – I personally love Julie, and even if I didn’t like her now I know I would have changed my mind by the end of the book. If they could make a reviled villain like Hugh lovable they can sure as heck “redeem” Julie (as if she needs it!). As for all the haters, if you think you can write better characters you just go ahead, write your own book and stop criticizing everyone else’s. The rest of us will go on enjoying everything the Andrewses put out, from blog posts to novels.

      Also, woo for Emerald Blaze!

      • I don’t think there are many haters of Julie. I think the haters are really “loud” and that’s it.

      • I suspect that they will write what they are contracted to write. At some point, I suspect they will pitch other stories in the KD universe. I really think they could do well with a Jule/Ezra series that would let the fans see what the rest of the post-Shift world looks like. I suspect they need to focus on Hidden Legacy as long as the series has legs.

        • This thread has veered into an odd place, so let me clear a few misconceptions here before people come to wrong conclusions:

          1) Currently, we only have one contract with one book remaining, the third book in Catalina’s trilogy. This is by design.
          2) We have no plans to pitch anything to anyone.
          3) Julie and Erra series would fail because it would have no romantic arc, which would be off brand for us.
          4) What we will focus on depends solely on our discretion and creative mood. 🙂 Unless you hear it from us, it is pure speculation.

          At this point, nobody has any idea what we are going to write next, simply because we haven’t decided what’s next on the agenda.

          • Thank you for the clarification. Yeah contract obligations come first. It’s okay after that to not know what you and Gordon will write after Catalina’s trilogy is done. You two need a break. ????

          • Congratulations! Can’t wait for the release! 🙂

            No expectations but hold out hope that someday soon there will some answers about S.N. (from the end of OFS). ::fingers crossed::

          • I just saw this whole thread about the Julie/Derek series continuing and had to weigh in because clearly what the authors need is more of that (…). I really am so confused about the Julie hate that the authors received. I’m a psychotherapist who specializes in ages 15 – 25 and I just like that age, so maybe I’m not representative, but how could people hate her???? She was delightful. Tough, funny, totally age appropriate in how she was written (I am sure there is no shortage of source material), a unique character, and patient with Derek, who is a hot mess and my other favorite. My #1 hope from this team is that they continue the Grey Wolf series. And the worst outcome, though this would not happen from IA, is that something would get written where Julie is, in becoming an adult, stripped of everything that makes her so wonderful. It happened in another extremely well known UF/R series where they had a young character and they aged her to the point where she could have a romantic arc with an older character (much older….not like Derek) and it wouldn’t be creepy (not saying this was the reason behind the choice to take the story there, but that was the net effect). It completely ruined the character for me and many other readers. She was super grim and just….lost the sparkle that made her an amazing character. IA would not do that. They see the beauty in younger people and when they are pains in the asses, they see the fun in that, too. I’ve never experienced anything but love for what IA write, and I appreciate all the enjoyment I’ve gotten out of your work, authors.. And I love Julie, and Derek, and Derek and Julie, beyond all reason. If you choose to leave it there, I’m sad, but I’m deeply grateful. (Sorry this was so long. I’ve been thinking about it for months)

      • +1 to everything Julie S said, and also to the one who said the Julie haters are just loud. And thanks to Ilona for clarifying. Whatever the spirit moves you to write after you take your break, I’ll be happy to read. After redeeming Hugh, you are probably capable of writing a romantic arc for Erra if that’s where your minds go. That’s not a suggestion, just speculation.

    • Looking forward to EB too. Hope you can take a breather for a while.
      I would so love too if we could have Derek and Julie. Perhaps a trilogy… ????????????

  106. It’s very exciting knowing that this book is getting ready to be edited and printed and released. When I read this post, my heart actually sped up for a couple of beats. I simply cannot wait to devour it! Since it will take so much time to read all the books ahead of this one again to remind me of every detail, I have days of enjoying your work ahead of me again.

    It is now time for you two to sit and vegetate until editing instructions come, so please do exactly that! It has been proven that watching a cat sleep actually relaxes humans, and you have enough to watch! You can also watch the grass grow, watch birds flutter about, and SLEEP! I have a long wish list of things I’d like you to write about, but above all, I want you to take a break to live in reality for a while so you won’t burn out on writing. You do it so well that I would cry real tears if you had to stop for a years-long sanity break, so don’t set yourselves up to need one! Thank you SO MUCH for doing all this work to supply me with an unreality check when I need one so badly! Enjoy the summer that’s coming right up!

    It’s good to know that you’re back in the land of the living again.

  109. Thank you! I understand that you have more work to do but at least you can catch your breath and enjoy a break. Thanks again.

  113. The grin is real (and ear to ear)! When the power of someone’s writing is strong enough that one sentence from them changes your mood for the entire day, you remember why they’re your fave. *happy dance ensues* I hope your day is as full of joy as the BDH and involves nothing more taxing than raising a good cup of tea to your hopefully-smiling-in-satisfaction lips. 🙂

    • I have Emerald Blaze pre-ordered for my Nook. If you want the paper form, you might want to try wherever you buy your books to see if you can pre-order it.

    • You can pre-order both kindle and audible audio book formats now. And audible tells you how many days til publication.
      Like very slow motion New Years countdown!

  119. Yay, hurray, and congratulations! Thank you for letting us know the first draft is done. 😀

  125. I am waiting with baited breath for this one…What trouble does Catalina get into? Does she finally fall for Allesandro? Does Grandma Frieda win tank master of the year and get her own reality show called, not surprisingly “Tank Masters”? Nope to all of those…it is waiting to see when Allesandro’s Alfa spews all its parts over the road and dies,as all Alfas are fated too,even in a magical universe….

  126. So excited!! I’ve been surfing your blog hoping that see more. Pre ordered and wishing August could get here even faster. I love what you’ve done with series. It’s one of my all time favorites. ☺️

    Thank you for all you’ve done to get these out to us!

  127. So pleased. I remember the looong wait after the first book in this universe. Happy moments to savor before a large serving of emerald goodness. Thank you.

  128. Yea!! Now take some time for yourselves. Take a vacation.

    We are spoiled so take time to smell the roses so to speak.

  131. Yeah! Thank you. Now get please get some down time, and re-grow the brains. This is a great, early, birthday treat for me. Love your writing. Funny, clever and great characters.
    Wanting to find out what happens with Heart & Penelope ❤️

  134. I had no idea there were Julie -haters out there! I loved the character and miss those scenes where Kate had to deal with Julie and Derek–I think of them as the “older kids”– and I’d love to see more!

  137. I knew that we hadn’t heard from you for an excellent reason. I am looking forward to the new book. I can’t reread the others yet since they are all packed up from moving to N C. Plus I love Julie and want more from her.

  139. I tried to post a reply comment but it didn’t work…

    So looking forward to EB. Hope you can take a breather now.
    As far Derek and Julie; + a gazillion. I will never stop asking.

    Thank you so much House Andrews for your awesomeness!

  140. YAY!!! Hubby commented just 20 minutes ago that he needed someone to write a new book. I know this one is a ways off, but we are both so excited for EB.

    Rest. You deserve it.

    I want more Hugh, and some Julie and Derrick, and to know who Sebastien North is. … but we can’t always get what we want when we want it. Just gonna wait for whatever goodie you toss our way.

  142. congratulations! can hardly wait to read it!
    I, for one, didn’t mind Julie. She was a teenager with all the angst that goes with it. She matured in the last KD book. I would DEFINITELY read an Erra/Julie book and a Julie/Derek book.

  149. Yay! Looking forward to it.
    I have to mention how much I prefer the Alessandro on the cover of Emerald over he of the Saffire cover. Big improvement, IMO

  151. Yay! Congrats – so looking forward to it!

    (I am not actually in any way trying to extort books out of you, I often post pictures of my teen cats to insta because the internet runs on cat pictures, and one of my senior students thought it should be a meme… though it’s been pointed out the “duck feet” or “turkey tendon” might be more to this boy’s taste…)

    • Yay^2!! It will be another glorious adventure. And darn it, I’ve preordered the thing, so I can’t order it now in celebration. 😉

      Adorable meme of your boy kitty, Tylikcat.

    • This may sound REALLY stupid, but I really don’t know the answer. Five of my friends and I who read the books are going nuts trying to figure out who the two people in the picture at the top are. We agree that the woman is somewhere between 40 and 45 years old. The guy has to be somewhere between 50 and 60. What they’re wearing fits those ages too. So……
      Who are they? Combing through the books we can’t find any female character who uses a short-sword. Too many guys run around with handguns for us to have a clue. Does everyone besides us already know, or are these characters to be announced in the new book and we missed the announcement?
      Thanks for answers in advance.

      • Wait… you think the cover art depicts a lady in her forties and a man in his fifties or sixties? I mean, I’m 40 and I look nothing like that (I wish).

        • I mean, are we talking, like, Hollywood people or regular people? I could see her being anywhere between late twenties and early-mid forties depending. (Early twenties isn’t ruled out, but she really looks more mature to me? Maybe it’s just that my undergrads generally don’t carry that kind of responsibility, but I think it’s more of a skin tone thing.) I’d tend to put him at early thirties to late forties? (And, I say again, rode hard and put up wet. Catalina, I hope that was the fun kind of experience, though from the comments made about the writing, it seems likely it was not.)

          • Our undergrads can challenge 45 year old me on weeks with essay deadlines, but do tend to scrub up much better too, especially for the end of year balls and parties!
            That said I can’t see any way the couple on the cover look past their 30s, though would happily give the chap a closer, personal inspection in the name of science 🙂
            Here’s hoping House Andrews enjoy some end of submission relaxation with the hope of partying when they’ve had chance to recover a bit

      • The woman in the picture is 24. The man is 25. They were pulled from a professional modeling agencies for the age bracket of 18-25.

        You need to get to an optometrist. Today. I am worried about you driving. I am not going to dignify the rest of this silliness with an answer.

      • Now that I take a closer look the guy looks like he has a double chin and could be older than the 25 he’s supposed to be. Hmmm…interesting. But I didn’t have friends who looked that good at 45 and neither did I so it could be a location thing. Lucky you!

    • He’s adorable! It’s very hard to get a good photo of a dark, monochrome cat. You really captured his features and expression!

  152. Oh boy, looking forward to Emerald Blaze. Then there has to be at least one more in that series in the works. After that, well, almost anything could come along. Hugh and the White Demon from Outer Space? I really like her. I love Derek and can’t wait for him to come to his senses about Julie. A white tiger as matron of honor and the sarcastic future head of the hyenas as best man. Would Erra flip out? Maybe not, Oh the possibilities. Just keep ’em coming we love them all.

    • I love the snippet we got concerning Julie about two years ago. The Grey Wolf short story was great (Magic Stars?), but I loved the extremely short snippet we got where Julie had an adventure in Arizona. It was very vague, extremely independent, and couched in enough vignettes to imply a lot more about Kate’s universe 5 years after Magic Triumphs than was explicitly stated. That’s what I loved about it. Of course, there is absolutely no indication that it’s canon. It’s just a snippet from a pitch that didn’t get as much momentum as the other several stories they’re working on.

      • Oups clicked on the reply button and not the comments one ???????? it’s the third time I do this, maaaaan, I should pay more attention ????????

  154. That sword is awesome. I am imagining that I can almost see glyphs carved into it while it glows with power.

    Great work on the new book. That’s a load off for you and hopefully you can have a bit of time to R&R now. Some tea with a combination of yarn, gaming, a tv binge session, etc. Whatever you feel like.

  156. Excellent news. I check in daily-ish for updates and when there isn’t one, I send along the following mental wishes:
    1) That you have just the right amount of excitement to keep life “interesting” without needing to deploy rescue teams or backup systems.
    2) And that you are still enjoying the ups and downs of your creative process.

    When you provide updates, they’re worth the wait. Happy Tuesday!

  159. Huzzah! Hope you are both pleased with your efforts and are going to take a well-deserved rest. Just ignore the BDH, they are insatiable.

  161. I can hardly wait, I know how hard you work to get your books out and I can only wait patiently till they come. Thank you for all the entertainment you have provided and for the great books I love to read.

  162. Congratulations. I love your books. I have not found a single story of yours that I dont like.

  163. Hooray for everyone!! For you guys meeting your goals and possibly taking a bit of a breather. And for us readers being closer to the getting the book in our house. ????????

  167. Congratulations, you both deserve a break. Here are my puppers to cheer you on. The collie is Fletcher and the Kelpie is Chester lol.

    • Go herders! Good thing you have two. Single herders make their own excitement, and not in good ways.

  177. Yes, congratulations on this milestone! I often think of the hard work and attention to detail you display when I read works by other authors. Especially often in the case with books offered on Kindle Unlimited (but not exclusively), there will be typos, grammatical errors, inconsistencies within the series and even the book itself. Writing is so much work. Thank you for your wonderful stories.

  179. Yeah! I was starting to wonder if the blog wasn’t being updated anymore. And here’s Tam inviting you to take a well deserved break. All he need’s is tea.

  182. Woohoo!

    Now for the furious edits and more edits.

    Then the request for more edits.

    Then the final approval.

    Then the recording of the audiobook!

    *goes to stalk audible*

  186. Thank you, Ilona Andrews. We are watching snow fall. Actually I am watching snow fall while the knucklehead puppy is running around trying the catch snow flakes. Yes Mr I Might Melt It’s raining. Grin

    Anyway, great news. Looking forward to reading. Take a break and rest and unwind a little.

  188. You two are the most prolific writers I follow faithfully. Thank you.

    I still end up jonesing for the next book regularly and wishing you would write faster. What can I say, I’m complicated. 😉

  190. I am curious if we will ever meet Nevada and Conner’s baby? Wondering what powers this kid develops?

  193. You guys are amazing!!!???? I’m so excited! Hope you treat yourselves! I loved Sapphire Flames and am looking forward to the next adventure ❤️

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