Behind the scenes: Bound by Midnight

A wolf shifter/police officer, a heroine with a checkered past, and an art exhibiton featuring masterpieces by Van Gogh, Franz Marc, Monet, and Degas. Read on to learn all about “the making of” Bound by Midnight, the Château Nocturne series finale!

Writing a finale is always challenging, both in terms of giving familiar characters a happily-ever-after and in wrapping up the entire series in a satisfying way. In this case, another challenge was finding a way to maintain tension between the main characters. Earlier books in this series achieved that by featuring morally gray characters, who pretty much guarantee high tension and sizzling romantic energy! The problem is, morally gray characters make thrilling, fascinating flirts, but not partners you can love, trust, and rely on for a lifetime. At some point, they have to grow enough to become HEA material.

In this case, neither Clem and Delphine had to undergo that radical a change, because they’re both good, honest people trying to do their best with the cards they’ve been dealt. That meant the story’s tension had to come from other characters and situations. All in all, that made for lots of puzzle pieces to craft and fit together in creating this story!

THE CHARACTERS

If you’ve been reading the Château Nocturne series from the start, you’re familiar with Clement — wolf shifter, police officer, and local heartthrob. You’ve also met Delphine, the prostitute in love with Henrik, the vampire. But so far, you’ve only seen hints of each. This book brings both characters come to the forefront, expands their backstories, and finally gives them the happily-ever-after they deserve.

The tricky part was developing solid backstories, especially explaining how Delphine ended up in her former line of work. That certainly took some thinking! But I think I succeeded in a way that served her well. I hope you agree!

Unlike previous heroines in this story, Delphine doesn’t have any supernatural qualities (or so it appears…). But from the very start, I knew she had one overarching superpower: resilience. And even though she’s a ficitional character, I find that an inspring reminder. Every woman strives to reach unattainable standards, but resilience is the one superpower we can all attain!

Because Clement featured in every previous story in this series, his personality and backstory were more clear from the start. The challenge was more in finding a way for him to move on from the pain of being rejected by Mina. That was a rewarding journey for me as an author, because I love Clem and Delphine so much that I loved helping them finally reach their happy end!

Of course, that journey can’t be easy, especially with a couple of villains lurking around (and also keeping up the tension and suspense of the story). The first villain, LeMond, is pure evil that’s easy to recognize. His shifter side was inspired by a creature blamed for over 100 deaths in the 1760’s. There’s no way to tell what that marauding creature really was, but it was dubbed the Beast of Gévaudan at the time. I found that to be fitting for a man like LeMond.

The second villain, Jean-Louis, is a more complex character. He was lots of fun to write because his true motives remain murky throughout the story. He didn’t just keep Delphine guessing — he kept me guessing too! (Yes, even an author can be in the dark about what happens in her own story!) By the way, Jean-Louis’s name came from a (much nicer) man I met while scouting locations in France (see below).

Finally, there’s Lucifer, the kitten, who has an interesting backstory of his own. I really enjoy meeting readers at book fairs like Fall in Love New England. There, I ran a panel on “pets in romance,” in which we discussed the furry companions we love to write and how they steal scenes — and hearts. We ended that panel with a raffle in which the winning audience member got to name a pet that would appear in one of our upcoming stories. “My” winner was a young reader named Olivia, so she is the one who came up with a black cat named Lucifer! I think he’s a great addition to the cast of characters in this series. Don’t you agree?

THE STORY

The first four books in this series each focused on the quest to find/protect/steal a different masterpiece. But rather than making the series finale a quest for yet another artwork, I wanted a device that would revisit those four paintings and lay the foundation for a bright, happy future for everyone at Château Nocturne. And what better way to do that, I figured, than holding an art exhibition that benefits different charities?

That turned out to be a great idea. Not only did it call on the expertise of each of the previous heroines, it also provided a way to slowly bring Clem closer to his nemeses, the men of Château Nocturne. That, in turn, fueled even more tension and ultimately provided for an even better happy end. The choice of venues was fun too, and most of them were based on real places. Which brings me to…

ON LOCATION IN BURGUNDY

I travelled to Burgundy twice to scout locations and gather ideas for this series. There, I couldn’t overlook the fact that many villages are slowly fading away, with young people moving to urban centers and businesses closing, as explained in this article on “The Death of the French Countryside.” That’s mirrored in little Auberre, a fictional place based on villages in Burgundy — every one of which has a mairie (town hall) like Auberre’s.

On one countryside walk, I came across the village of Verneuil with the Église Saint-Laurent, a 12th-century Romanesque church with amazing 15th century frescoes. Being there made me marvel at the age of the church and paintings and how difficult it must be to maintain them. So that was the direct inspiration for the fictional town of Valmeray in this story. I also visited a few caves to sample local wines, and a fictional version of those also appears in Bound by Midnight in the form of the wine cooperative at Montfauvine!

MY FAVORITE SCENE

As usual, I have several favorite scenes, including Chapter 12, in which Clem and Delphine drive to the church in Valmeray to observe the exhibition’s test run — a day in which only locals and members of the press are invited to visit. I loved satirizing social media influencers and having a playful look at some of the citizens of Auberre!

I also love the joyous events of the final chapter. No spoilers here, but if you’ve read the book, you know what I mean. Side note: if you were wondering about the song Delphine sings in that chapter, you can find a beautiful version of it here.

Finally, I love Chapter 15, in which Clem swallows his pride and approaches Roux, Bene, and Marius for help. I love that he’s willing to humble himself for Delphine’s sake, and I love the banter among the guys, especially Bene’s wisecracks!

How about you? What was your favorite scene?

THE END

So, there you have it — a “behind the scenes” look into the evolution of Bound by Midnight. I hope you enjoyed this post and the entire Château Nocturne series!

For authors and readers, reaching the end of a series can be a bittersweet moment. That was certainly the case for me. I really adore the characters, setting, and theme of the Château Nocturne stories. At the same time, I can’t wait to bring you a whole new series, so stay tuned! I have lots of exciting plans brewing! Thank you for your interest in the “making of” Bound by Midnight and in all my other stories!