After the intense and dramatic build up of Serena and Gustav's relationship in The Silver Chain, the second book is marked by the reappearance of Gustav's dark, dangerous, estranged younger brother Pierre and the threat he poses when he develops his own strong attraction for Serena. Although their love surpasses Pierre's games, and Serena and Gustav get engaged towards the end of The Golden Locket, The Diamond Ring by no means represents a neat trot to the finish line.
Another face from the past rears her ugly head, and her machinations, games and deceptions make Pierre Levi look like a pussy cat. We are whirled from New York to Paris and Morocco as Serena's career blossoms, and even while she and Gustav are making their peace with Pierre, Gustav's ex-wife Margot is keeping tabs on their every move and deciding to take matters into her own hands to get Gustav back. In the end it will be a battle between Serena and Margot to prove who is the genuine love of Gustav's life, and what is the true meaning of the trilogy's title – Unbreakable!
Where did the inspiration come from for this series?
To be totally frank I was on the point of giving up writing erotica two years ago (it was paying peanuts!) when my editor at Harper Collins asked me to submit a proposal for a trilogy to echo, but not copy, the success of 50 Shades. There is nothing like being asked to write something to give you a kick start, odd though that might sound. It was an honour. So of course I said yes. Although there had to be some aspects of erotic romance which chimed with other books in the genre, I am never short of ideas and story lines. I let the inspiration come to me slowly and decided to make it as different from 50 Shades as possible in terms of quality of writing and carrying the story through. There is a strong hero and a feisty, burgeoning heroine, but the similarities end there. I wanted lots of exotic locations, photography, and plenty of sex focussing on the romantic rather than the outrageous.
The first book starts on Halloween night, and I've always had a taste for the dark and gothic. In fact Gustav Levi started out as a vampire, so the story was always going to involve a withdrawn, mysterious hero and a pale beauty who is drawn into his orbit. After that the characters and plot ran away with me and in fact I would describe this as an erotic thriller.
