Victorious(87)

I hope he’s able to see them from his vantage point on the stage.

“Thank you so much. Thank you.” He glances down at the gold statue in his hand. “Wow. I thought I knew what this might feel like, but apparently, I had no clue. Thank you to the Academy and to everyone involved in the making of Camouflage. We knew from the first time we read the script that this would be a special project. We had no idea how special it would become to all of us, and I’m deeply thankful to the Academy for this award as well as the others you’ve bestowed upon the film tonight. You all know it’s been a wild couple of months for me professionally and personally. I want to thank my friends and colleagues in this room for your unwavering support during the tough times. I’ve seen the heart of this community more in the last few weeks than I have in my entire career before now, and I’m deeply appreciative. To my beautiful, courageous, incredible wife, Natalie, I thank you for showing me what’s really important in this life. I love you so much, sweetheart.” He raises his award over his head. “Thank you again.”

I love that he used the word incredible. Our word. I love that he called me sweetheart for the whole world to hear. He dodges the ushers who want him to head backstage and comes down the stairs to sweep me up into his arms. He’s still holding me when Camouflage wins the award for best picture. Flynn and most of our friends take the stage to receive their awards for producing the film.

As executive producer, Kristian speaks for all of them. “Like Hayden said earlier, it’s been a once-in-a-career honor to bring this special story to life. I know I speak for everyone at Quantum and everyone involved with the film when I say none of us will ever forget this moment. Thank you to the Academy for your recognition of Camouflage, and to our servicemen and women, past, present and future. You have our undying respect and admiration. Thank you again.”

There are photos to be taken, interviews to be given and parties to attend. But after the show ends, Flynn comes down from the stage, an Oscar in each hand, and heads right to me. I wrap my arms around him and hold on tight. We are indeed victorious.





Thank you for reading Victorious and the Quantum Trilogy! I hope you enjoyed reading Flynn and Natalie’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you wish to talk about Victorious with other readers—with spoilers allowed and encouraged—join the Victorious Reader Group. And remember to join the Quantum Reader Group.

I want to immediately address some inevitable questions…





Q: Will there be more Quantum stories? We especially want Hayden and Addie’s story, Marlowe’s story, Leah’s story…

A. I know! I know! I do, too. The fact is, however, I have three other series going as Marie Force, and readers are crazy about them. So while I’d love to write more Quantum, it will probably be a while until I’m able to. I’ll keep you posted on the possibility of more Quantum stories in the reader groups, on my main Facebook page at Facebook.com/MarieForceAuthor and on the Quantum website at marieforce.com/quantum. The best way to keep up on everything that’s going on is to join my e-mail newsletter list at marieforce.com.





Q: So you seem to know a lot about the BDSM lifestyle. That means you’re in the lifestyle, right?

A. Wrong. I did a TON of research for the Quantum Trilogy, and the words on these pages have resulted from that research. I can write about murder in the Fatal series without having committed one, and I feel confident that I was able to accurately portray one small aspect of the BDSM lifestyle in Flynn and Natalie’s story without being an active participant. I loved delving into the psychology of the D/s relationship, understanding the power exchange and exploring the deep emotional bonds that are formed through these relationships.





Q: After reading the Quantum Trilogy, I’m curious about BDSM and finding out more about the lifestyle. How do I proceed?

A: There are numerous online sites devoted to the lifestyle. For instance, check out FetLife.com for information about how to find others in your area who share your interests. I can’t stress strongly enough that you should approach the scene with the three core tenets of safe, sane and consensual at the forefront of anything and everything you do. Please be careful and be safe. As I say to my kids, “Make good choices.”





A quick final thank-you to the AMAZING team who made it possible for me to pull off this trilogy in the time I had allotted. First and foremost to Julie Cupp, my chief operating officer, executive assistant, majordomo and partner in crime—I never could’ve made this happen without Julie overseeing a million and one details. Thank you, Julie! Thanks to Holly Sullivan for the gorgeous ebook design and my niece, Isabel Sullivan, for her brilliant work on the print book layout.

In addition, Lisa Cafferty, CPA, Nikki Colquhoun and Cheryl Serra were very helpful to us. My husband, Dan, kept me fed and hydrated and talked me off the roof a few times as I tried to write three books in four months. I really appreciate all he does to manage our lives so I can write, write, WRITE! To my dad and my kids, thank you for always supporting my career, not that any of you will ever read these words because you will never read the Quantum Trilogy. EVER. Thank you to my son Jake, who was my car consultant for the Quantum Trilogy and chose all of Flynn’s cars for the various occasions—without reading the books.

My fellow New Englanders will hate me for this, but I’m very thankful to the snowiest winter in recent history, which kept us housebound for many days that I spent… writing. Sorry—just had to give the snow a shout-out!