Virtuous

Virtuous by M.S. Force




Author’s Note

Welcome to my new Quantum Trilogy, written under the slightly modified name of M.S. Force. Over the last few months, I’ve been asked a lot of questions about this new trilogy, and I thought I’d take a moment to answer a few of them for you.


Why a new trilogy when I already have three successful series going?

Well, simply put, I wrote the Quantum trilogy because I wanted to. When you’re a writer of genre fiction, one of the key ingredients to turning out successful stories that resonate with readers is having a story “call to you.” It simply demands to be written. Flynn and Natalie’s story called to me, and I couldn’t ignore it. I didn’t want to ignore it.


Why a new author name?

I’m publishing these books under the name M.S. Force because they are different from anything I’ve written before. They are earthier, more intense, sexier. They are written in first person, present tense, which is a first for me (and I LOVED it). The language is saltier, the situations grittier and there are cliffhangers. In short, I wanted to send the signal to my loyal readers that these books are a departure for me, so they’d know to expect something different than what they are used to.


There’s an element of sexual domination in this trilogy that makes us wonder if you were influenced by another successful trilogy…

I understand there’s a natural inclination to compare these books to those books. Let me just say for the record that while I admire and appreciate the attention that successful trilogy has brought to the romance genre, I have not read it. I do not plan to read it. This trilogy is my own original work and wasn’t influenced by any other books or authors. As you will see, this trilogy is driven, almost entirely, by the characters of Flynn and Natalie, who are all mine. By the time an author has written forty successful books, it’s probably safe to say she doesn’t lack for her own ideas!


Are you still writing your other series under the Marie Force name?

Absolutely! There will be more McCarthy, Green Mountain, and Fatal series stories this year. In fact, if everything goes according to plan, I will have eleven new ebook releases in 2015 and 10 print releases—the first seven Fatal books and three new Green Mountain books.


And now for the thank-yous! To my HTJB team: Julie Cupp, Lisa Cafferty, Holly Sullivan, Isabel Sullivan, Nikki Colquhoun and Cheryl Serra, thank you for all you do to make it possible for me to do almost nothing but write. And to my husband, Dan, who runs our lives so I am free to write as much as possible. To my kids, Emily and Jake, who are so endlessly supportive of my career—you guys are the light of my life, and I love you to the moon and back. 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.


Thank you to my beta readers Anne Woodall, Ronlyn Howe and Kara Conrad. To my copy editor, Linda Ingmanson: thank you for always making time for me when I need you. And to my proofreader, Joyce Lamb, you’re the best, and I love having your eagle eyes on my books before they go live. Joyce did an amazing job helping me to keep all the details straight, and I appreciate her so much! To Sarah Spate Morrison, family nurse practitioner, thank you for your assistance with medical details for this trilogy.


And to my lovely, wonderful, amazing readers who have changed my life so completely, thank you so much for taking this wild ride with me. I’d be nowhere without each and every one of you, and I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

xoxo

Marie





Chapter 1





Winter in New York City is dirty business. A nasty, grayish hue hangs over the city from November through late March. During my first winter in the city, I’ve experienced everything from slushy puddles that soak through even the most resilient boots to icy sidewalks to the delightful combo platter of fried onions from vendor carts melding with mystery steam from the underground, creating a smell that defies description.

I love every stinky, icy, frigid inch of it. While others hide out inside, I take to the streets with my dog, Fluff, on a leash. Her full name is Fluff-o-Nutter, but don’t judge me. I was nine when I named her after my favorite food group at the time, and fourteen years later, she’s still my most faithful companion and the one tie to my old life that I brought to my new life. She goes everywhere with me, except school.