We were lucky to get a chance to ask Laura Kaye how it feels to be leaving the Hard Ink series behind and embark on a whole new journey with the Raven Riders.
Saying goodbye to Hard Ink is not easy, readers that have discovered the series and fallen for its special brand of charm. It’s been a wild and exhilarating ride alongside Nick, Shane, Marz, Easy, and Beckett, and we couldn’t have been happier for the ending they all got in Hard to Let Go. Hard Ever After was an extra special treat for those that have loved the series so much.
If we think it was hard to say good-bye as her readers, just imagine what it must be like for an author to close the proverbial book on an eight story series as chock full of drama as the Hard Ink series. We had a few questions for Laura about what writing this last novella was like, and how much we can expect to see from the Hard Ink crew in the spinoff Raven Riders series.
If you haven’t checked out our review of Hard Ever After, make sure to do that! (You should definitely read the book first though.)
Interview with Laura Kaye
Hard Ever After is the wedding book for which you asked your fans to choose the couple. Nick and Becca were a perfect choice, but if you could have chosen any of the other couples, who would you choose?
Oh, this is a tough one! Nick and Becca were the perfect couple because their story had the best ability to offer a suspense plot to explore, making Hard Ever After more than just a follow-up with a favorite couple. I love all the couples for different reasons, but if I had to pick another choice, it probably would’ve been Kat and Beckett because I loved writing their dynamic and seeing Beckett open himself up to Kat, plus reasons. (Reasons that you learn in Hard Ever After!)
If a different couple had been chosen, would you have integrated the same antagonist into the story? Or would it have been a totally different story for a different pair?
That’s a really good question. The antagonist in Hard Ever After was one of the few loose threads from the series. I might’ve been able to make him work no matter which couple had been featured, because all the men are involved in his interrogation in Hard As It Gets. But each of the other couples had their own unique baggage that might’ve come back to haunt them if they’d been the featured couple… If I was a plotter instead of a seat-of-the-pants writer I might be able to answer this more definitively!
What was it like going back to Nick and Becca’s story after writing for each of the other couples?
It was fantastic. They’re some of my favorite characters ever, and writing them again was like putting on an old favorite sweatshirt that you’re always comfortable and contented wearing. Nick’s voice is very present in my head, maybe since he was the first Hard Ink character to come to me. Leaving these characters behind is, well, hard. (Although they do appear in my first Raven Riders novel, Ride Hard!)
What will you miss the most about the Hard Ink crew?
Aw, so much! I will miss the dynamics of the brotherhood in the series. I will miss Jeremy’s innuendo-filled T-shirts (and just writing Jeremy in general). I will miss Marz’s humor. And I will miss the setting – because it feels very real to me.
Will we catch glimpses of them in the Raven Riders series from time to time? Maybe the MC will need to hire their services?
Yes, absolutely! The characters from Hard Ink appear in Ride Hard, making good on their promise to pay the Ravens back as allies in a new crisis that the MC experiences. Since the Raven Riders is a spin-off, the worlds overlap in this first book in the new series, which means we still get a bit more Hard Ink!
Can you see yourself ever revisiting the Hard Ink crew again? Since they’ve set up their consulting firm and all…
I have one revisiting of this world planned – Hard to Serve (6/28/16) will be about Detective Kyler Vance, an ally of the Hard Ink team in the latter books in the Hard Ink series. Otherwise, I won’t rule out more Hard Ink stories, but the happily ever afters of all the primary characters have been secured. And as much as I love and already miss Hard Ink, I have more series ideas impatiently waiting for their turn!
This series (and most likely, Raven Riders, too) is chock full of good tattoos. Do you have a favorite that you wrote into the story?
Oh, I love this question! I loved coming up with all of the characters’ tattoos in the Hard Ink series. I especially liked Nick’s biceps tattoo of the silhouette commemorating his six fallen comrades – because I knew that tattoo would ultimately get altered. And I adore that he gets a tattoo for Becca and what it is. My favorite tattoo moments in the series come in Hard to Hold On To (when Easy gets tattoos and shows them to Jenna) and Hard Ever After (when, well, you’ll have to read it!)!
Any teases for what we can look forward to with the Raven Riders? Will we be checking back in on Ike and Jess from time to time?
I’m already in love with the Ravens! You will get to visit with the Hard Ink characters. You will definitely get to see Ike and Jess! You will get a unique take on a motorcycle club, because these guys have a unique mission that shapes the club’s culture. You’ll get a lot more awesome brotherhood dynamics. And you’ll get lots of broken/tortured/damaged heroes (my fave to write!) and tons of heat! All the good stuff!
Are there any fandoms (TV, movies) with which you are currently obsessed?
I am a huge fan of The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Outlander, The X-Files, and The Fast and the Furious (which was one of the influences on my thinking about the Raven Riders)…
And finally, any new authors you’ve read lately that have just blown you away?
These are some new-to-me authors I’ve read lately whose books have really stuck with me in all the best ways:
- Jeanette Grey, Seven Nights to Surrender
- Riley Hart, Collide
- Lilah Pace, Asking for It
- Mimi Jean Pamfiloff, Fugly
- Damon Suede, Hot Head
- Sophie Jordan, All Chained Up
About Laura Kaye
Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty books in contemporary and paranormal romance and romantic suspense, including the Hard Ink and upcoming Raven Riders series. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.