The release of To the Stars by Molly McAdams has us excited to get the details behind the story as well as find out what is next for the Thatch series.

If you haven’t read Letting Go yet, you should definitely get on that, then pick up To the Stars and you’ll be well on your way to anticipating all the good stories that Molly McAdams has in store for us.

A few spoilers lie ahead for To the Stars, so proceed with caution. Once you’ve read the books of the Thatch series (and checked out our review of To the Stars), make sure to come back and get all the details behind what it took to write such an emotionally demanding story.

About the Thatch series

Did you always know whose story would be next after Grey and Jagger’s? Or with Knox, Graham, and Deacon hanging around, did Knox just push his way to the forefront?

Knox totally pushed his way to the forefront! I initially thought I would write Charlie’s story first, but one thing led to another… ;)

What made you decide upon this type of story for book two in the Thatch series? Or did Harlow and Knox decide that for you?

So that’s an interesting story actually, and it kind of feeds off of the previous question. I had this dream numerous times of what the story was, and began writing it as a completely new novel. New characters, new world (er, not “Thatch”), everything new; but something felt off. I could see the story very clearly in my mind, but was missing a crucial element, and often felt like I was forcing the characters to speak to me. Then one day it was as if the light clicked on, angels started singing, you know … the usual. Haha. I thought of the male lead as Knox, and it all fit into place. Everything finally made sense. I’ve never felt that much emotion go into a story, and loved—and sometimes hated—how invested I was once I knew the characters as Knox and Harlow.

Letting Go, while incredibly emotional and entangled due to Ben’s death casting a shadow over the whole story, was nowhere near as dark in subject matter as To the Stars became. Should we expect the rest of the Thatch series to continue down this path, or is there a possibility for subsequent books to take on a totally different tone?

I don’t think so. I don’t think To The Stars is a hint at what we could possibly see later. But I have no doubt that the next book in the series will still be emotional, just probably more along the lines of what you felt in ‘Letting Go’.

While perusing your website we saw that Deacon and Charlie will be the next story in the Thatch series. Is there any information you can give us about their story?

Yes, yes, yes! So excited for this! Hmm … what can I say? Not much, except it is going to be fun watching the two fall for each other, especially since Charlie and Deacon are everything the other doesn’t think they want.

About ‘To the Stars’

Harlow’s story is truly terrifying. Not only was Collin physically and emotionally abusive, but the power he had outside the relationship allowed him to threaten her loved ones so effectively it kept Harlow silent. Despite her silence, Harlow seemed to maintain some sort of fight inside her. Was it hard to figure out how to write that sort of headspace?

Honestly, it wasn’t, it was just incredibly emotionally and physically draining. I could easily slip into her “mind,” but it always left me shaking and worn out. With Harlow, the hardest part was actually once Knox came back into the picture. I wanted her with him so much that I often found myself trying to force her toward Knox long before she was meant to.

We were surprised by the reactions Graham and Deacon had to Knox’s fascination with Harlow. We expected them to be concerned at first, but we didn’t imagine they’d remain so hostile toward her when their comments affected Knox so negatively. Why choose that route for their characters?

I didn’t want them to be like that! Ugh, guys … sometimes you want to slap them. But the way I saw it was that they were more than just worried for their friend. In both Letting Go and To The Stars we see how Graham, Knox, and Deacon are very protective of the girls in their lives, but that means that they would be very protective of each other as well. In Graham and Deacon’s minds, they were terrified for their “brother”, and didn’t understand why he wasn’t scared or caring about their warnings. I think there were a lot of rational conversations between the guys that we didn’t get to see before it got to the point of Graham and Deacon turning into the jerks we do see.

It was relieving to learn that Collin’s parents weren’t like their son. They may have been blind to his problems, but Collin played a convincing part in front of them. Was there anything that turned Collin into the monster we saw? Or was this just always a part of him that his parents never noticed?

I think there was always a part of him that his parents didn’t notice, and I also think it grew over time. I think he liked the control he had with his parents’ money, so that made him want control in other things, but his mental issues caused him to be out of control. You can see him testing the waters a bit when he and Harlow were dating, and then in their marriage it just grew until he turned into who we see in the present.

What was the most challenging part of this story to write?

Um, the whole thing? Haha! No, I would definitely have to say any scene with Collin. Not only did having him in a scene cause me to shake and drain me emotionally, but I always wondered what the readers were going to think. Was it too much? Would it be too difficult for women who had gone through similar situations? I was constantly second-guessing myself for how graphic scenes with Collin got. But ultimately, I knew the book had to be written how I saw it in my mind.

Knox is definitely a hopeless romantic. It’s not everyday that we see male characters as devoted to one person despite being rejected by them as Knox was to Harlow. What is your favorite part of writing a character like him?

I loved that it was so unexpected, even for me. If you read Letting Go, then you saw Knox during a time without Harlow, and “romantic” is the last thing you could have called him. As I said earlier, I hadn’t originally started writing this story for Knox, and when I did and it all clicked, even his life how we saw in Letting Go made sense for me. But again, I loved that it was unexpected. That you wouldn’t think his character would be capable of all of the swoony things he did and said made him that much better.

And now for some fun…

How about 5 random facts about yourself?

What is your favorite romance trope to write?

Can we just say “emotional” and call it a day? Haha! Kidding. I kind of love the forbidden romance thing, in any way. Sharing You, the hero was married. Taking Chances, the heroine fell for her boyfriend’s best friend. To The Stars, the age difference kept them apart. Needing Her, the older brothers’ best friend. Deceiving Lies … one word: Trent.

What is your favorite romance trope to read?

This is really difficult, I’m not sure I have a favorite to read! But one I do love is the whole guardian/ward romance. I guess that could kind of fit in with forbidden romance though, right? ;)

Who would you put on a list of your 3 favorite authors at the moment?


About Molly McAdams

Molly grew up in California but now lives in the oh-so-amazing state of Texas with her husband, daughter, and fur babies. When she’s not diving into the world of her characters, some of her hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, traveling, and long walks on the beach … which roughly translates to being a homebody with her hubby and dishing out movie quotes. She has a weakness for crude-humored movies and fried pickles, and loves curling up in a fluffy comforter during a thunderstorm … or under one in a bathtub if there are tornadoes. That way she can pretend they aren’t really happening.