It’s here! After months of writing, revisions, worry and fuss, it’s finally here. Book Two in the Ares Ascending series, the follow up to Stealing Ares, is in the world. I’ve always loved reading series fiction. If I love a story, a world, then I don’t want it to end. I want to stay with that world as long as possible. So, when I began my writing journey, I knew this was my path as well. However, and I can’t imagine I’m alone with this concern, I fret over whether it will live up to book one.

I was so glad that readers loved Jack, Harlow, Mother Superior, and Carlos. Could I write a follow-up that would be as good? I know what I think, but only time will tell if the readers agree. Like many serial romances, the focus shifts to another couple in the story. In book two, our focus moves from Jack and Harlow to Carlos and Safia, although Jack and Harlow are still very much part of the story—I love my ensemble cast!

In Losing Ares, our characters’ best intentions seem to be backfiring at almost every turn. Carlos just wants to love Safia, but she’s dealing with a tragic past that complicates their relationship. Jack just wants what’s best for the colonists, but they are sharply divided, and some see his efforts as a betrayal against the home world, even though they were making slave wages under the old coalition. As they say, “it’s complicated,” but that’s what makes it relatable, even five hundred years in the future, but enough commentary, here’s the synopsis:

First Sgt. Carlos Gonsalves has pledged his allegiance to the rogue Mars colony and to his best friend, the former rebel aristocrat, Jack Windsor. Going all in for the colony means he’s been declared AWOL and cannot return to Earth, but it was worth it, especially now that he’s found the love of his life: Safia Asfour.

With the off-world colony on the brink of civil war, the rebels recruit a savior to tip the balance. Unfortunately, he’s a predator from Safia’s past who threatens to destroy her relationship with Carlos -and she’ll let him if it will save the lives of her friends aboard the starship HMS Ares. Meanwhile, best friend Harlow Hanson has an idea that will help Safia get her power back: Safia will deal out the vigilante justice Harlow once did before marrying Jack. Though Safia becomes a force to be reckoned with, no force in the galaxy can stop the predator determined to claim her as his own.

Losing Ares shows just how far the colonists will go to protect the ones they call family. Carlos is about to prove it, even if he must punch a hole through two planets to save the one he loves.

If you’ve read Stealing Ares, I hope you’re looking forward to another trip aboard the Ares. If you’ve read neither, welcome aboard. I think you’ll find it a journey well worth taking.