If you look at my new "Billionaire World" reading map, you’ll see a sprawling empire of families, scandals, and happily-ever-afters. But to truly understand how this world came to be, we have to go back—all the way back to 2010.

The Hero They Said Was "Too Much"

Once upon a time, before the billionaire romance explosion and before Fifty Shades of Grey changed the landscape, I wrote a hero named Dominic Corisi. At the time, publishers told me he was too alpha, too angry, and too intense.

I didn't listen.

My daughter’s favorite quote from that era perfectly sums up the Corisi energy: "Can you really kidnap someone who wanted to go with you?" In 2011, I self-published Maid for the Billionaire. I put it up for free, and by the time I was ready to release book two, over one million people had downloaded it. Dominic hadn't just jumpstarted my career; he had claimed a permanent residence in the hearts of readers.

Seeing the World Through Many Eyes

What fascinated me most about the original Legacy Collection wasn't just Dominic’s own story, but how he looked through the eyes of everyone else.

• In book one, you see his power.

• In book two, you see him through the eyes of his adversary.

• By books three and four, you’re seeing him through a sister-in-law's romance and another woman enjoying her own "kidnapping" fantasy.

One of my favorite perspectives was Alethea’s. She was a woman obsessed with the truth who trusted no one —except Dominic. Their bond showed that even a morally gray billionaire values loyalty and friendship above all else.

A World That Refused to Stay Small

Most authors might have closed the book there. But my characters had other plans. The Corisis spilled into the world of the Barringtons. Then the Westerlys. I was eventually given the chance to expand Dominic’s family even further, discovering "lost" relatives and giving a broken hero the foundation he always craved.

I’ve watched Dominic grow, stumble, and nearly make irreversible mistakes, only to pull back at the last second from becoming someone unforgivable. He is so dynamic that he even demanded a cameo in my World War II "super soldier" series (yes, the one with the silverware!). It was perfect.

The Next Chapter: Firebrook Valley

This year, as I sat down to start a brand-new series, I knew exactly where it belonged: right back in the Billionaire World.

As you dive into Firebrook Valley and meet the new families I’m introducing, keep your eyes peeled. There will be cameos. There will be crossovers. And if the stars align exactly the way I want them to, this journey will culminate in the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Judy Corisi finally revealing to her father exactly who she’s been dating.

Welcome back to the world that Dominic built. It's good to be home.

Let’s go back to a time when my life was a little more crowded and my office was a kitchen table.

Before the high-rise offices and the sprawling family sagas of Firebrook Valley, my husband, our three kids, and I lived in an 850-square-foot house. Calling the small patch of floor in front of our sink and refrigerator a "kitchen" was generous, and calling that table my "office" was even more so. It was loud, it was chaotic, and looking back, it was a time I’ll always miss—even if the fatigue was very, very real.

The Great Escape

Sometimes, the chaos won. Maybe the roof was being fixed, or maybe everyone was home at once, but on this particular day, I needed to hit a deadline. I grabbed my laptop and headed to our local library.

Between writing in my car during my oldest daughter's cheerleading practices or on park benches, I was a pro at writing anywhere. I found a spot, put my headphones on, and completely fell into the story. I was having one of those rare, furiously productive days where the words just flow.

The "Private Room" Offer

I was deep in the zone when a librarian approached me. She asked if I wanted a private room. I pulled back my headphones, looked around at the relatively quiet library, and gave her a polite smile.

"No, I’m perfectly fine writing right here, thank you," I said.

She paused, then asked, "Then I wonder if you would like to write somewhere else?"

That’s when it hit me. She wasn’t offering me a quiet place to focus; she was asking me to go anywhere else but there. My hands went up to my face and I realized my cheeks were soaking wet. The scene I was writing was so emotional that I was sitting in the middle of a public library, sobbing my heart out.

The Giraffe and the Zoo

I was tempted to tell her that I was a New York Times Bestselling author and that libraries are where we belong—it’s like asking a giraffe not to be at the zoo! But then I looked at the quiet, overtly curious people around me and realized I had very publicly lived out the scene in my head.

Mortified, I stuffed my laptop into my bag and practically ran for my car.

The Magic in the Middle

That was the last time I wrote in a library, though I’ve continued to write in cars, at cheer events, and in fields while my daughter rides our horse. I just choose my locations more carefully now, places where if I start laughing because my characters are hilarious or crying because they’re suffering, and nobody cares.

I share this because it was one of my most embarrassing moments, but also because it shows how real these stories are to me. When my characters are falling in love, I’m falling in love right along with them. When they are sad, I am sitting in that space with them.

People say the journey is more incredible than the destination, and that encapsulates writing for me. Reaching "The End" is incredible, and the blank page is scary, but the magic that happens in the middle? I wouldn't want to miss a moment of it.

I am, and have always been, a character-driven romance author. People often ask me how I keep a world of over 50 books interconnected and alive, and the answer is simple: it always starts with the people.

Before I can write a new series like Firebrook Valley, I have to imagine who lives there. I might have a vague idea of a location or a plot, but before a single word of the story hits the page, I fill notebooks with what motivates a character.

I knew the entire backstory of Gabe Holliston—his relationship with his ex-wife, his parents, and exactly how he interacts with his children—long before I wrote the first scene. I know what is strong in him and what is broken. As I imagine him raising his children, I look at them through both his eyes and theirs. What were their challenges? Who would they have been to each other?

Then, I ask the most important question: What do these characters yearn for?

When I imagined the Burkes, I spent just as much time getting to know their history and their failures. I need to know what they are proud of and what they are ashamed of. Who are they in their best moments, and who are they in their worst?

Once I know them, I look for the match. Why do these two people, out of everyone I could imagine, belong together? Do they bring out the best in each other? Only when I have that answer do I set the notes aside and create the "plot" for them to work through.

By the time the "magic" starts, they are real to me. When they struggle, I’m rooting for them. When they cry during a scene, I’m crying right along with them. And when I finally write the words "The End" on a happily-ever-after, I’m smiling in exactly the way I hope you are.

That reminds me, I should post about the time I was asked to leave a library . . .