Author Spotlight: Anna Stewart Has a New Red Lily Book!

I love it when fellow Tule author Anna J. Stewart stops by the blog because she is such a fabulous storyteller! She’s here with Betrayed, her newest Circle of the Red Lily novel.

USA Today and national bestselling author Anna J. Stewart has published nearly seventy romances, from heartwarming contemporary to edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense. A Maggie and Holt Medallion winner, her award-winning books celebrate love, family, hope, and second chances—with unforgettable characters, emotional stakes, and happily-ever-afters always worth fighting for.

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The Perils of Pantsing

The process of writing Betrayed, book 4 in my romantic thriller Circle of the Red Lily series posed a number of problems from the start.

The first 3 books (Framed, Vanished, and Unearthed) featured main female characters with abilities, talents, and emotional investments that made their investigation into the secret society lurking in the shadows of modern-day Hollywood both logical and meaningful. To be honest, I had no idea what Sutton O’Hara, a single mom raising her niece and nephew, a personal chef and nutritionist, had to offer the story, at least from the suspense angle. It was such an issue for me that I actually wrote the conundrum into the plot of the story. Many times, Sutton mentions her lack of expertise when it comes to stepping into danger of any kind. What did she possibly have to contribute?

That meant putting her into the middle of the story in an unexpected way. As the newest hire at the Golden Age Retirement Home, an upscale facility where many of the residents have long-time connections to the film world, she immediately finds herself embroiled in a new mystery, yet one that she and her friend sense have connections to their ongoing search for answers to the disappearance of dozens of missing women over the decades. As useless as Sutton has felt previously is how important she quickly becomes. Doing so, however, makes her an unexpected target. Enter Blake Redford, a man with a secret that could blow apart the foundation of Temple House who will do anything to protect her; even if it means risking his future. That’s really where the heart of the story is—between the two of them as they come to terms not only with the past, but an uncertain future that becomes a huge risk for them both. But I digress.

Back when I started the series, I thought I knew exactly where it was leading. As the title of this blog post suggests, I don’t plot my book. I’m a pantser or, for those unfamiliar with the term, I write by the seat of my pants. I let the story take me where it wants to go (oftentimes dictated by the characters). With suspense that can make things more challenging but also provide a huge feeling of accomplishment when those lightning moments hit. Getting an ah-ha! I didn’t see that coming twist on the plot is a high I tend to chase with each story I write. So yeah, I thought I knew exactly where the series was heading as I started thinking about writing the final book in the series.

I spent most of the time writing Betrayed heading in that planned direction. When I wrote the prologue, I did so thinking I knew precisely whose point of view it was in (if you’ve read you’ll know what I mean). But as I plowed through the last twenty pages of the book (riding that addictive roller coaster straight toward “The End”), things took a completely unexpected turn. One that flipped everything I thought I knew about the Circle of the Red Lily on its head. Nothing I thought is true now. Everything I kind of had planned has to be trashed. But here’s the amazing thing that happens with twists like that. If it surprises me? Chances are it’s going to surprise my readers and believe me when I say that there is no greater honor than tricking a reader into thinking things are going one way when in fact, they’re about to shift completely.

So as I gear up to begin book five (title to be announced soon well before its Spring 2027 release), I have to go back and pick up all the lose threads of the previous story and attempt to tie them into the new questions I’ve left open in the epilogue. This will include expanding an unexpected character’s role (I assumed she’d be a walk on in maybe one or two scenes), and changing everything I thought I knew about the hero, movie studio owner Granger Powell. Did I mention that nationally renowned defense attorney Laurel Fontaine is about to be taken on the most dangerous ride of her life? Well, she is. And she and Granger are going to be combustible!

But first, Sutton and Blake will deal with a serial killer on the loose, a deadly mystery at the retirement home, and a betrayal that may or may not threaten a future both of them not only need, but deserve.

And this is only one of my many confessions of a pantser. I hope you’ll come along for the rest of the ride! Books 1-4 are currently available with book 1 on sale for only 99 cents through the month of September!

Happy reading, everyone.

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Betrayed

She trusted him with her life. He lied about why he came.

Sutton O’Hara has enough on her plate raising her orphaned niece and nephew and working as a nutritionist at a retirement home. But when clues among the residents point to the Circle—a powerful secret network linked to decades of missing girls and murder—she refuses to look away.

Former Naval investigator Blake Redford is determined to keep Sutton safe. Posing as her boyfriend gives him the perfect excuse to stay close while they search for answers, but the attraction they’ve both ignored quickly becomes impossible to deny. For the first time since losing his wife and son, Blake can imagine a future again.

Then Sutton discovers why he really took the job as a building maintenance man, and it rocks everything she thought about him.

Now, with the trust he needs shattered and the enemy closing in, Blake must prove whose side he’s on before the secrets he kept cost him the woman he loves, the family he never expected, and their only chance to expose the truth.

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