Coincidentally, I had just begun a proposal with a sheikh hero and a queen in hiding when my editor emailed to ask if I would like to collaborate with Tara Pammi, Maya Blake and Caitlin Crews on a sheikh quartet. Having enjoyed working with all of these authors on other projects, I was like, “Um, yes please.”
At the time the series was called “Kings of Khalia” and my title was tentatively “Sheikh’s Runaway Princess.” The quartet hinges on my heroine’s mother, the Queen of Khalia, having an affair with my hero’s father, King Jamil of Zyria. They’re both dead when, in Book One, Sheikh’s Baby of Revenge, Tara’s hero Adir is revealed to be the secret baby of this affair.
The news topples the current King of Khalia, thrusting Maya’s hero, Zufar, onto the throne in Book Two, Sheikh’s Pregnant Cinderella. His bride gets kidnapped by Adir, so he marries the maid–who later turns out to have a secret past of her own.
Book Three, Sheikh’s Princess of Convenience, opens at the wedding where my heroine, Galila, starts revealing all of these shocking details to a stranger. He turns out to be Jamil’s son, Karim, and he will do anything to keep his father’s long-ago affair a secret–including compromising Galila so she is forced to marry him!
I don’t want to reveal too many spoilers, but in the final book, Caitlin’s Sheikh’s Secret Love Child, Galila’s other brother, Malak, the black sheep of the family, is forced to wear a crown.
I didn’t mind shelving my queen to work on such a fun project. Besides, it’s wonderful knowing I have something to fall back on if I’m searching for inspiration down the road.
