Blackstone Resurrection is available.
Hi everyone. Apologies for writing this post on my phone, so I’ll keep it short. I’m in hospital at the moment after undergoing a second thyroid operation on Tuesday. The first one was in mid August. In both operations the histology was positive for thyroid cancer. The good news is that I’m pretty sure that my fabulous surgeon (really, he’s a rockstar) got all of it out so this should be the end of it. I still have to ask myself what gives. Seems since 2015 my body has declared war on me, and I still have an operation on my right shoulder looming later this year or early next year. Which is why I’m thrilled to announce that Blackstone Resurrection is available at all retailers. And I must admit that it’s a huge relief to me that I published it on Monday night before going into hospital. Now all I have to do is concentrate on recovery and thinking about writing another book. A stand-alone book, I think. After three trilogies in a row I’m cured of writing more trilogies for now. 😂 LOL.
Again apologies to all of you who have waited so long for this third Blackstone book. Please click on the menu links above to find it at your preferred retailer. 🙂
Posted on October 5, 2017, in Books, Excerpts from Blackstone and tagged Aidan's Redemption. Lily's Reprieve, Amazon, blackstone trilogy, lily's reprieve. Bookmark the permalink. 22 Comments.
Niki Savage's 
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! DON’T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK YET!
Hello, Nikki. I had no idea what you have been going through until I found these blog posts recently. My heart goes out to you and your family. Best of wishes for the resolution of the court case and your own health. How scary!
Now, on to your books. I loved both Lily’s Reprieve and Aidan’s Redemption, and was one of those fans that was anxiously awaiting the final book. Now, I realize that what’s been happening to you affected the timeline of the release of the book, and I’m willing to believe that it also affected the length of the book. That it was shorter than the others by several chapters is unfortunate because it doesn’t seem like it gave you enough room to resolve all the issues that were raised in the series. I don’t mean any offense by what I’m about to say, and I don’t know which of these is true, but either you wrote the full content of what you wanted the story to be and you’re completely satisfied with it, or you had to make do with time constraints and did the best you could under the circumstances. What you wrote was very good, and compelling. A real page turner. It was hard to put the book down, but at the end, I was left a little bit disappointed. I wish there could have been a reconnection with James. I know that he would have remained in Bellingham, but to never have any contact with him again? He didn’t deserve that. And there was no resolution in the relationship between Lily and Suzy. We don’t know what knowledge Suzy and Benji were left with or their circumstances. I really wish we could have seen the end of Charles. I know, I’m bloodthirsty! Lol! I can imagine that Aidan was successful in wiping out the rest of the St Lucians and could recover his properties in NY and the possessions Charles stole from him if he wanted them. And I was relieved that Oscar was safe and would be reunited with Aidan and Lily. I just needed the loose ends with the people in their lives tied up neatly, and we didn’t get that resolution. I was excited when I read your response to a comment in one of the recent blogs that once you finished the book that you would look into getting the trilogies into print. I strongly encourage this and hope that it’s possible to do soon because the format that the publisher put the ebooks into leaves a lot to be desired. It’s one continual text with no breaks between chapters. It’s impossible to manuver through the book to find certain specific passsges. I also hope that in putting out a printed version, you will also consider making it an Author’s Extended version or something like that and add in extra details that were missing this time around.
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Hi Melissa, Thanks for your support and kind words. I’m glad that you enjoyed Blackstone Resurrection even though it felt a bit short. You’re right about making do with what time constraints I had. I hit the publish button just a few hours before I went into hospital for my surgery. I too felt that there was much more to say, a kind of epilogue of sorts, but I was simply out of time. I had such a horrible feeling about this second operation which statistically had a far greater risk for morbidity than the first. While I had the utmost faith in my surgeon and anesthetist who are the best in their field, I had less faith in my body, which had been out of sorts since the first operation seven weeks earlier. So I, being a writer with a fertile imagination, had just about convinced myself that there was a fifty fifty chance that I would survive the procedure. And it worried me that I might then leave readers without the third book. So I felt that even though there were a few loose ends, their resolution was kind of implied. But now I think that perhaps a fourth book or maybe just a novella, which would be free of course, would be a good idea. I don’t feel as if I’m finished with the characters, and I know that when I felt that way about the Crossfire Trilogy, I ended up with six books. 😳 So I’m not saying never, but I need some time to recover, and during the next few weeks my energy levels won’t be great. My doc told me they found cancer with the second op also, so now I have to go for a whole body scan which means I can’t take my thyroid meds for several weeks. My sister went through this too so I know what’s waiting for me, unfortunately. So I can’t make any promises for now, at least the main story is done. But I thank you for picking up on it and contacting me with honest feedback. I really appreciate it. And yes, I am looking at getting all nine my books into print, probably early next year, and your extended author version is a great idea, thank you.
I hope you have a wonderful day. 🙂
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Good heavens, Nikki!! It was just ignorance on my part about thyroid cancer that I didn’t understand the sheer gravity of the situation even with your earlier comment. You poor thing. What a terrifying experience to go through. I’m so relieved that it appears that they got it all. You will be in my thoughts and prayers as you continue the recovery process. I am both humbled and amazed that you would think of your fans at a time like that. That’s taking dedication to a whole new level. You, my dear, are the rockstar! Though it was nice to know that you also feel that the Blackstone story isn’t finished yet, it is definitely more important at this point for you to take care of yourself and get well. I’m sure that we all want that. So take whatever time is necessary, and when you feel strong enough, I know that you will do justice to Aidan and Lily’s story and give those of us who have emotionally invested in these characters the resolution that we need.
In the meantime, I do have to ask the question about why your publisher (or whoever) choose to format your digital books the way they have. I’ve had a kindle e-reader since about 2011, and I’ve got around 40 or 50 ebooks on it. But your Blackstone books are the only ones that have a different format. All the others have everything that a physical book would. All the copyright pages and the table of contents, etc. You can swipe up or down to move from chapter to chapter and so it’s relatively easy to navigate the book backwards and forwards to find a particular passage that you want. Your books have a line of asterisks as a line of definition between chapters so the chapters aren’t truly separated. The book is all one continual text. And they are wonderfully long, so it’s hard to move around in it when it’s like that. I’m in my late 40s and I’ve been a bookworm my entire life. Going to an e-reader was an adjustment. I’ve found that some ebooks aren’t very well edited. There are grammer mistakes, missing words, etc. One author’s ebooks were so bad that I deleted them and had to special order the physical books on amazon. Thank goodness that they were still available. I ask this from a place of total ignorance, but is there anything that can be done to correct the formatting of your digital books? Blackstone Resurrection didn’t even have a table of contents. I think that I read or heard something somewhere that made me think that it’s possible for a publisher to release an updated, corrected, version of an already published ebook. And that they can somehow make it available free of charge to people who have already bought the book. It would be wonderful if that was the case. And if it’s possible to do, somone also needs to go through and re-edit the books. There were some very minor issues of a missing word here and there. I know you need to rest now, but if you have someone you trust who can take this on for you, it would be very much appreciated. It’s also just a thought. If it’s not possible, it’s not the end of the world. I’ll just have to wait for the printed version. 😛 😀
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Hi Melissa, I’ve checked the formatting of the books and apart from the missing table of contents I couldn’t find formatting errors. It displays perfectly on all devices. Pls check with Amazon support services if there is an update for your reader, seeing as you’ve had it since 2011. Pls let me know how it goes. 🙂
Look out for the printed versions early next year. I’ll announce it here when they are available.
Hope you have a great day. 🙂
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Hi, Nikki. I checked with Amazon as you suggested and my kindle, though old, is updated. You know, when I received Resurrection and started reading it, it had the asterisks between chapters so I didn’t even try to swipe up or down. I thought it was the same as the first two books, but as it turns out, it does function normally like all the other books I have. So I have a mystery on my hands. It’s weird that all the books that I’ve bought before, and especially after, Lily’s Reprieve and Aidan’s Redemption function normally but those two are different. I do think that I’ll upgrade to either the Kindle Paperwhite or Voyager in the next few months just because it’s a move I’ve wanted to make anyway, but I don’t expect that to change anything regarding those 2 books. I guess that I’ll just have to wait and get the printed versions when they become available next year. Thank you for checking on it for me though. Didn’t mean to be a pain or anything. Have a great day and happy resting to you. 😀
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I am so sorry to hear that Niki! I am a huge fan and can’t wait to read the final book, I know it’ll be amazing as always. Please keep us updated on your recovery ❤️ And I think you’re the rock star with how you’ve coped with everything over the past year.
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Hi Emma. Thanks for your lovely words of support. I’ll keep you guys updated on my recovery. Thanks so much for your interest. Just to clarify, Blackstone Resurrection is the final book, but I’m planning a novella or even just a long epilogue like I did in the Driftwood Trilogy. If I do an epilogue I’ll add it to Resurrection directly and ask Amazon to sent updated copies to all who have already purchased the book. Either way, it won’t cost money for anyone to get the updated version or the novella.
Wishing you a wonderful day. 😀
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Hi I know resurrection is the final book, I hadn’t started reading it yet when I wrote that post to you. I’ve only read about 20 pages so far as I’ve been working so much the past few days. I can’t wait for my day off on Sunday to binge read all of it 🙂
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Hello, Emma. Just to let you know, the reason Nikki clarified that Resurrection is the final book has to do with what she and I were discussing in the posts above on this blog entry. She told me that due to circumstances she was dealing with at the time, she decided to publish the book before it was actually complete. So now she’s deciding whether to do a novella or add on an epilogue that updates the book. I’m hoping for the epilogue. Or maybe just add 2 or 3 more chapters to what’s already there.
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Hi Melissa I know as I had read the posts. I think Niki is amazing and so thoughtful for going to the effort of finishing and publishing the book with everything she’s had going on.
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Hi Emma. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Thanks for clearing things up, Melissa.
Enjoy your reading on Sunday, Emma. There’s nothing I enjoy more than binge reading until I have to rinse my eyes with ice water to be able to continue. Lol. Happy weekend to both you and Melissa. 😀
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Hi Niki, so sorry for your health problems but I’ll do what you’re doing and put all my faith in your rockstar doctor…so mending and writing your stand alone book is what you have to keep you busy. I’ve loved reading all three of your trilogies…Stefan & Marcelle were my favorite people in the world until I met Aidan & Lily…well now I have to wait for you to write your stand alone…and of course hope to God that I can find other books to keep me busy until your next one is ready for us. Please take care of yourself and take it easy until you’re well and able to work again.
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Hi Sandra. Thank you for your kind words. I’m recovering well from the surgery and will be going for an iodine scan next week to see if they got it all.
I’m thrilled that you’ve enjoyed all three my trilogies and even followed me as I changed genres to write Aidan and Lily’s story. I hope to create a new couple that you’ll enjoy just as much. I already have two characters percolating in my head, though they don’t have names yet. Yes, even though I’m resting at the moment and not writing, my imagination is never quiet.
Thanks for commenting and I hope you have a great Sunday. 😀
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Hi Niki I just want to say how much I loved the third blackstone book. A final chapter would be good just to see what ended up happening with Lilies friends but even without that I found it a satisfying ending and as usual a totally gripping story that had me hooked from start to finish. It was definitely worth the wait. I hope that the iodine scan went well and that you’re recovering ok 🙂
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Hi Emma, I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed the third Blackstone book. I’ll get that final chapter out before I start a new manuscript and I’ll announce it here as soon as it’s ready.
My iodine scan showed that there was still quite a bit of residual thyroid cells after my surgery so I underwent radioactive iodine ablation the weekend before last. It was quite a surreal experience because they give you a capsule of radioactive iodine 131 that kills off the thyroid cells but makes you highly radioactive for three to four days. I had to spend that time in an isolation ward in hospital until my levels had normalized. It made me think a lot about Aidan and how it must feel to know that your presence is a danger to others. The nurses didn’t even enter the room and would talk to me from behind the door of the ward. A mosquito that managed to get into the ward dropped dead right after drinking a bit of my blood. Freaky, for sure.
But all jokes aside, I didn’t feel very well and the fact that I was alone in the ward with just my phone and the TV for company wasn’t as restful as I had hoped it would be. I had taken my laptop into the ward hoping to get work done, but in the end the brain fog was working against me, because I had already been off my thyroid meds for a month before the scan.
The good news is that the scan after the treatment showed that the iodine had been taken up by the right tissues so now I just have to wait six months to the next scan to see if I’m clear. And I’ve been back on my thyroid replacement meds for about eleven days and already my brain is feeling much clearer. Despite my plans to leave everything until next year, I found myself opening the manuscript to take a look at the Blackstone Resurrection again and see how I can improve it some more. Do you know that there isn’t a single sex scene in the whole book? Jeesh, how did that happen? 😉 And at least that final scene should have been a good strong scene but I ran out of time. So once I’ve been through everything again I will put out an updated version of the book and Amazon will automatically push the updated version to your devices, free of charge.
Thank you for commenting and for your good wishes, Emma.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. 🙂
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Hi Niki I just came onto the website to check in and see if anything new had been posted. I can’t believe that was 4 months ago that you wrote that reply, I can’t believe I didn’t write a response back, that is mad the whole radioactive thing. Really is surreal. And I’m so glad to hear that the brain fog had cleared and everything was looking better. Only two months now until the next scan. As for the book I didn’t actually realise about the sex scenes until you pointed that out lol, didn’t matter to me personally as I was more obsessed as to where the story was going. And once again I still think it was a brilliant final book and I really mean that, especially as you wrote it in a rush. Please keep us updated with how your doing, I hope that you and your cats are keeping well and all is good 🙂
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Hi Emma, apologies for my late reply. Thanks for your kind words. My health and energy levels are improving every day. Yes, not looking forward to the next scan. Will have to go off my thyroid meds for at least a month before the scan, which will destroy my energy levels again. 😟 And the scan itself is rather uncomfortable seeing as I suffer from claustrophobia (a curse I share with Lily) so really not looking forward to it.
With ref to the sex scenes, I actually only noticed afterwards that most of the sex scenes were ‘fade to black’ instead of my usual style. I originally attributed it to my state of mind at the time, but upon revising the book I discovered that there weren’t really any areas where it felt right to insert a steamy scene. The subject matter of the book, which lets face it was rather tragic at times, just didn’t allow it somehow. Anyway, we already know that Aidan and Lily are great together.
Thanks so much for coming back to me and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
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Hello, Nikki
It’s been awhile. How did the scan go? You had it some time last month, right? I hope all is going well with you. I’m curious as to the status of Blackstone Resurrection. I thought, from what you said in one of your last comments, that you’d done the revision on the manuscript, but I’ve not seen any notifications from Amazon that the updated version is available. You and one of the other ladies were talking about the lack of steamy scenes, and I, like her, am much more interested in the relationships of the characters and how all the loose ends will be tied up. I’m sure you’ll do an outstanding job and it will be worth the wait. I’m getting kinda anxious though. 😎😊
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Hi Melissa, so sorry that I’m only coming back to you now. I’ve been dealing with two very sick cats in my shelter, one of whom now seems to be getting better, however the other one, sweet little Daisy, lost the battle yesterday, and I’m heartbroken, to say the least.
With reference to my scan, I have not yet had it. I came down with severe bronchitis about two months ago, and so decided to hold off on the scan as by the time I was better, it was already quite cold here in South Africa. Not exactly the right time to go off my meds to do the scan because one of the main symptoms of low thyroid levels is intolerance to cold, so I’ve decided to wait until Winter is over. It’s not ideal, but it is what it is.
Regarding the revision of Blackstone Resurrection, I will publish a blogpost about that by the middle of next week to let everyone know my thoughts about it.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and wish you all the best in the week ahead.
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Hi Niki I’m sorry to read about your cat Daisy passing away last year, my cat Adonis died a year and a half ago and it broke my heart as he was such a sweet cat. I was just checking to see if there was anything new from you and I saw in one of your comments that you’re writing a new book and I just want to say I can’t wait already because I know it’ll be brilliant. Can you give any spoilers? 😉 also I hope everything is good health wise as I know you were going through a lot last year but I hope you’re better. All the best 🙂
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Hi Emma, so nice to hear from you again. Yes it’s one of life’s great tragedies that we outlive our cats. I’ve been through it so many times and it never gets easier. Thank you for your kind words.
Yes, the good news is that I’m writing again. My brain has finally sorted itself out, or I should rather say that my thyroid replacement dosage is finally at the right strength and my memory and energy levels have vastly improved. So happy about that. My manuscript is already at 23000 words. Thank you for your vote of confidence, I can only hope it will be brilliant. As for spoilers I don’t want to say too much right now but it is again a blend of genres as I am fond to do. Imagine a medieval romance mixed with present day urban fantasy romance. I’m having a lot of fun writing it and am even writing on weekends because my characters just won’t leave me alone. They want the story told so I’m writing as fast as I can. 😉 As always I will publish the first three chapters here as soon as my manuscript nears completion.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend. 😀
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I’ve had 2 cats die, one of them was the family cat, we got him when I was 15 and then he died when he was 15 2 years ago. But he died peacefully after a happy, spoiled life so I’m grateful for that. I’ve 2 other cats and I volunteer at a cat shelter so I’m definitely the cat lady lol. I’m really so happy to hear that your energy levels have improved and that you’re enjoying writing again. And the book sounds absolutely fantastic 🙂 can’t wait to read it when ever it’s ready and hope you have a great weekend too.
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