The temptation to trade places with my heroine is great and the reason obvious: when the candles have been doused and the book closed, Emmie Farnum gets to end up with Devlin St. Just! The temptation to trade places with Devlin St. Just is even greater: He heals from a tremendous load of grief, pain, and heartache to find true love, a way back to the family who loves him, and a way forward to his happily ever afters. And then there’s Winnie… A happily ever after bestowed on a child has to rank right up there as one of the best things about crafting a novel. She also gets a dog of her own, and if early warnings are any indications, she’s soon to have her own pony too. But… I am the author, and so if I had to pick one character to be, it would be Lord Valentine Windham, whose job as a secondary character is love everybody in the story. This most closely approximates my role as author. I observe, as Lord Val observes. As he does, I ache for my story people as they suffer their travail, I yearn for their happiness and I do…