Get to Know Lucas a Little Better

When I started working on Shiver with Rinda Elliot back in the spring, Lucas was the first character of the quartet that I met.  And I’ve got to admit that we didn’t hit it off at first.  Oh, he’s bossy, cold, distant, and controlling. In other words, he’s too much like how I’m sure I would be if I was trying to create a billion-dollar empire and take over the world.

As I started making plans and plotting out the books with Rinda, Lucas would stand in the center of the room, frowning down at me while wearing his insanely expensive suit and glancing down at his watch, which undoubtedly cost more than my car.  (And by now, all readers realize that I see and talk to my characters so we’ll just keep moving along.)

In the early days, I wondered how he was going to be a romantic lead.  I didn’t like him much.

And then… I saw him with his friends and my heart melted.  Total, gooey puddle useless, doe-eyed awwww moment.  That’s when I got it. That’s when I became determined to give this man his happily ever after.  Because for Lucas, there are some people who are who they want to be and then there are others who choose to be who they need to be for those they love, even if that person can be very hard to get close to.

So let me introduce you to Lucas…

Lucas Vallois is a hard man with steel at his very core.  He grew up in extremely poor neighborhood, where the people there had little hope and no prospects of ever escaping. His best friend from childhood and neighbor for many years is Ashton “Snow” Frost. If Lucas has one vulnerability, one weakness in life, it is that he will do anything to protect Snow.  His friend is the only person he will sacrifice for.  He will kill for Snow and he will die for Snow.

The oldest of three children, Lucas is not in contact with his family and has not been since he graduated high school and entered the army with Snow. Snow needed an escape and Lucas saw it as a way to pay for college. Lucas is the man with a plan. He put in four years in the army to buy four years of college.  His only goal in life was to become a billionaire. He wanted to never be poor again. To never worry about whether he would eat the next day or if he would have a roof over his head.  When he graduated college, he moved when Snow entered medical school in a different state so that he could remain close to his friend. While working, he attending night school and acquired his MBA.

By his late 20s he began buying rental property to add to his income. By 30, he opened his first nightclub and made his first million. He has pushed on with ruthless determination.  Most of his money comes from property but he also owns three nightclubs, two restaurants, and one hotel.

Due to his single-minded focus on his businesses and attaining a high social standing, he does obsess a bit too much about the façade he presents to the world, particularly his social peers and his peers in business.  As such, he has never had a relationship with a man, though he is gay.  He has dated women mainly because they are seen as part of the lifestyle that he is supposed to portray. Expensive house, expensive car, expensive wardrobe, elegant girlfriend.  Men are flings used for sexual release and nothing more.   Of course, the “relationships” that he enters are generally emotionless agreements meant for social standing.

During the army, Lucas allowed Rowan “Rowe” Ward into his small network of close friends.  While not as close to Rowe as he is to Snow, Lucas is loyal and protective of his friend. When Rowe left the army as a Ranger four years after Snow and Lucas, he lived with his friends.  When Rowe started his security company, Lucas loaned him a good chunk of the money he needed. As a result, Lucas owns shares of Rowe’s business.

Ian has been a part of their little friend group for only a few years.  Like Rowe and Snow, Lucas is incredibly protective of the young man.

If you would like to meet Lucas, his first appearance will be in SHIVER (book 1 of The Unbreakable Bonds series), coming out October 27. To read a description of the book, please click here.Pre-order your copy of Shiver from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, or Kobo now.

And if you’d like to see the model that inspired my sweet and stubborn Lucas, click here to check out our Tumblr page.

Happy reading!