from my planning process to my writing process. I always knew that I wanted Collins and Beau together, but while I knew it would be based on a one-night stand, it wasn't originally going to be a roommate romance. Then that idea took hold in my head, and it made so much sense that I had to do it.

I also considered doing the one night stand a few different ways. I thought about not writing it out at all, and merely referencing it in character conversations or thoughts. I also thought about writing it out and having that spicy scene be a prologue. Really, you know, start out with a bang. And then of course I considered doing it the way I did.

Big shout-out to my wonderful writer friends for helping me sort out my ideas on that because I think doing it as short introductory flashbacks worked out for telling their story. But feedback is of course welcomed on whether you liked it that way, too!

And because it was based on a one-night stand, I knew that Beau had to be the spiciest burning boy™.

I've had a few requests to put the one night stand excerpts together in one chapter, so I will likely still post that. Because the POV switches so much, it might read a little choppy.

For a touch of backstory, I was a senior in college when I took a literature course that fulfilled my final general credit I needed before graduation. The course? Traveling with my professor and a small group of students to Italy, where the expectation was to read Dante's Inferno and blog about it while on our trip. We sat by the Duomo as we read, drank lots of wine, and took day trips to other cities.

We saw the original copy of the epic poem, which is in the same museum as David (and his balls made out of cla—I mean, marble). We also got to see original Botticelli (baby cellos) works in the Uffizi. I'm no artist, but I do appreciate the world of it. I hope I did Collins and her love of art justice, but as I'm not an expert, (respectful) feedback is always welcome.

These characters have come to mean so much to me! I wanted them all to have their own complexities and their own distinctness, and I also strived to make each of their relationships a bit different—both the romantic ones and the platonic ones. I hope that came across!

Feel free to drop any other comments about the story! Or questions. :) I cannot tell you how much I appreciate my readers. You have made me a better writer, and I adore hearing your reactions and chatting with you. I started the Wildfire Series at the beginning of the pandemic, and writing it and sharing it honestly did a lot to help get me through the last two years. Thank you so, so much.

✨✨✨✨

So we've reached the end.

but, as it often is, also a new beginning.

As many of you know, my newest project is Alive At Night—a story about Julian and Juniper and a:

🌸best friend's brother

🌸enemies-to-lovers

🌸workplace romance

🌸with just a touch of fake-dating

When I tell you this story has been BREWING in my head and I'm so utterly excited to start sharing it with you. It will be coming your way very soon. Add it to your libraries now!

In other news, you might have seen my Instagram stories about writing Grayson POVs for some of the big moments in All The Wild Ones. Those will be something new called , where readers can click onto Grayson's POV of a scene within a chapter. They are debuting with paywalls (15 coins). Those start dropping this week, and the first one features the scene where Nessa shows up at Grayson's door after his, you know.

Lastly, I'll also be dividing my time this summer to continue to work on In the House of Secrets. I know it doesn't have any Wildfire characters, but if you're a fan of Bridgerton or the brother's best friend, grumpy x sunshine, or the bodyguard trope...then, you might enjoy it. It can be read as a stand-alone, and will soon be full steam ahead...if you catch my drift. ;)

Don't be a stranger! Find me here:

Instagram: cocoandamelie

Tiktok: ameliewrites

Twitter: amelierhys

Pinterest: amelierhys

(I have boards for all the couples!)

so much love to all of you.

you're my favorite.

xoxo amelie