by Avery Arujo | Sep 26, 2025 | Book Updates, Date Night With Death, Once Upon a Blue Moon
I’m finally getting around to answering some questions that I’ve received over the last couple of months. So sorry for the delay. Life has been lifing and I’m trying to balance work, a social life, and a writing life.
A couple of questions came in more than once or were closely related, so I combined them here. I also won’t be sharing any names, since I believe in keeping things private.
Do you use AI generation for your books or book covers?
Short answer: no, I don’t. I did a short video on Instagram that shows how my covers are created, but as far as the writing goes, the ideas, the stories, the characters, and the words are all mine.
To be honest, I don’t fully understand AI, and it creeps me out a little. From what I’ve learned, there are two kinds: assistive AI and generative AI. Generative AI is the problematic one because it was trained on artists’ work without their permission, and allows someone to copy their style. I completely understand why artists and authors are angry, and I’d never disrespect another writer by letting a computer “write” for me in their voice. I’d never want anyone to do that to me. Besides, it feels lazy. I love building my stories, writing them out, and especially love doing the “surgery” on them. Digging into character voices and POVs, cutting apart scenes, and making them shine is the part that I live for.
I enjoyed your book, but one thing really bothered me. I felt like you used La’Tasha to check a box. She is the only Black person in Moonridge, and all you had her do was run around and research things for Hazel and Blake. I’m sorry, but that feels very disrespectful. I also felt like making Calvin gay was just checking the gay box, so you can make your stories feel inclusive.
I’ll admit this question took me by surprise, but I appreciate it. From the beginning, I’ve wanted Moonridge to be an inclusive world with space for all races, gender identities, and sexual orientations. La’Tasha and Calvin weren’t added to check a race or sexuality box, and La’Tasha is not the only character of color in the series. The sheriff is Black, Mason is biracial, and both Coco and Leo are Hispanic. (There are also a few others you haven’t met yet.)
I also understand how, early on, it might feel like La’Tasha is being reduced to Hazel’s helper. That isn’t her story, though. This is just the start of her arc, and in books three and four, especially, you’ll see her strength and power shine. I realize it’s early in the series, and my intent is unclear, but I will never use a character’s race, gender identity, or sexual orientation just to say I am inclusive. I would also never reduce a person of color’s worth like that. Especially not a Black woman. They are some of the strongest and most disrespected people on this earth. They deserve more than minor character status. All I can ask is that you trust me.
This feedback has inspired me to do better about describing characters on the page and to expand the character bios on my website to include details about race, gender identity, and sexual orientation. And thank you for calling this out. It tells me you care enough to ensure that non-straight, cis, white characters are being treated with respect. I wish everyone cared that much.
When will Book Three release? I just finished Date Night With Death, and I really can’t wait to read Vivienne and Leo’s story!
I’m so happy you’re enjoying the series! I’m doing surgery on book three right now. While rereading the very rough first draft, I realized there was something big I wanted to change. That meant switching around the order of books four and five. I’ve been re-drafting both to weave in those changes, and once that’s done, I’ll get back to editing book three. If I can stay on track, my goal is to have it out by spring 2026. One little heads-up, though. A different couple (not Vivienne and Leo) will be stepping into the spotlight in book 3. Don’t worry, though, Leo and Vivienne will get theirs soon!
Which characters will be featured in future books?
I’m guessing you mean which characters will be the leads. I do have all of that mapped out, but I’m not quite ready to spill the details yet. What I can say is this: if you’ve read the first two books, you’ve already met the couple who takes center stage in book three. You’ve also met one of the leads for book four, and their partner gets a mention in book three before making a grand entrance at the end. The couple for book five has already been introduced, and one half of the book six couple was introduced in book two. Vague enough for you? 🙂
What is your writing process like?
I feel like this question could be its own blog post, so I may circle back to it in the future. For now, here’s the short version: I start with voice recordings, since I can talk through ideas much faster than I can type. Later, I transcribe those recordings into a rough outline. That outline serves as a loose guide while I draft the first pass of the story. The story doesn’t really come together until the third or fourth draft, and that’s usually the version I send to beta readers and editors.
Thanks to those of you who wrote in, and as always, thanks for being on this journey with me.
by Avery Arujo | Sep 23, 2025 | Book Updates, Date Night With Death
It’s finally here. Date Night With Death is out in the world.
This was the book where I realized I wasn’t just writing another paranormal romance—I was building a series. It’s also where I first introduced the bigger threat that’s been quietly looming over Moonridge (slight spoiler alert: The Concord 13).
When I finished Once Upon a Blue Moon, I immediately dove into this one because Mina needed her story told immediately. You’ll notice right away that the tone is darker. That shift felt natural. My process has always been to get the bones of the story down first, and then during revisions I dig into the characters’ voices. Hazel had her sharp sarcasm. Blake carried that gruff exterior with the soft side tucked underneath. With Date Night With Death, Mina became the focus. She’s direct, no-nonsense, and dealing with some heavy personal struggles. Her coping mechanisms are avoidance first and gallows humor second. Dex, on the other hand, is a Reaper. He’s walked through the human world but never truly lived in it. Exploring how an old soul like him would interact with people, how he’d shape his speech patterns, how he’d discover his wants and needs, was a ton of fun to write. That said, I also realized that I can’t just write a story about Death himself without focusing on death. Exploring this aspect is what brought on the slightly darker tone.
Writing this also turned out to be personal in a way I didn’t expect. While working on this book, memories of losing my aunt to a brain tumor almost twenty-five years ago surfaced. She was the light in our family, and her kids have always been more like siblings than cousins to me. When she got sick, I was living far away, broke, and unable to show up for them the way I wanted to. That left me with a lot of unprocessed grief and guilt. Writing Mina’s story helped me work through some of that.
On a lighter note, the introduction of the Vampire Wives might be my favorite part. I’m a reality TV junkie, especially The Real Housewives, so slipping that influence into Moonridge felt inevitable. They brought me joy to write, and don’t worry, you haven’t seen the last of them.
Some early readers have felt the series took too dark a turn here compared to the lighter vibe of book one. I get that. But honestly, this book holds a special place in my heart. It’s still my favorite so far… though book three is giving it some serious competition.
Thank you for reading, for coming back to Moonridge, and for sticking with these characters as they grow. I can’t wait to share what’s next.
Love,
Avery
by Avery Arujo | Aug 22, 2025 | Book Updates, Date Night With Death
Hello, friends!
Just a quick note to let you all know that electronic review copies of Date Night With Death are now on StoryOrigin and NetGalley. You can apply for a review copy here:
StoryOrigin Reviewer
NetGalley Reviewer
I’m in the process of getting everything together to get the book up on NetGalley. I work with BookBuzz on this and it usually takes them a bit. I’m hoping it will be up and ready to request by the end of next week. I will update this post and add the link once it’s available.
OK, off to Moonridge. I’m rewriting some new scenes for book three and… dang! Things are getting messy!
Lots of love,
Avery
by Avery Arujo | Aug 11, 2025 | Book Updates, Date Night With Death
OK. I couldn’t wait any longer. I spent all last week and this past weekend finalizing “Date Night With Death”. It’s done. I can’t edit it down any further. I feel like the voices are strong, the story is tight, and the stakes have been raised. It’s time to wrap this one up so I can get back to writing book three.
This book was originally slated for release on October 7, but since I’m my own publisher and it’s essentially ready, I’ve moved the publication date up two weeks to September 23. It’s available now for Kindle pre-order, and paperback pre-orders will be up as soon as I’ve confirmed that the printed proof looks great.
I’m still planning to have ARCs available (electronic only) at the end of this month. Keep an eye on the blog and be sure to sign up for the newsletter so you can be the first to know when they are available.
As I’ve mentioned before, this book is darker than Blue Moon. There are still moments of levity, but there is also death in the mix, which is inevitable when the Grim Reaper is part of the story. Just a heads up that it contains references to:
- Cancer (specifically a brain tumor)
- Attempted suicide
- Death and grief
- Mentions of domestic abuse
- Mentions of abortion
- Mentions of infidelity
The cancer storyline is deeply personal. My aunt lived with the same diagnosis featured in this book, and many aspects of the character’s journey were inspired by what she experienced. Writing those scenes was emotional for me. Reading them might be emotional for you, too.
That said, I can’t wait for you to meet Dex and dive into his and Mina’s story. And without further ado, here’s the final cover art.
by Avery Arujo | Jul 20, 2025 | Book Updates, Date Night With Death
I know, I know—I’m behind on blog posts. This one was meant to go up Friday, and here we are on Sunday. But I promise, I’ve got a good excuse: I just finished line edits for Date Night With Death! The manuscript is officially off to my amazing proofreaders for the final round.
If you’ve been following along, you know I wrote the first two Welcome to Moonridge books back to back. After polishing up Blue Moon and getting it out into the world, I returned to Date Night for another read-through to reorient myself, and that’s when something unexpected happened. I had a breakthrough!
While working through a chapter that felt like it was missing something, the missing piece of a future plot thread clicked into place. I’ve already outlined books three, four, and part of five, but there was a lingering issue I hadn’t quite figured out. It had been gnawing at me in the background, but a little voice kept saying, “Leave it. It’ll make sense later.” And it finally did. The writing gods and goddesses are so weird!
Once I saw how to fix it, I got excited. Like, really excited. I ended up expanding a minor side character’s role. She’s now a major player, not just in Date Night, but in the books to come. That shift meant cutting three chapters and writing four new ones, but I can honestly say the book (and the series) is going to be stronger for it.
Here’s what’s next:
- I expect to get proof edits back by mid-August.
- After that, I will dive into typesetting the paperback.
- The cover is pretty much good to go, but I’m going to sit on it for a while. I’m planning to reveal it on Friday, August 15th.
- In the coming weeks, I’ll also be sharing new character bios, including the fabulous Real Vampire Wives of Obsidian Hills.
- We’re still working on the contact form for the site. Hopefully, it won’t be much longer.
If you’re a reviewer, ebook advance copies will be available on StoryOrigin and NetGalley around the beginning of September.
There’s still a lot to do, and even more to share. Stay tuned!
