Shannon Stacey knew that she’d return to the characters she’d developed for her Devlin Group series, but like so many authors she was busy with lots of other projects. So how do you reconnect with a series years later? When Shannon started writing No Place to Hide, her new release in the series, she took a step back in time, put on some mood music, and rediscovered the characters her readers have been clamoring to hear more from.

From the time the third book in my Devlin Group series, No Surrender, released in August of 2009, I knew I would be writing a fourth. The secondary characters of Jack Donovan and Isabelle Arceneau needed their stories told. But first I had to focus on the contemporary romance (Exclusively Yours) I was writing for Carina Press. When readers emailed me to ask about Jack and Isabelle, I assured them that book was coming.

Suddenly, we were turning the corner into 2014, that contemporary romance had grown into a nine-book series and I also had four contemporary novellas out, too. But Jack and Isabelle’s story was still in the back of my mind and every reader email brought it to the forefront. It was time to dust off that abandoned manuscript and finish No Place To Hide.

Revisiting an older series, especially an action-adventure series, after spending so much time with one family was a daunting prospect. Had years of writing lighthearted contemporary romance changed my voice? Would I be able to slide back into the Devlin Group’s grittier, larger than life world?

I started by reading the first three books, all in a row, to bring the characters back to life in my mind. There were some plot threads I needed a refresher in, and I had a series bible and timeline made up. The pacing, language and overall tone of the action-adventure series is different from my contemporaries, so immersing myself back in the world was important.

So was setting the mood. I watched repeats of television shows like The Unit and movies in the genre. While doing housework, I listened to the playlists I used while writing the first three books in the series. With songs like “I’d Come For You” by Nickelback, “I Will” by Jimmy Wayne and more, the music evokes the emotion I go for when writing the Devlin Group books. I can’t have lyrics while actually writing, so my go-to music soundtracks are by Steve Jablonsky for the Transformers movies.

When I actually started to write, I didn’t struggle with any of the things that had concerned me going into it. My voice hadn’t changed because it’s the framework the story is draped over. No matter what the story looks like, that framework defines it and, while it may grow stronger, it won’t radically change.

Despite my worries ahead of time, finishing No Place To Hide was like meeting up with a group of old friends. Even if you haven’t seen them in a few years, it’s not long before you’re finishing each other’s sentences and sharing memories.