Uncaged (An MMA Stepbrother Romance) (81 page)

The End

Afterword

I would like to thank you for making it this far into
Uncaged
. It is my sincerest hope that you enjoyed reading this book.

Penny and Pierce are, to me, extremely similar, even if they themselves don’t realize it. But… that’s not entirely true; at one point, Pierce does consider Penny’s competitive fire, and how it drives her to succeed in life. He compares it to his own, and respects, even admires, that she is chasing her dream.

They are both control freaks, also, though the habit manifests itself in different ways. Penny likes to feel in charge, likes to control for every variable. She’s not a fan of risks, and when Pierce’s capacity for attracting trouble starts to catch up with her, she finds it very difficult to deal with. I think most people can sympathize with her.

Pierce also likes to be in control. He bets on his own fights, and picks and chooses when and where he fights. He’s not as risk-averse as Penny, though – not in the slightest. He often feels he can control a situation, even if logically it doesn’t seem he should be able to. Where Penny only tries to control situations she can, Pierce thinks he can control those he can’t.

I liken Pierce to someone I used to know when I was in school. This person’s life always seemed to just
work out
, no matter how much trouble they found themselves in, and they often found themselves in a great deal of trouble.

Pierce is like that; he can find himself in unavoidable, inescapable straits, and yet still find a way to worm out, much like how he can slip out of an MMA submission hold. He likes to think that he’s responsible for all of this, but really, I think he might just be an extremely lucky person.

It’s a well-worn cliché, and I’m sure you’ve heard or read it a thousand times before, but the truth is that characters really do write themselves, and even I was mildly surprised to learn very little about Pierce’s father. While I have a character outline jotted down, an intent, it was Pierce who prevented me from putting it into the story.

Penny was a much easier character for me to relate to. She was driven, but conflicted, often times appearing a contradiction. Her young mind, while confident in the type of future it wanted for her, was unused to dealing with sudden complications. Pierce ranks top among them.

She took great inspiration from her father, an architect she considered an artist first and foremost, and while, when she gets older, she may regret the resentment she harbors toward her mother, I feel it made her a stronger person. At a young age she took on a sense of responsibility that she needn’t have, and her own precocious nature made her into the person she is, but likely made the journey there a lot tougher.

But all of this is neither here nor there; these are just my idle reflections. After all, Penny and Pierce only really exist in the pages of this book, though they will make cameo appearances in future books.

I’d like to thank you again for reading Uncaged, and for giving an indie author a chance. I’m always eager to listen to feedback, good or bad, so if you’re feeling inclined, do write to me by email or get in touch with me on Facebook.

My next book,
Unleashed
, will follow the story of Chance Hudson and Cassie Shannon, both of whom made a brief appearance in this book.

Chance is an amateur fighter looking to possibly turn pro, and Cassie is an aspiring political scientist seeking to carve out a career in academia. They find that their paths cross unexpectedly, and when their parents announce a surprise wedding in Las Vegas, everything is thrown into turmoil. You will find a brief excerpt at the end of this book.