Kathryn Shay: The O’Neil Brothers Emerge

Kathy is here with us today to discuss the O’Neil family and how they came to be. As someone that has read this series from the beginning, I think readers that enjoy reading about families will love the O’Neils!

A funny thing happened when I wrote SOMEONE TO BELIEVE IN back in 2004. Bailey O’Neil, the heroine of that book, had four older brothers, as I’d planned, but I had no idea that I was going to fall in love with them. Nor did I know what kind of personality each would have. But during the writing of that book, the guys were simply “there.” And they took on traits almost of their own volition. You can see the full scope of them here, but I’ll tell you a bit about them here.

First, they look alike. They all have black hair, though styled differently. And they have blue eyes. They’re two years apart, Patrick being the oldest. Their educational background is diverse, too. And they have “titles,” which Bailey gave them growing up. The oldest, Patrick, is the Fighter. Next is Dylan, the Taunter. Liam is the Manipulator and Aidan is the Peacemaker. They live up to these descriptors during each of their stories.

In her book, Bailey was closest to Aidan in age and in sharing their lives. They also went away to college at neighboring schools in Rochester. (By the way, these schools were based on the colleges my husband and I attended.) Bailey confides in Aidan, and he’s there to help her out with her son, as she’s a single mom. It seemed almost fated that when Clay, her senator husband, became the Vice President of the United States, Aidan would fall for one of Bailey’s Secret Service agents. The conflict of interest and job risk of this pairing forms the basis of CLOSE TO YOU.

The brothers kept showing up in Aidan’s book, though, teasing each other, mocking each other, in the way that brothers do. But they are staunchly loyal, heartbreakingly honest, and sometimes terribly impatient. They pick on Aidan for copping out when he loves CJ. They support Liam when he thinks he’s crazy to be pursuing Sophie. There’s a great scene in TAKING THE HEAT when cans of shaving cream fall from a pantry shelf and spray all over the floor. Just then the other brothers arrive at Liam’s house, and guess what happens?

Dylan has a big role in Liam’s book. He’s caught up with a newspaper reporter whom the O’Neils resent for endangering Bailey and her son, due to careless coverage. Dylan’s set up perfectly to clash with Rachel Scott. And once again, Patrick is fighting with and madly in love with his wife Brie. These two have a long history of battling and making up, and I’m anxious, too, to see what happens to them.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. TAKING THE HEAT, Liam’s story, is on the stands now and pairs this solid, staid widower with Sophie Tyler, a female firefighter in the Fire Department of New York. There’s lots of action, sizzle and poignant interaction between Sophie and Liam, all in the framework of this big, boisterous, lovable O’Neil clan.

Obviously, I love these guys. I hope you do, too.

Thanks again to Kathy for taking the time to be with us this week!

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