Deborah Cooke: Author

It’s getting to the point that it’s tough for me to decide whose story will be next in the Carpe Diem Café series. I’m interested in all of the characters which makes it hard to choose.

Here’s my current plan.

First up, there will be a collection of stories set in Empire, called Tales from Empire. These stories all occur over the timeline of the first three books, but don’t really fit into any of those stories. You’ll catch glimpses behind-the-scenes, find some explanations and also some teasers.

And yes, there is a raccoon who appears as a continuing character.

Next are two complete romances. I’m not entirely positive which will be first, but I think it will be this one. This is Austin and Merrie’s story – she knows enough about him to despise him, but he has never met her. It usually takes time for people to hate Austin, so Merrie is intriguingly different. 🙂

Of course, we have a choice of covers again.

Book six is Cameron’s story, which is set in Empire but doesn’t feature a Cavendish family member. Nate plans to start over in a new place and leave his past behind, but it takes someone else with a broken heart (and a nurse) to help him heal. I like how these two are building a future together, plus there’s Christmas stuff and a dog.

There isn’t a firm release schedule for these: the pre-orders will go up when the books are done. I’m hoping to publish them all by fall 2027.