Ten days and counting until the release of Prelude! A few days ago, my good friend Thea Nishimori commented on my David Somers blog post and asked me to set out the chronological order of the Blue Notes Series books. While I have to admit timelines are not my forte (just ask my Prelude co-author, Venona, to tell you how many times we revised the timeline in that book!), I thought it'd be a good challenge.

For those of you who have read the series, this may help to put together the puzzle pieces. For those of you new to the series, this may be another way for you to decide which series novel to begin with. And it's also a great way for me to introduce my current WIP, Encore, which will be book five in the series.

So, here's the list in chronological order. Remember, each book is meant to be read as a standalone and in any order. These are NOT sequels, although secondary characters often show up as main characters in later books:

1) Encore - This is the story of Alex Bishop's teacher, Roger Nelson, and David Somers's mentor and former music director of the Chicago Symphony, John Fuchs. The story, the oldest in the series, begins in the early 1970s and spans 40+ years.

2) Prelude - Alex Bishop and David Somers's story (Alex and David appear in all of the Blue Notes books, including Encore). Keep your eyes out for a scene toward the beginning of the book where you will meet Roger and John from Encore. That same scene appears in Encore, but from a completely different perspective (and with a twist that got me all verklempt!).

3) Blue Notes - Jules Bardon and Jason Greene's story. We learn in Blue Notes that Jason was roommates with David Somers at the University of Michigan.

4) Aria - Aiden Lind and Sam Ryan's story. Cellist Cary Redding from The Melody Thief makes an appearance in this one as Aiden's best friend.

5) The Melody Thief - Cary Redding and Antonio Bianchi's story. There's a scene in Thief with Cary and Aiden where Cary teases Aiden for being too happy with Sam. There's also a mention that David Somers tried to fix Cary and Aiden up at one point, but that the two men became best friends instead.

What's next for the series? I'm arguing with my muse. I have several stories started, including a story featuring Jules Bardon's little brother, Guy, and a story featuring Cameron, the cheating ex-boyfriend from Aria. I've also got a chamber music group (trio or quartet) in the still-in-my-imagination stage.

Do you have a particular character from the series you'd like me to write about? Or do you have a particular instrument you'd like to see featured in a Blue Notes Series story? I'm definitely open to suggestions! Leave me a comment or shoot me an email at shiraanthony@hotmail.com and my muse and I will duke it out. -Shira

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You can find all of the Blue Notes Series books at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, AllRomanceEbooks, and other outlets.

Prelude is now available for pre-order from Dreamspinner Press! Release day is Monday, May 6th.

Want to read an excerpt from one or all of the books? Click on the "My Books" link and then on the "More" tab. Then just scroll down to the "Excerpt" tab. You'll also find the playlists for the Blue Notes books there!