I had been throwing around the idea of writing a book based on a vigilante that takes on the problem of street crime. It was an idea I had been thinking about even while writing The Phoenix. It's interesting how some ideas seem to just stick, like you can't really get them out of your head and that's how this book was for me. Once I had finished The Phoenix I began talking about my next book. I knew I wanted to write the vigilante story. I wasn't sure whether this would be a hero or a villain vigilante, but I always knew I wanted the vigilante to be a woman.
I wanted to write a story based on Dommy. Dominique Vasson is Petra Larson's best friend and her on again and off again lover. Dommy had always been one of my favorite characters since I first met her in The Ice Queen. She's a tall, amazon like woman, she was Petra's competition when the two represented their country in the sport of Karate together as teenagers. Dommy represented France at the European Junior Championships, while Petra represented Great Britain. She's strong and feisty with a voracious sexual appetite! The thing I loved the most about Dommy is she is fiercely loyal to her friends. When Petra is raped and calls on Dominique to help her stop the rapist and exact her own form of vengeance on the men responsible, Dommy is there by her side. The two women are always getting into mischief together but the bond between the two is unquenchable.
I wanted Petra and Dommy to give their relationship another chance and end up happily ever after, sadly, like in so many relationships, while they love each other, they just can't manage to be together in the same house. Even as their creator and author, I didn't understand why they couldn't make their relationship work! They obviously loved each other and were loyal to each other. However, Petra's sadistic nature and even her own masochist needs seemed to stand between her and Dommy. It wasn't until I got to know Dommy better in Repentance that I finally understood and conceded that the two just weren't meant to be. I did finally manage to find Petra a soulmate, however I felt a little bad for poor Dommy, she needed a soulmate too! Most of all, she needed a starring role.
I somehow managed to merge my ideas together, and Repentance was born! Naomi is a beautiful but haunted black woman with a tragic past; Dommy is a strong woman who struggles to find the kind of love that she feels towards Petra. That may be because she tends to choose very young, barely legal teens! When Naomi's and Dommy's paths collide, sparks fly! Unfortunately, they are on opposite sides of the law and while Dommy isn't exactly a saint herself, condoning and even participating in all out murder is a little outside of her range of comfort - even for her! Naomi struggles with her conscience when her quest for justice goes in directions she hadn't originally intended she knows she must atone for her actions. This is a powerful story of two women coming together, the obstacles they face and ultimately the test of friendship between Petra and Dommy.