The Angel Trilogy

Willow knows she’s different, because Willow has a gift. She can look into people’s future just by touching them. She has no idea where she gets this power from… But Alex does.

Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows Willow’s secret and is on a mission to stop her. In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy.

The Story Behind the Angel Series

I’ve known Alex for a long time. He first came to me as a character almost twenty years ago, when he was a thief in a fantasy setting – an expert with knives rather than guns. Nothing came of that particular novel, but Alex always stayed with me. He refused to go away, in fact! And over the years, I began to wonder about redoing his story completely, and placing him in a contemporary setting.

Willow came to me at the same time that Alex first did – her name was Jhia at that point – but she didn’t feel fully formed until I started thinking about a contemporary storyline. Then her name changed to Willow, and I realised that not only was she psychic, but that she loved tinkering around with cars.

Once I had that, I had the rough premise of the story: suddenly I knew that Willow had psychically seen something that she shouldn’t have, and Alex was the teenaged hit man hired to kill her. The two of them join forces instead, and fall in love.

I loved the feel of this, but that was as far as I got for several years. Though I kept writing snippets of the story (it nagged and nagged at me, really wanting to be told!), I knew that the premise as it stood wouldn’t work. If Alex was a real-life hit man, then a happy ending wouldn’t be very likely! And I like happy endings. I wanted this to be an action-packed, epic story, but also essentially a romance. So, the story stayed in the wardrobe of my mind for a long time – taken out occasionally to think about, but nothing more.

 

Then in a bookstore one day, I saw a display of non-fiction books about angels. Rather than focusing on the religious aspects of angels, these books were about something more: the idea of angels as very personal helpers to humans, friendly beings who you could call on for anything from helping you find a parking space to saving your life.

And as I looked at all the titles, I thought…

What if angels weren’t really what they seemed? What if we only thought they were kind, but in fact they had their own agenda? What if they were really beings to be feared, instead of admired?

With one of those almost-audible clicks that writers sometimes get, the two story ideas came together into a glorious whole. Suddenly I knew that Alex was an angel killer, and that Willow was a half-angel.

Angel happened quite quickly after that; it seemed to write itself. Writers aren’t supposed to have favourites of their own books, but Angel is very special to me … I’ve known and loved the characters for a long time.

Angels are all around us: the most beautiful creatures not of this earth.

But what if they’re not what they seem – and are slowly destroying humanity?

Alex is an Angel Killer, one of the few who knows the truth. Willow is a half angel.

The last thing they should do is fall in love... but they do.

Enter the world of Angel – romantic, epic, exciting.

Angel Trilogy FAQs

Is Alex based on anyone you know?

No, Alex is based solely on himself. Most of my characters aren’t based on real people. (And if any of them are, I’ll never tell!)

How many Angel books are there? Online, I can see Angel, Angel Burn, Angel Fire and Angel Fever.

There are three Angel books. The first one is titled “Angel” in the UK and “Angel Burn” in the US. Sorry, I know it’s a little confusing.

I heard there was going to be a film of Angel – any news on that?

The series was under option for a while, but things didn’t pan out. Don’t worry, though – if it happens, I’ll definitely let everyone know!

Why did you bring Seb into the series?!

Seb’s had kind of a mixed reaction from readers – some love him, some hate him! I hadn’t originally planned on a love triangle, but when I was working out the storyline for Angel Fire I suddenly thought: what if Willow isn’t the only half angel? Sorry everyone, but I REALLY couldn’t resist the dramatic tension that introducing an attractive male half angel would bring. Because I’m evil like that.

What do you think happens to Willow and Alex?

They eventually get married and have two children: a boy named Martin Jake, called Jake (after Alex’s father and brother), and a girl named Miranda Jane (after both their mothers).

Is Angel Fever really the last book in the series?

For now, yes, though I wouldn’t rule out someday returning to this world. I had a lot of fun with it.

ANGEL PLAYLIST

  1. Crawl: Kings of Leon, Only By the Night
  2. Rambling Man: Laura Marling, I Speak Because I Can
  3. Many of Horror: Biffy Clyro, Only Revolutions (Bonus Track Version)
  4. Fire: Kasabian, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
  5. Make Me Wanna Die: The Pretty Reckless, Make Me Wanna Die – Single
  6. Cosmic Love: Florence + The Machine, Lungs
  7. Iris (album version): Jade Gallagher, Maybe This
  8. Time Is Running Out: Muse, Absolution
  9. Hear You Me: Jimmy Eat World, Story’s Changed
  10. Forever: Fireflight, Unbreakable
  11. Go With The Flow: Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf (UK Version)

Listen to the Angel / Angel Burn playlist here.

ANGEL FIRE PLAYLIST

  1. Quinceniera: Mariachi El Bronx, El Bronx [Explicit]
  2. Holy: Mariachi El Bronx, El Bronx [Explicit]
  3. Mexico: Incubus, Morning View
  4. Evil Angel: Rufus Wainwright, Poses
  5. Sad Song: Christina Perri, Lovestrong
  6. Thistle & Weeds: Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More
  7. I Was Broken: Marcus Foster, Nameless Path
  8. Dead Man Walking: The Script, Science & Faith [Explicit]
  9. Miss Nothing: The Pretty Reckless, Light Me Up
  10. Ain’t No Grave: Johnny Cash, American VI: Ain’t No Grave
  11. Iron: Woodkid, Iron EP
  12. Big Burned Hand: Iron And Wine, 4AD Sessions: 2008-2011
  13. Synchronized: Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Make A Scene
  14. Shake It Out: Florence + The Machine, Shake It Out EP

Listen to the Angel Fire playlist here.

ANGEL FEVER PLAYLIST

  1. Angels: Within Temptation, The Silent Force
  2. Let’s Get Lost: Beck & Bat For Lashes, Twilight Saga: Eclipse
  3. Beautiful Disaster: Kelly Clarkson, Thankful
  4. 28 Days Later – In the House – In a Heartbeat: London Music Works, 100 Greatest Film Themes – Take 2
  5. Wherever You Will Go: The Calling, Camino Palmero
  6. It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday: Boyz II Men, Legacy – The Greatest Hits Collection
  7. Echo: Jason Walker, Midnight Starlight
  8. Time is Running Out: Muse, Absolution
  9. Thistle and Weeds: Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More
  10. Evil Angel: Rufus Wainwright, Poses
  11. One: Faith Hill, Cry
  12. Angel (Radio Edit): Massive Attack, Singles Collection
  13. I Should Go: Levi Kreis, One of the Ones
  14. Unintended: Muse, Showbiz
  15. Endlessly: Muse, Absolution
  16. It’s the End of the World as We Know It: REM, The Best of REM

Listen to the Angel Fever playlist here.