Q. What series(es) are you currently working on?
The question I get asked more than any other is some variation on “Do you plan more books in [x series],” so let’s try to get that all settled right now!
The ones that I’m currently, actively writing on are Fated Mountain Lodge (Not Half Badger, etc) and Shifter Agents (Red Boar’s Baby coming in 2025, and at least one more book after that!).
Series which are definitely complete: Stone Shifters (wrapped up nicely, no more books planned) and Warriors of Galatea (though I left some open threads and it may have a spinoff series about the Galatean cat people eventually). Bears of Pinerock County is also complete, but I’ve been kicking around the idea of a spinoff series about the kids.
Series which may have more books eventually: Bodyguard Shifters (I’ve got two more potential heroes/couples set up there), and Westerly Cove (complete for now, but again there are more family members I could write about). Ladies of the Pack is a mostly unconnected series of standalones in the Shifter Agents world (human men, shifter ladies) so that one might get more books if I’m inspired to write another one.
I think that covers everything. Let me know if there’s anything not on this list that you’re wondering about!
Q. Who is Zoe Chant?
Ah, glad you asked. When I started writing romance in 2015, I was one of a group of friends who were all very new to it and decided to write together under a shared pen name. We each wrote our own series, but shared a pen name, social media, and website. At this point we’re completely open that Zoe is a group of people, and increasingly we’re working on our own projects instead of the shared Zoe projects. Most of my former Zoe books are now rebranded with my Lauren Esker name.
Q. So the Zoe books are co-authored, or …?
No, not really. The books I wrote as Zoe – Bears of Pinerock County, Bodyguard Shifters and its spinoffs, and some standalones – were all fully, 100% mine. However, we (the Zoes) brainstormed together, and we had a cohesive editing process so that readers could expect a high level of quality and a similar tone and style to all our books.
Q. Are your Zoe books different from your Lauren books?
Not much. In the first couple of years, the Lauren books were longer, a bit darker, and leaned more toward romantic suspense, while the Zoe books were shorter, fluffier, and cozier. However, over the years my Zoe books got longer and more action-focused, to the point where I figure if you’ll enjoy one, you’ll definitely enjoy the other – which is why I’m merging them now. There are some minor worldbuilding differences, such as the Shifter Agents world not having fated mates, but there are differences in the worldbuilding of my Zoe series too (for example, in Bears of Pinerock County shifters are known to the general human world; in Bodyguard Shifters they are not). Anyway, I think my style is similar enough in my work for both pen names that you should be able to enjoy one if you like the other.
Q. I don’t have a Kindle, and your books are only on Amazon. Can I still read them?
A. Yes you can! I can’t offer my books for sale elsewhere without violating the terms of my Amazon agreement (or I certainly would!) but there is a workaround.
First, buy the book on Amazon. Then forward the receipt email to laureneskerwriter@gmail.com (so I know you bought it legitimately) and let me know what format you’d like: epub is the format for most other ebook readers. I will convert the book and send it to you.
Also, all my books are DRM-free, so if you have your own conversion software (such as Calibre) you should be able to convert it yourself.
Lauren Esker 