A Picture Guide to how Plaidypus interacts with Client from Hell and 101 Ways to Die.

Because I’ve gotten many, many, many messages from those who really, really believe the author note in Plaidypus was a lie… no, no, I promise you Lucifer is the Lord of Lies, I’m just the poor author saddled with tracking his truths and falsehoods.

The author note in Plaidypus IS correct. The above flowchart explains how the precursor portion of Client (the nasty cancer part) fits in with Plaidypus/101 Ways to Die. It also partially explains why I did it in the order I did.

I understand it’s hard to tell when Lucifer is lying. (That’s the point.) But part of the fun is applying critical thought and attempting to determine when Lucifer is lying… and then puzzle out the why.

Here are the key points for the falsehoods in Client from Hell:

1: Lucifer loves the Saven brood. Like him, they fell. Unlike him, they rise from the ashes of their sins. (Lucifer adores the Saven brood, and he will do a lot more than cheat, steal, and lie for them.)

2: By lying to Sandra, she will make different decisions in later books in the trilogy–decisions that will better serve Lucifer. To her, the Saven brood is on verge of salvation.

She was saved… so she will try to save them. The groundwork for this is well established in Client.

Without lying, she would not have those emotions.

Sandra is naughty… but ultimately, hers is a saving soul.

And so Lucifer lied.

3: Lucifer always weighs the greater good. To accomplish the greater good through falsehoods? That is his jam. Always, always ask yourself how it would serve Lucifer should he lie…

And last but not least… the clue you really need to evaluate is Lucifer’s reaction to the vampire in the lab in Client. You will find the truth there, even though Lucy speaks lies.

The narrators are reliable, in that they are honest with themselves and their feelings in the moment things happen. There’s just no omnipresent narrator informing you when somebody lies.

But those narrators are true to themselves in that moment… even when they believe lies.

That’s why these books are fun for me. (And hopefully fun for you.)

Now… go back to the beginning of the series and start trying to piece together the fragments of truth I’ve left… and where certain characters have told many lies.

Oh, and watch Him closely. He is the one who uses the truth as a weapon most of all, and he tells the most complicated of lies only through the sheer power of omission. (He never actually LIES, but he’s most excellent about leading characters to believe something is the truth when it is not…)

And yes, I usually lose days every Mag Rom Com release going back through every single relevant book and making sure I keep the truth and lies straight. It’s a job. It’s a very big job.

So, I leave you with some food of thought:

Why would Lucifer lie?

Happy reading!

P.S.: Hoofin’ It will be going on sale for $0.99 sometime in June. I applied for a Bookbub featured deal, but I won’t know if I will get one. If I do, I’ll time the 10 dayish sale around the deal. If not, it’ll go live shortly after I’m rejected.

~R.J.