Q & A

6/16/20

I've been getting a bunch of questions from my readers about a number of different stories and topics.  I thought I ought to post some answers in a central location where everyone can read them.  If I missed your question, or if you have more questions, feel free to reach out to me (comment on any of my blog posts, on Goodreads, on Facebook, or Twitter) and I'll definitely answer it. 

Q: You said Alloy is going to have a story with the crazy territory leader in Texas.  Where is that story? 
A: Quite frankly, I've realized I just don't know enough about Texas to write a story with a main character from there.  I don't understand the cultural references that would make a character a fully-rounded individual.  No amount of research is going to get me to a place where I feel comfortable writing that character.  While I still like the idea, unfortunately I think the best option for everyone is going to have to be scrapping it.  That said, I have another idea for Alloy that I think will incorporate the parts I liked from the previous plan, and will likely flow better overall.  (I'm not giving anything away yet to avoid spoilers, but you should see the first hints of this in Dragon Spy.) 

Q: Will there be a Ge-Mi: Part Three?
A: Short answer is no.  The long answer is much more complicated.  Book One was Ge-Mi.  Book Two is Di-Na.  Book Three doesn't have a name yet.  I'm not done writing Nevada and Taylor just yet, but chronologically (both in my writing and in the timeline of the story) Di-Na: Parts One and Two must come first.  I haven't decided whether Nevada and Taylor will have cameo appearances in Di-Na: Part Two, or whether I want to hold off on their involvement until book three.  Rather than writing Gi-Mi: Part Three, my plan is to write Book Three under a new name, but with all the main characters from the previous books coming together. 

Q: I have been waiting for years for the sequel for X story.  When will it be released? 
A: Every single one of my series, and even some of my stand alone books, have received some variation of this question.  There are three possible answers. 

1. I'm still writing it.  Given how slowly I write and how many different stories are in progress at once, I can't provide an estimate as to when I will finish a specific story.  The best thing you can do is follow along on my Current Projects page, which I update with approximate word counts regularly.  
2. It's with my publisher.  Obtaining a release date from a publisher is contingent on a number of things.  The biggest ones are when the editing and cover art are done, and when there's an available spot in the release calendar.  I can guesstimate (and you'll see those guesses in some of my blog posts), but until those conditions are met, no one can provide an exact date. 
3. There isn't a sequel.  Some of my series are complete.  Some of my individual books were written as stand alone stories for a reason.  At the bottom of every series page is a status report, and if that report says complete then I have zero plans to write more.  If a story is listed on the Stand Alone Works page of my website, as the title implies, there are no more stories to be written in that world. 

Q: When will Y story be re-released with your new publisher?
A: See #2 in the previous answer for part of the explanation.  The rest of it is: I sent NSP 30 books.  I have effectively buried them in manuscripts.  So far they've released three, one is due to come out next week, three are in the midst of the editing process, seven more have been accepted, and the rest are still in the assessment queue.  Everyone involved with the process of re-releasing all my books must be patient.  It's not a fast process, but NSP and I will continue to move forward with it until every book is back on the shelves. 

Q: But what about your out of print books?  When will you re-release them? 
A: The ones that can be re-released will be.  There are restrictions I have to follow regarding story length, content, and quality that means six of my previously published books are not acceptable by NSP's standards.  The most pressing issue is story length; LT3 accepted shorter word counts than NSP, so unless I can figure out a way to add a few thousand words to some of my old stories, NSP will not accept them as is.