The new cover for Dragon Consultant has arrived, and it's a doozy!  Bright happy colors, a kit-made mess, and general chaos really fit the bill.  I can't wait for the newly edited YA version to arrive.  You won't have to wait long, as it's already April and it's available for pre-order at NSP*.  If you buy from NSP, you can get it three days early!

2/23/20

It's been a very long February for me.  Some unhappy family issues pulled me away from writing for about two weeks, and I'm only now caught up.  That said, a lot has happened recently that I want to fill you in on, so I'm going to write another long post full of fun information.  Read on:

Submissions to NineStar Press:

• Wounded Alpha, Kelpie Blue, If A Butterfly Don't Fly, Magnified, and Justified were all accepted for publishing at NineStar Press!  I'm super excited as I really love these books.  As soon as I have concrete information on release dates, I'll share more, but it won't be until August at the earliest.
  
• I have officially maxed out NSP's release calendar for 2020.  What that means is NSP can't assess any more of my submissions until they create their calendar for 2021.  Everything else I've already submitted to them will therefore have to wait, and I won't be submitting anything more until they tell me it's okay.
  
• I also submitted my Dragon's Hoard series (minus the short stories as I'll have to add one more to get to the length requirement), Elemental Ride, The Coup and the Prince, My Truest Love, and Wings of the Stars.  They're going to have to wait, along with my Road To series, for the 2021 calendar. 
  

Writing:

• I have fixed my Oracle series!  It took a bit of finagling, but I made the changes without having to significantly alter the plot.  The series is officially ready and waiting to submit when NSP gives the okay.  I have also added 1k words to The Oracle's Current, the sixth, and final, book in the series.  The real drama is just starting, and I'm about to introduce the love interest, so I'm really excited about where the story is going.  I'm hoping I can get it completed before The Sentinel's Prophesy is released by NSP (should they accept it, of course).
  

Editing:

• I was able to complete the second round of edits for Dragon Consultant.  I got them back to NSP late because of my family issues, so I don't know if that will effect the release date.  I'm hoping April is still far enough away that it won't, but we'll see.  Next for Consultant is copy edits, which will hopefully arrive soon. 
  
• I am working on the final proofreader's edits for Ge-Mi: Part One.  There's not a lot to do, so I'm hoping to have them completed and back to the editor by today.  That should be it for edits for this book, so I don't foresee any issues meeting the March release date.  I will hopefully have an exact date available for you soon.  The first round of edits for Ge-Mi: Part Two should also be heading my way in the near future as well.
  

Book Covers:

• I have seen the first draft of the new cover for Ge-Mi: Part One and it's really nice!  It's simple, but lovely, and is definitely more safe for work than the original cover. I can't wait to see the final draft, and then share it with all of you!
• I have been asked what I want for the new cover for Dragon Consultant.  I think I want to go with something simple again, but still bright and happy, and focused on kit-level destruction. I'm really looking forward to what the artist comes up with, and I can't wait to share it with you. 
  

That's it for news for February.  I know there's a lot going on, and it's probably going to continue being a fire hose deluge of things to do until at least this time next year.  I'm enjoying it, though, and I'm so glad you're all sticking through it all with me as we all patiently wait for all my books to become available again. 

1/31/20

I can't tell you how many blog posts I've written this month where, just before I was ready to post, I got more news and had to rewrite.  I think this is my third or fourth attempt to get out a blog post, but there's so much to tell you I'm just going to post what I have, and I may end up writing another blog post tomorrow. Either way, this post is really long, but I promise there's exciting stuff inside.  Read on:

Submissions to NineStar Press:

• Both Ground of Insurrection and Ground of Resurrection have been accepted at NSP!  The editor really seemed to like them.  I'm so excited Resurrection will finally be available for you to buy.  I can't estimate when a release date might be, but I'd like to think sometime in 2020.   
• I am still waiting to hear about Wounded Alpha, but I'm very hopeful.  I know the editor has it in her queue, so it's moving along in the submission process. 
• This editor asked me to submit all the other stories I had ready, so I have submitted six more books to NSP.  All the completed books from my Road To, Magnified, and Out of Underhill series have officially been submitted.  The editor will evaluate them all and will let me know whether NSP is interested. 
• My Dragon's Hoard series, The Coup and the Prince, and Elemental Ride are next on my list.  I need to get them formatted for submission first, which will take a little longer for The Dragon's Hoard as I'll need to read through to make sure all the page breaks are correct and such, but I hope to have all of those books submitted by next week. 

The Oracle series:

• I know many of you reached out to me asking for The Oracle series to get republished as well.  I inquired with NSP as to whether it was possible to republish The Oracle's Flame as-is, and the answer was the expected no.  However!   I have an idea that will fix the issue without substantially changing the plot or too much of the characterization.  I just need to find the time to actually get it written.  If I'm able to make that change, NSP is willing to assess the entire series, so I will have to find the time somehow. 
• Of course, this means Heart's Tournament will not be reprinted.  There's no way to soften the same issue within that story as it's integral to the plot.  Until I figure out whether it's worth trying to self-publish it, that story will have to remain out of print. 

Editing:

• The copy edits for Ge-Mi: Part One are complete.  I have sent them back to the editor.  I don't know whether NSP has one more editing step before it gets turned into an ebook, but it's closer to being ready to go. 
• The second round of edits for Dragon Consultant have arrived.  What about the first round, you ask?  That was one of the things I wrote in a previous blog post that never got published, but I finished those too.  I should have the second round complete within a day or so. 
• The Supernatural Consultant series as a whole will be marketed for a YA audience.  That means a few things will have to be changed to make it suitable for a slightly younger audience, but I promise there are no changes to the overall plot and characterizations.  Lumie will always be Lumie, and I don't think there will be any changes at all in the later books. 
• Once I finish the second round for Consultant, there will be copy edits.  I'm also expecting to see the first round of edits for Ge-Mi: Part Two, which I'm super excited about.  I'll try to let you know when those arrive. 

Writing:

• I completed The Beast from my fairy tale project.  That just leaves A Heart's Dream to finish and then the anthology will be complete.  As always, this is a time issue.  I need to find the time to sit down and write it, and this was at the top of that to-do list, but has been supplanted with fixing The Oracle's Flame. 
• Aside from that, I haven't had the chance to get much writing done.  I don't know I'll be able to write more as long as edits keep appearing regularly, but I'm going to do my best to keep on writing as much as I can whenever I can. 

12/17/19

As the title states, edits are moving along.  The second round of edits for Ge-Mi: Nevada; Part One are complete and should be heading to the copy editor right now.  There's going to be a surprise at the end, but I don't want to give it away!  (It has to do with Part Two, which comes out tentatively in May, so don't feel you have to re-purchase just to get the surprise.)  I don't know how long the copy editing will take, but I see no issues with meeting the March release date, at least from my end.  I'm expecting to start talking with NSP about covers and other fun things in 2020.  I don't know if NSP wants to keep the original cover, especially since they'll have to match it for the rest of the series, but I actually really like this cover so we'll see. 

Next on the editing list will be Dragon Consultant and Ge-Mi: Taylor; Part Two.  I"m not expecting to see either of them until January at the earliest.  As I said in a previous post, Dragon Consultant will likely be a quick job because it's been previously edited.  However, I'm expecting Ge-Mi: Part Two to take a bit more time as it hasn't been edited before.  I therefore will likely need to see both of them in January to ensure we reach their release dates without issue.  I'll let you all know when they arrive. 

I've had to pause on the writing front as I had to work flat out to get the edits done with a very quick turnaround.  Now that the edits are gone, I'm expecting to have a relaxing next few weeks.  I'll get to enjoy some time without deadlines looming over me, which will hopefully allow me to get some writing done.  I'm looking forward to that, and to hopefully crossing off one more thing from my to-do list before the year comes to a close. 

12/7/19

I spoke too soon in my last post.  The first round of edits for Ge-Mi: Nevada have arrived!  I'm going through them right now, and so far it's exactly what I expected.  Minor edits for word choice, a couple of sentences that need tightening, and some small grammar missteps.  Nothing substantive will be changed.  I should be able to get Ge-Mi: Nevada back to the editor this weekend. 

What's next?  My awesome editor will keep moving down the list.  Next is Dragon Consultant and Ge-Mi: Taylor.  I don't know which will come first, but given Ge-Mi: Taylor has never been edited before, I'm expecting some significant edits.  I'm hoping it will come first to give me more time to work on it, but it depends on my editor's time as well. 

Once Ge-Mi: Nevada is back with the editor, I will return to writing. 

On a side note, I've been asked to provide a biography to NSP.  I can't decide if I should go the easy route and provide the same bio I've been using for years, or if I should take this opportunity to update it.  What do you think? 

12/5/19

I just had a moment of realization.  It's December!  I knew the month had arrived, given Thanksgiving just passed, but somehow it just didn't quite compute.  For some reason, I'm mentally still thinking it's early November, but somehow nearly two months have passed since I last posted something!  I'm so sorry for vanishing like that.  I will try to do better from now on. 

That said, I don't have much to share.  I'm still in the waiting game for everything.  Edits for Ge-Mi: Nevada and Dragon Consultant should arrive any day now.  I'm hoping they'll be fairly straightforward, given they're reprints.  I am expecting more substantial edits for Ge-Me: Taylor, which should be the third set of edits I receive.  Hopefully that process will begin to move forward very soon. 

I am eight weeks into the 16 week timeline for when I could hear back from NineStar regarding my submission of my Wizard Wars series.  Given how many of my books they have already, I'm glad for the wait, but at the same time I want to know!  Fingers crossed I'll hear good news soon! 

I have been writing, of course.  For some reason, I got a really good idea for how to finally get Yani and Aaron out of the basement and therefore complete the prologue for Codified, the third and final book in my Magnified series.  I went ahead and cleaned up Magnified and Justified, so I can submit them to NSP whenever, but I'm hoping to make some real progress with Codified before I submit this series.  So far, I'm 1/6th of the way through writing Codified.  I still have some planning to do, but now that they're out of the basement I can hopefully start moving forward to the long-awaited final battle with Cain. 

Other writing has all been focused on trying to get my fairy tales complete.  There's just the last two to finish, both of which are completely planned out.  Mina needs a final push to get to the ball in A Heart's Dream, and then I can get that story moving again.  The Beast is flowing smoothly, but I had to stop to write down my amazing idea for Codified.  Once I have to pause Codified for some time on the planning board, I'm sure I'll return to my fairy tales. 

10/10/19

You read the title of this post correctly!  I have some new release dates to share with everyone.  These are tentative dates.  I only have the release month and they are subject to change, but I'm so excited to have them to share with you.  Here's what I've got:

• March 2020: Ge-Mi: Nevada
• April 2020: Dragon Consultant
• May 2020: Ge-Mi: Taylor
• June 2020: Dragon Deception
• July 2020: Dragon Dilemma
• August 2020: Dragon Detective
• September 2020: Dragon Soldier

I know March seems like it's really far away, but there's a lot to get completed before then.  Multiple rounds of edits, of course, plus everything else that goes into getting a book ready for publishing.  I'm a little concerned that they're all getting released so close together, as it will be A LOT of work on my part to get all those edits completed, but this is the fastest everyone involved can work to get my books back out as soon as possible. 

As you can see, Dragon Detective and Dragon Soldier were both accepted for publishing at NSP.  I'm hopeful they will also accept the last three books (and I'm hopeful editing the entire series again will galvanize me into finishing Dragon Spy). 

I have also submitted both books in my Wizard Wars Series to NSP.  Ground of Resurrection (book two) was the one you all got to pre-order, but were never able to read.  I don't know where they might fit into this release schedule should NSP accept them, but I'm looking forward to finding out. 

8/16/19

When I sent in Ge-Mi for consideration with NineStar Press, I also sent in Dragon Consultant, the first book in my Supernatural Consultant series.  I'm happy to report that not only did NineStar accept Dragon Consultant, they requested to take a look at the rest of the series!  I have since signed contracts for Dragon Deception (book two) and Dragon Dilemma (book three).  While I won't make any promises, I'm hopeful the rest of the series will soon be accepted as well. 

Like with Ge-Mi, all my Supernatural Consultant books will be going through a thorough editing.  I don't know what that means in terms of changes to the stories, but I will let you know the second I know.  I am hoping that going through the editing process again will help galvanize me into working on Dragon Spy, the next book in the series.  There's a lot to write still, but I already know it's going to be a fun story. 

I hope to have more Supernatural Consultant news to share with you all in the near future.