11/18/18

I've seen some questions regarding where If A Butterfly Don't Fly is.  It was supposed to come out last week, and it has instead vanished.  The short of it is, the edits were too much.  I couldn't rewrite entire sections in the two week timeline before the story had to be back to LT3.  Missing that deadline meant the story couldn't come out in time, so LT3 had to pull it.  That said, LT3 is still moving forward with publishing, but are (understandably) not going to decide on a new release date until we are 100% certain the story will actually come out on that date.  I have since returned the completed story to LT3, so I believe the next step is copy edits.  I'm hoping to see them soon, and once those are done I should have release information to share with you. 

Given my working flat out on Butterfly for three weeks straight pushed back my ability to complete the edits for The Coup and the Prince, that story has also been temporarily pulled.  I returned the edits to LT3, where it will go on to even more edits.  I guesstimate Coup will now come out sometime in 2019, possibly second quarter, but again, no release date will be decided on until we're certain Coup will actually be ready for it. 

In happier news, I have had some writing success.  I submitted Ground of Resurrection to LT3 this morning.  I should hear whether they accept it sometime in the next few months.  I have also completed Wounded Alpha, the story I wrote for LT3's Bound by Nothing call.  All of my worry about whether it would be long enough or even get completed in time was apparently baseless and I'm quite happy with how it turned out.  It's not due until the end of January, so I'm going to let it sit until after the new year, and then start editing and formatting it for submission.  I have also added over 5k words to Ge-Mi: Part Two, which means I'm getting to the finish line.  All I have to write is the last confrontation with the bad guy and the wrap up afterwards, and this story will be complete.  I'm hoping to get it done in 2018, but this last section might be the hardest to write so we'll see how it goes.  

11/3/18

You've got to be tired of hearing about my edits by now.  I know I'm tired of talking about them.  I think the last twelve plus months have been almost exclusively edits, with zero progress on writing.  The good news is, I am definitely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  I am very much looking forward to a break in editing so I can finally spend some real time on writing.  Here's where everything I've been working on lately stands right now.

I was finally getting to the end of the second round of edits for The Coup and the Prince when I had to stop.  LT3 sent me the third and final round of edits for If A Butterfly Don't Fly and, given it comes out in just over a week, I have to get Butterfly done ASAP.  I would say this set of edits are easier than the previous two rounds, but a lot of it is time consuming.  For example, every time a space is changed to a dash, a deleted comment and a red insert appears in my manuscript's track changes.  That requires I accept the change for both, which is an extremely tedious and time consuming adventure in mind-numbing boredom.  There's a dozen changes like that on each page and for a 40k word story... You can see where I'm going with this.  Of course, there's also a few changes that will require a bit more effort as well.  My goal is to have all the changes fixed by the end of today, so I can spend tomorrow giving the story one last read through.  If I can get it back to LT3 tomorrow, Butterfly will be in good shape for release on November 14th. 

Which means I get to return to working on Coup tomorrow too.  I fully admit that if I had gotten Coup back to LT3 early, or even by the exact due date, there wouldn't be this overlap.  It's my own fault I'm stuck like this.  That said, I do need to get Coup back to LT3 also ASAP.  There's a little over a month before Coup is supposed to be released and I don't know if that's enough time for editing round three.  It's a little nerve wracking, but I'm hopeful. 

Writing, as I said earlier, has been sporadic and far between.  However, when my brain starts hurting from all the editing, I have been switching to work on my currently untitled story for LT3's Bound by Nothing call.  The story currently stands at 18k words, which means I will get to the minimum 20k word count required by the call.  It's a lighter story without a lot of twists and turns, which makes it easier to write and a nice change from the tangles my brain has been stuck in from the edits.  I have not had time to give Ground of Resurrection the final edit it needs before I submit it, so when I get free time again that story will have to be completed first, but my Bound by Nothing story is a close second.  Only when the edits are done and those two stories are off to LT3's submission box will I have the time and energy to return to tackling the bigger stories patiently waiting on my to-do list. 

10/18/18

As usual, I am behind on edits.  The second round for The Coup and the Prince are stuck.  I can't figure out how to do what the editor has recommended, so I think the unfortunate solution is I won't be doing it at all.  I can see how the change would benefit the overall story, but it requires 15k words added in such a way that it doesn't disrupt the overall plot.  I just can't figure out a way to finagle it without essentially destroying the story.  I've tried and failed, and, given the edits were due yesterday, I think it's time to move on.  I do think Coup is still good without the change and am really looking forward to December 12th when it finally reaches my readers' hands. 

Another reason I want to get Coup back to the editor is I'm expecting the next (and final) round of edits for If A Butterfly Don't Fly.  We're under a month to release day, so it's getting to be crunch time.  I'm actually looking forward to seeing Butterfly again, as this round of edits is the culmination of a lot of work.  Seeing the story finally come together is going to be amazing.  I already know you're all going to love it, so mark your calendars for November 14th, or simply pre-order it from LT3 ahead of time. 

Ground of Resurrection, the story that has been patiently waiting for me to give it a last edit so I can submit it to LT3, will have to continue waiting for just a little longer.  All of my focus has to be on getting Coup back to the editor ASAP.  Only once that is done can I pull out Resurrection again.  I'm hoping this time next year I'll be complaining about editing it while eagerly looking forward to it being published! 

Due to a number of reasons (edits, holidays, real life intrusions), I haven't been able to get a lot of writing done this last month.  I have added a bit to the story I'm attempting to write for LT3's Bound by Nothing call, but I'm still not sure if, A) I'll have it complete by the deadline, and B) it will reach the minimum length requirement.  Still, the story is cute and fun to write, so I'm going to plug away at it for as long as possible.  Wish me luck!

9/15/18

Ground of Insurrection is 99 cents at LT3 this weekend only!  If you don't have a copy, now is the time: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...  Insurrection has been getting truly wonderful reviews and it has one of the prettiest covers I've seen.  I'm sure you'll enjoy it too, so get your copy today!

Heartbeat is now available on Goodreads. Feel free to add it to your to-read list if you're interested: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41830430-heartbeat

I have completed writing Ground of Resurrection, book two in my Wizard Wars series.  I have set it aside to marinate for about a month, so sometime in mid-October I'll get it edited and formatted for submission.  I'm excited about how it turned out.  It answers some of the questions I know you had from book one and expands the world and the story.  I'm hoping you like it too!  Next for this series is book three, which I have the barest outline for.  I'm not planning on starting book three for a while (I have a few others I want to finish first), but I'm looking forward to it. 

Otherwise, I haven't done much the past few weeks.  I had a good new year celebration with my family, which was nice.  I'm behind on the edits for The Coup and the Prince.  I'm hoping to make some progress on it this week around Yom Kippur, but it's going to be difficult.  There will be more time to focus on the edits next week.  Once the edits are done I'll return to writing and will hopefully begin to make real progress on some of the other stories I know you're waiting for. 

9/6/18

I've have been making some more progress on my to-do list!  There's still a lot left for me to get done, but I like what I've been able to accomplish so far.  Here's what I did:

First, I was able to complete the edits for Heartbeat and get them returned to LT3 on time.  (Okay, one day late, but that hardly counts when you consider how late I returned some of my previous edits...)  Heartbeat is therefore complete and ready to go for October 3rd.  It is available for pre-order at LT3 and should be out to other retailers soon.  Heartbeat is a reprint, so only go get your copy if you don't own the original. 

Another big ticket item on my to-do list is finishing writing Ground of Resurrection, which I have almost completed.  The story itself is done, but I'm only halfway through the epilogue.  I'm of two minds when it comes to the epilogue.  On one hand, it's a cute bit of fun extra that I want to give to my readers.  On the other, it really serves more as a vignette rather than a full epilogue.  I'm still going to write it and include it in the submission, and then I'll see what the editor says.  If they think it's okay to keep it in, I will, if not I'll release it on my blog as a deleted scene.  Either way, you'll get to read it, which means I need to finish writing it.  Once the epilogue is done, Ground of Resurrection will be complete and all I'll need to do is edit and format it for submission. 

I have also written a few hundred words in Gi-Mi: Part Two.  I had the day off this past Monday, so I was able to spend a good chunk of time focusing on this story.  I really want to get it complete this year, but I still have approximately 15k words to write, so I'm not sure that's possible.  Hopefully I can get it done by early next year. 

Lastly, The Coup and the Prince.  The second round of edits arrived and are sitting on my computer waiting for me.  Now that Heartbeat is done, I've decided to take a few more days to complete Resurrection, and then all focus has to go towards getting Coup done.  I've read through the edits already and I know they won't be easy.  There's still a few things to rewrite and a couple of other things to tweak.  It's going to take time, which means I need to get cracking.  Wish me luck! 

8/20/18

I finished the second round of edits for If A Butterfly Don't Fly and sent them back to the editor for the third (and hopefully final) round.  I ended up having to add a big scene to the end of the story and a large section to the beginning, both of which should collectively fix the last of the continuity issues the editor pointed out.  I'm really hoping the third round of edits will only be line edits, ie. grammar, spelling, and sentence structure, as those edits are much faster and require much less work.  I should see Butterfly again in approximately a month or so. 

I have also received the edits for Heartbeat.  Since Heartbeat is a reprint of an old story and has therefore already gone through the editing process once, it only really needs line edits.  I have been working on Heartbeat a lot these past few weeks and now all that's left are two very small sections that should be a fairly straightforward fix.  Overall, the story will not have changed much, so if you have the old version, don't feel like you need to purchase it again. 

The second round of edits for The Coup and the Prince have also arrived.  I have been dreading these, but they're a necessary evil.  I've glanced through them once and I can tell you they're not going to be fun, but hopefully they won't be nearly as draining as last time.  I can also tell you that it's going to be worth it.  I can't wait for it to be done and in your hands. 

7/31/18

There's a lot on my to-do list (I feel like there's always a lot on my to-do list), but this week I've found myself focusing on two specific items.  The first is, of course, the edits for If A Butterfly Don't Fly.  I'm making progress, but as usual it's slow going.  The editor has again requested that I rewrite large portions of the story.  I understand why, but a) it's painful to do, and b) it's ridiculously time consuming.  Still, I want to try to get it done quickly so I can really start digging into the second thing I've been working on this week. 

Dragon Spy, the seventh book in my Supernatural Consultant series, has been languishing for far too long and I've finally taken the time to get some work done on it.  Chapter One is from Nickel's perspective, which is always a bit more serious, but Chapter Two has decided it wants to be from Lumie's perspective instead. There's a bit more levity when Lumie is around and causing problems.  I can't say it's more fun to write Lumie instead of Nickel, but it's easier to find the right flow.  This means I can finally start figuring out the second half of the blurb for Dragon Spy.  It also means that I'm planning for a future book to be in Platinum and Goldie's perspectives.  Admittedly, the main characters of that future book will depend on who is speaking to me at the moment, but I'm having fun planning ahead. 

The two additional books on my radar right now are still Ge-Mi: Part Two and Ground of Resurrection.  Part Two is at the halfway point and I'm having a bit of trouble getting it over that hump and into the start of the build up for the final battle scene.  I'm hoping to take some time to refocus the plot and get it moving again.  Resurrection, on the other hand, is just waiting for me to have time to return to working on it.  I only need to write about 5k more words and the story will be complete, which is basically the last battle and the romantic conclusion.  When I finally have some free time to devote to writing, I'm hoping to get Resurrection completed. 

7/14/18

I have so much news to share.  Some of it's good news and some of it's bad news, and I'm really hoping you and LT3 will forgive me for the bad news.  Let me get all of the bad out of the way first. 

I am a very, very bad author.  I struggled so much with the edits for The Coup and the Prince.  It was ridiculous considering how short the story is, but for some reason those damned edits just wouldn't go.  I finally got them back to LT3, but I was beyond late.  There is no way Coup will be released on time and it's all my fault.  I'll let you know what LT3 decides to do about it, but for the interim I will continue to wallow in misery for my incompetence. 

The next bit of bad news is that the audio book for Supernatural Consultant: Volume Two will be delayed indefinitely.  I know some of you had expressed interest in Volume Two, which is why I reached out to LT3 about it.  Sales for Volume One just weren't high enough to justify putting Volume Two into audio.  LT3 is still interested in doing it, but it's been pushed back to the bottom of the to-do list.  The second that changes I'll let you all know. 

The last bit of bad news is Paint, Guns, Money, & Love is out of print.  It wasn't selling well and it wasn't my best work, so it was decided to let it go.  I have a feeling it won't be missed, but I'm still sad it's gone. 

And now, finally, on to the good news! 

The response for Ground of Insurrection has been phenomenal.  I haven't seen a single negative review!  A few bits of constructive criticism, but overall everyone has really enjoyed it.  Reading all those wonderful reviews really lifted my spirits when I needed it most, so thank you to everyone that read and reviewed. 

The Coup and the Prince is available for pre-order at LT3 for a 15% discount.  You can get your copy reserved today: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...

I have been working on Ge-Mi.  No, part two hasn't grown, but I finally started organizing book two.  Each book in this series will be split into two parts and Di-Na, the second book in the series, not only has a name, but it has its two main characters.  I hope you'll love Kay and Sierra as much as Taylor and Nevada.  Now that I've gotten all of that figured out, I'm really hoping to return to finishing Ge-Mi: Part Two.  Feel free to check out the summaries and such on my current projects page. 

I have seen the first draft covers for The Coup and the Prince and for Heartbeat and they are perfect.  I'm really looking forward to sharing the final versions with all of you, so check back for a cover reveal post soon! 

All I have left on my to-do list this weekend are the edits for If A Butterfly Don't Fly.  I put them off while I was figuring out Coup.  I'm hoping because this is the second round, the edits will be easy.  We'll see, but I'm going to start working on them as soon as I finish giving The Sentinel's Prophesy one last check.  I am going to get Prophesy submitted to LT3 today. 

And that's it for all my news.  I'll keep you all appraised as I learn more and I'm hoping next time it will be all good news. 

6/8/18

I had a conversation with LT3 about the release date for If A Butterfly Don't Fly and the decision was we ought to push it back.  I expected this to happen once I saw the scale of the edits and LT3 came to the same conclusion.  This was a mutual decision that takes a lot of pressure and stress off of both of us, and allows us to properly prepare Butterfly so we release the best possible product to our readers.  Trying to force a July release date would not have been fair to you. 

• So, the new release date for If A Butterfly Don't Fly is: November 14, 2018. 
  

It's only a few months more, but I have a feeling I'm going to need all of it.  I received the second round of edits and have glanced through them briefly.  There's plenty to do, but with every round I can see amazing improvement with the story. 

The reason I only glanced through Butterfly instead of delving right in is I am behind on the edits for The Coup and the Prince.  My goal is to spend this entire weekend getting Coup completed.  It's doable as long as I can stay focused.  Wish me luck! 

If I need to step away from edits for a moment, I might take a few hours to finally read through The Sentinel's Prophesy and get it formatted for submission.  I think I was able to smooth out the transitions the last time I looked at it, so this time is a last check for anything that jumps out at me. 

Plus, don't forget Ground of Insurrection comes out next week!  You only have a few more days to get it for a 32% discount (LT3's having an amazing sale right now!).  It should be up on Amazon soon too.  I'm really excited for the start of this new series and I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! 

5/20/18

Given the number of questions (and quite a few demands) regarding when Ge-Mi: Part Two is coming out, I know many of you are anxious for the second half to be in your hands.  My answer for the last few months was "I'm working on it", but progress has been painfully slow.  That's finally changed.  I wrote 6k words this month and have planned the next part out.  The story is basically at the halfway point where all the set up is complete and now it's time for the drama to really begin.  Drama isn't easy to write because of the complexities that go into it, but it keeps my interest better than set up.  If I can keep the momentum going, I can really make a lot of progress in this story. 

Last month I went through The Sentinel's Prophesy one last time to try to smooth out some of the bumpy bits and set the story aside.  The plan was to pick it up mid-May--so as soon as I get a free moment--and give it one last thorough edit.  I'll get it formatted for submission and then I'll see whether LT3 will accept it. 

The problem with continuing work on Ge-Mi or Prophesy is that I got more edits and those take precedence.  Instead of going for round two, it appears Ground of Insurrection went directly to copy edits.  That makes sense, given most of the questions I had were simple ones that could be answered by any editor.  I've started going through them and it's fairly straightforward.  I've made a lot of progress so far.  They're due at the end of this week, and I should have them completed on time.  Ground of Insurrection is coming out really soon, so make sure you get your pre-order in before June 13th: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...

I also received the first round of edits for The Coup and the Prince.  I wrote the story to be short and sweet, but apparently I was a little too short and not quite enough sweet.  There are four or five places where the editor recommended I add scenes and there are a couple of other significant changes I need to make.  These edits are going to take time and a lot of work.  Luckily there is still plenty of time before this story is slated to come out in September, but given I know the second round of edits for If A Butterfly Don't Fly will be coming my way very soon, there might still be a bit of a time crunch. 

Speaking of Butterfly, it is now up for pre-order at LT3.  You can get it for a 15% discount:  https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...  I have seen the first draft of the cover, which is lovely and I can't wait to share it with you.   Butterfly is also up on Goodreads for those of you that like to mark books as "want to read".