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. 

5/8/20

I have so much news about Ge-Mi that I'm bursting at the seams!  First, an official release date for Part Two: May 18, 2020.  The best part is, you can preorder it right now from NSP, and if you do, you can get it three days earlier than from anywhere else!  Here's the link: https://ninestarpress.com/product/ge-mi-part-two/ I'm certain it will be available for preorder or to buy from other retailers soon, but three days sooner is awesome. 

Next is the cover, which is a companion to Part One's cover.  It looks similar, but is different enough (I hope) to stand alone.  It's very pretty and has red wolf's fur to signify this is Taylor's book.  What do you think? 

Ge-Mi will be released in print!  Parts One and Two will be combined into one lovely print version.  NSP is working with the cover artist right now to get a print cover completed.  It will take a few extra weeks, but sometime after Part Two is released, the print version will also become available.  I will let everyone know when I have more information, but it's something more for you to look forward to! 

3/15/19

Ge-Mi: Part One is available for pre-order at NineStar Press!  The official release date is tomorrow, March 16th, however if you purchase* from NSP, you can get it now, as NSP makes all their books available three days before official release. It is also available for pre-order from Amazon, but you have to wait until tomorrow to read it. 

* For those that purchased the book when it was previously available with LT3, no substantive changes have been made.  There were minor edits and there's a new cover, but aside from that, the story remains the same.  While I would be flattered if you purchased the book again, you will not miss anything if you don't. 

Here's some additional exiting Ge-Mi news:

The cover is out!  It's not as spectacularly shocking as the original cover, but it's still beautiful.  I don't know how we ended up in outer space, but I can't complain when a cover is that pretty.  Let me know what you think. 

Ge-Mi: Part Two is moving along at pace!  The first round of edits was completed and I am now working on the second round.  I hope to have them back to the editor very soon. All the edits have been extremely positive, and the editor does seem to love Part Two just as much as Part One.  I think you'll all love it too, and I can't wait for it to be available for you to read! 

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. 

1/3/20

I hope everyone had a very happy new year!  I couch surfed and watched the ball drop, which was fun for me.  I keep writing 19 rather than 20 for the year, but I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually. 

On to book news:

Ge-Mi: Nevada has been sent to a cover artist.  NineStar doesn't work with an illustrator.  What that means is they can't keep the original cover because they don't have someone that can continue with the same style cover for the next books in the series.  Ge-Mi will therefore be getting a fresh new look.  I have to admit I'm bummed.  I designed the original cover myself and had grand plans for the rest of the series.  I was really looking forward to seeing how the artist brought my characters to life in the next covers.  That won't happen now.  That said, there are definitely benefits to the new cover.  The new cover might actually be safe for work, which means you can read it in public, and won't be as confusing for readers that saw a naked man on the cover and immediately thought erotica rather than romance.  I can't wait to see what the new cover looks like, and as soon as I have a final copy I'll be sure to share it with you all. 

I haven't gotten any new edits yet, but I'm expecting them any day.  I also haven't heard yay or nay from NSP regarding my Wizard Wars series.  There's still a few more weeks left before their timeline ends, so I'm trying to be patient as I wait. 

Since patience is hard, and since I know a bunch of you were excited when I originally announced Wounded Alpha, I decided to go ahead and finish shining that story up.  I have just submitted it to NSP.  It fits within a theme they put out an internal call for, so I'm hopeful I'll hear before the 16 week timeline.  Wish me luck! 

And now I have to decide what story or series I want to fix up and submit to NSP next.  Since I just submitted yet another fantasy/paranormal story, I'm wondering if this might be a good time to slide my lone contemporary series across their doorstep.  Road To is my modern day spy thriller, but it's also one of my oldest series.  I'm honestly not certain NSP would be interested, but I do think it's worth a try.  What do you guys think? 

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. 

10/20/19

NineStar Press has also accepted the final three books in my Supernatural Consultant series!  The two short stories, Dragon Adventure and Dragon Home, will be combined into one book.  Right now the working title will be Dragon Adventures (we added the 'S', because we're clever like that), but inside the book "part two" will still be called Dragon Home.  We're not wedded to the new title, so if anyone wants to suggest something they think is better, please feel free.  NSP also accepted Dragon Lesson, which I'm super excited about.  This means the entire series will be republished soon! 

In other book news, there have been no new developments.  It's too soon to hear whether NSP will accept the two books in my Wizard Wars series.  It's also way too soon to get any additional tentative release dates.  Edits for Ge-Mi: Nevada could arrive any day now, and once they start, edits for all my accepted books will continue to arrive almost non-stop for the next year.  I know that is going to curtail my writing time considerably, but I am still going to try my best to get some new material completed as well.  At the top of the list are my fairy tales, which I am sooooo close to finishing, and of course all the sequels everyone has so patiently been waiting for.  I will keep working hard, so thank you all for your continued support!