12/26/20

My next re-release with NineStar Press is a book called Kelpie Blue.  It is available for pre-order right now at NSP, and comes out on December 28th.  You can pre-order, check out the official summary, and read an excerpt HERE. 

Kelpie Blue is the first book in my Out of Underhill series, but it wasn't supposed to be.  When I first started writing about Underhill and the chaotic overlap between the worlds of fae and human, I was working on a book titled If A Butterfly Don't Fly.  Butterfly was supposed to be a stand alone novel, but after starting to dig into the story I came to a realization: there was too much content without full backstory!  Basically, Butterfly was reading like a sequel.  Luckily a happy kelpie came frolicking by at just the right time.  Blue was a loveable, flesh-eating kelpie who just wanted a hug and to maybe take a large bite out of your shoulder.  He also wanted his story, and he wanted it now.  I couldn't say no. 

Kelpie Blue took a long time to write.  I had to do a ton of research about horse racing and rearing.  I had a massive chunk of plot written and was about to move onto the next section when I thankfully took a moment to look up horse gestation and had to quickly add a few months into the story.  The Celtic magic and creatures were also really interesting.  Blue's character and personality evolved a ton the more I learned, but I also changed a lot about Rin too. 

Fun Fact: Rin's name was originally Brin.  My first editor said Brin and Blue sounded too similar, and they recommended I change one.  Brin therefore became Rin. 

Kelpie Blue will be coming out in just two days, and you won't have to wait too long until If A Butterfly Don't Fly comes out in March!  Don't forget to pre-order Kelpie Blue today at NSP, and it will be available at all major ebook and print retailers on December 28th. 

9/24/20

To anyone that celebrates, I hope you had a happy new year and have an easy fast! 

The response for Dragon Soldier has been beyond amazing.  Readers really seem to love it, and that has me so excited!  I was incredibly busy the last few weeks, so I never got around to posting the new cover, but it's as wonderful as the rest of the series.  You can check it out here!  Dragon Adventures, the next book in the series is completely ready to go.  All we're waiting on is the cover, but the editing is done.  I hope to have the official release date for you very soon. 

Sticking with news about my Supernatural Consultant series, I have been writing Dragon Spy again.  I finally figured out one of the reasons the story wasn't flowing correctly was because the prologue really needed to be chapter one instead.  I started writing a new prologue, which introduces a new dragon, and it's already looking so much better!  There's still a lot of little plot details to work out, but overall this story is really starting to take shape. 

I have also finally finished the preliminary round of edits for Kelpie Blue, which is still slated to come out in January.  The prelims were a beast to get through, and it took me a lot longer than I had hoped, but I did it and the story looks so much tighter because of it.  I'm also super excited to start working on a different series.  As much as I love my dragons, taking a break to play with a feisty kelpie was awesome. 

Next on my editing to-do list are the prelims for Magnified.  I think I got into a groove with Kelpie Blue, so I'm hoping to carry that forward and blaze through Magnified.  I am also expecting the first round of edits for A Little Fairy Dust, my fairy tale anthology.  It's a huge book, so it will take a little longer to go through the editing process, which is why I'm expecting it to land in my inbox any day now. 

8/26/20

I have tentative dates for when more of my books are going to come out!  They are subject to change (they've already been changed once already), so don't go setting them into stone.  I can almost guarantee the dates for the releases in 2022 will very likely be changed as more of my submitted manuscripts are accepted and woven into the release schedule.  Still, it's good to know in terms of planning ahead, so I'm sharing them with you now:

• 2020
  • October: Dragon Adventures (Supernatural Consultant 6)
  • November: Dragon Lesson (Supernatural Consultant 7)
• 2021
  • January: Kelpie Blue (Out of Underhill 1)
  • January: A Little Fairy Dust
  • March:  Magnified (Magnified 1)
  • April: Wounded Alpha
  • May: If a Butterfly Don't Fly (Out of Underhill 2)
  • June: Road to Revenge (Road To 1)
  • August: Ground of Insurrection (Wizard Wars 1)
  • September: Road to Home (Road To 2)
  • November: Justified (Magnified 2)
  • December: Ground of Resurrection (Wizard Wars 2)
• 2022
  • January: The Oracle's Flame (Book 1)
  • March: The Oracle's Hatchling (Book 2)
  • April: The Oracle's Golem (Book 3)
  • June: The Oracle's Sprite (Book 4)
  • July: The Oracle's Prophecy (Book 5)
  • August: The Oracle's Current (Book 6)

As you can see, it's going to be very busy.  There's a lot to do in a short time frame, but I'm looking forward to getting all my books re-released for you.  In case you were wondering, the brand new, never before published books, are in bold.  Fingers crossed I can finish another book and add some more bold lines for 2022!  I'm also being lazy and not putting links for more information into this post.  Instead, please go here where I've been adding the links as I get them. 

I will definitely keep you in the loop as these dates come closer, and if any dates are changed, I'll let you know that too.  The next few years are going to be a wild ride, but it's so nice to see so much progress already being made! 

8/17/20

Things are happening at an incredible pace right now. Every time I try to write a blog post, something new comes up and I have to scrap what I've written.  I'm hoping to get this one posted before that happens again!  Let me break all the news up into readable sections:

Accepted Manuscripts

• NSP has accepted all six books in The Oracle series!  This includes the brand new final book, The Oracle's Current.  We have decided to rename The Sentinel's Prophesy to The Oracle's Prophesy so it fits in better with the rest of the series.  Aside from that, there shouldn't be any more substantive changes.  The Oracle's Flame, book one, should be released sometime in mid to late 2021. 
  
• NSP has also accepted A Little Fairy Dust, my fairy tale anthology.  To everyone who has asked me when Cleanly Wrong or Cinder-Elle would be republished, you finally have your wish, plus you get a bunch more brand new stories!  Keep an eye out for A Little Fairy Dust to be (tentatively) released in early 2021. 
  

Editing

• I have completed editing Dragon Adventures, the combined short stories of Dragon Adventure and Dragon Home.  I just received the copy edits and hope to have that done soon as well. 
  
• The first round of edits for Dragon Lesson, book seven in my Supernatural Consultant series, has also arrived.  There doesn't appear to be anything big to change, but I'm still working my way through.  I'll let you know if anything substantive gets changed. 
  
• I have started pre-edits for Kelpie Blue and Magnified.  We're going through and trying to remove repeated words and other mind-numbing minutia prior to digging into the meat of the stories for edits.  It's going to take me a while to do each story's pre-edits, but it means the actual editing process will be much more streamlined when those stories get closer to their release dates. 
  

Releases

• Dragon Dilemma was another hit!  Thank you to everyone who reviewed or let me know you enjoyed it. 
  
• The next book in my Supernatural Consultant series, Dragon Detective, will be re-released on August 24, 2020.  Did you see the beautiful cover?  Don't forget, if you pre-order it from NSP, you can get your e-copy on August 21st. 
  

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. 

4/11/18

This past month has been a bit crazy, so I haven't been able to keep you all updated with news as I learn it.  I do have a lot of fun things to share!  First, I have potential release dates.  They're subject to change, but as long as I get all my edits done on time (which as you'll see below I'm not doing too well at) they shouldn't change too much.  Mark your calendars:

• Ground of Insurrection: June 13, 2018
• If A Butterfly Don't Fly: July 11, 2018
• The Coup and the Prince: September 5, 2018

Insurrection has already gone through one round of edits.  I'm expecting the second round to appear sometime this month, which should finish up the editing process for this story.  Insurrection is now available for pre-order at LT3 for a 15% discount (plus more because of LT3's birthday sale), so you can get your copy now.  It's also been listed on Goodreads if you want to add it to your to-read list: https://www.goodreads.com/book...

I received the first round of edits for If A Butterfly Don't Fly, so that story has started moving forward too. At first, the edits for Butterfly didn't seem to be too bad, but then I found where the editor asked me to add in a new chapter.  The reasons for that new chapter are solid, so I started writing it, but it's been fighting with me and now the edits are late.  LT3 was kind enough to grant me an extension for the edits, so I'm hoping to have them done really soon.   

The reviews for Kelpie Blue have been beyond stellar.  Everyone that has left a comment has agreed that Blue, my lively Kelpie with the sharp teeth, is adorable and the story itself is a ton of fun.  If you've read Kelpie Blue, it would be awesome if you could pop over to Goodreads or Amazon and leave a quick review.  

As for writing, unfortunately edits take precedence.  That means I didn't finish writing Ground of Resurrection in March like I had hoped.  However, that doesn't mean I can't plan the rest of my stories out mentally.  The main characters in Codified, the third book in my Magnified series, have been stuck in the basement and I've been struggling to figure out how to get them out.  I think I've come up with an idea, but until I see how it flows on paper I don't know whether the idea is a viable one.  In Ge-Mi: Part Two, they've all arrived at the graveyard, but I need to figure out the ceremony there in order to get them out of the graveyard and into the scene that really starts the romantic drama.  I think I'm starting to get a good idea of how to move it forward, but until the edits are out of the way I can't work on it.