Ch-ch-ch-changes

God, has it really been eight months since I posted here?  I'm a pretty craptastic blogger...but you all knew that.  Still, I figured it was about time I let readers know what was going on with me, so settle in and envision me making a grand re-entrance to my blog in sequins and a feathered Vegas-style headdress.  Or, um, not.  Anyway...

So I recognize the fact that I've been pretty scarce around Ye Olde Internets this year, with a brief exception made around the release of The Demon's Song, a digital release through Entangled Covet that marked a return to the world I created back in my 2010 Nocturne, Renegade Angel.  The new series is called Hearts of the Fallen, and the second book, The Demon's Desire, arrives on digital shelves August 26th.  There will be some guest posts around the net tied to this, and I'll certainly keep you posted on where those are.  This book is Meresin and Dru's story, and as I've had a big soft spot for Meresin ever since his appearance in Renegade Angel, I'm really thrilled to be able to share his story at long last!  Pre-order it HERE.  Also, I do want to add that I know some readers were thrown off by the reboot of the series, and I apologize for any confusion.  Essentially re-starting a series that a different book at a different publisher (who then decided to nix the idea of a series) had been intended to start was a new and kind of weird experience for me, and I obviously botched getting the word out as well as I could.  My editor and I did take pains to try and make sure that The Demon's Song could stand alone and work as an entry point, but readers' mileage on that one varied.  I hope, though, now that the world is established, that you'll read on to find out what happens to the other Fallen.  The third book I expect will be out in early spring.  I had to open up a slightly wider gap between releases, since my sanity was starting to suffer!

What else has been going on?  I'll be honest, much of my absence has been because I was trying to figure out "Where do I go from here?" (as well as many other pressing questions like, "Who ate the rest of my potato chips?" and "When was the last time I washed this sweatshirt?").  As you probably know if you follow me at all, the Dark Dynasties series, which I love dearly, was not picked up for a fifth installment by my publisher.  I have every intention of writing Vlad's story to finish the series the way I wanted, but doing it on my own when I have other contracted commitments poses some interesting new problems.  I would like to do it in 2014.  I just need to find the time, and I will share news on progress when I have it.  I was nowhere near unique in finding myself struggling in the last twelve months.  I knew a number of paranormal authors who got dropped from their respective houses, many more talented than I.  The truth is that most publishers aren't buying paranormal right now.  The market has shifted, as it is wont to do.  This doesn't mean that I'm no longer interested in writing it, but it does mean I had to sit down and take stock of my career and where I want to go with it.  And so, change is afoot!

With the encouragement of my awesome agent, Kevan, and driven by deepening angry-immortals-trying-to-kill-one-another burnout, I tried my hand at something I never thought I'd write: contemporary romance.  To my surprise, I enjoyed crafting a story in which people were generally normal, no one got bitten, and I was allowed to write snarky banter uninterrupted by life-threatening situations.  I like doing it the other way, too, but this was novel for me:)  I put together a proposal for a funny, small town contemporary series, and wonder of wonders, it SOLD!  So the Harvest Cove series will begin next August, releasing in paperback and digital from NAL, and I'm basically so excited about it that it's slightly embarrassing.  I'm writing the first book (called For the Longest Time) as we speak, and I really feel like this is the right direction for me to be taking right now.  Do I plan to stop writing paranormal?  No, not entirely.  But writing a little lighter is a breath of fresh air right now, and I hope some of you (many of you, even) will keep on reading me even as I head into something a bit different.  I'm contracted for three books at present, and you better believe I have fingers and toes and whatever else I can find crossed that we go past three.  A girl gets tired of house hopping, and I'd love a chance to sit still and really develop a fictional world for more than a handful of books.

On a related note, I see that there's a pre-order link up on Amazon and B&N for Call of the Wolf, which was intended to be my fourth novelette for Cravings.  Please disregard that, as it isn't happening.  Last week it was decided that what I'd written was too light for the line, and given my current commitments and time constraints, it made more sense to simply cancel the final story rather than find a way to turn what I have into something it really, really isn't.  Since the story is linked to The Wolf's Surrender, my March Nocturne, I do think I'll get it edited up and offer it to readers myself, so hopefully there's some interest in a light story about Kenyon finally finding his mate (and yes, if you've read the book, you might guess who she is).  I like what I wrote, but it isn't a dark erotic short.  And I'll be honest, I've discovered that dark erotic short stories aren't really my strong suit anyway.  They don't have a lot of room for sarcastic humor, and that's always where my characters want to head.  Thus, I will spare you all (and myself) before that part of my work devolves into generic supernatural banging.

So that's where I'm at.  This winter was for figuring out how I need to structure my writing schedule so I don't die (that was ugly, since I am horrible at saying "no" and "I can't" and excellent at taking on too much), for finding a direction that makes some sense--basically, having your usual writerly existential crisis that involved a lot of junk food and leaning on family members.  They were sports about the whole thing, probably because I'm generally a very positive person when not clinging to the edge of the Cliffs of Insanity...and the latter doesn't happen very often.  This is a tough business.  Not whining, just the truth.  Careers in writing; not for the faint of heart.

All this said, what can you expect to see from me going forward?  Well, there's the upcoming release.  This spring, as I said, you can expect the third in the Hearts of the Fallen series, which is about the very sexy Murmur (I like Murmur a LOT).  And after that, For the Longest Time, which will hit shelves the last Tuesday of July (making it technically an August release...yeah, publishing is weird).  My website will be getting a redesign this spring as well, sometime before the contemporary releases.  I'd like it to reflect the fact that I write in more than one subgenre, so I expect it'll be a little less, you know, RAWR!  Enjoy the shirtless tattoo guy while you can.  His days are numbered;)

I'll try to blog a little more often...no promises, but I will TRY.  I feel pretty boring most of the time, really!  But thanks to all of you who keep reading the stories I write.  I love knowing that I have readers who enjoy my work...it makes the fits my characters sometimes give me well worth it!  I may be quiet, but I'm always working, and I figure that's the most important thing. 

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned! There's always more to come:)