What's Been Going On

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't been as around on-line as much lately. I've had my nose to the grindstone for the past four months, working my ass off, and hoping that I wouldn't have to write this post. I've been getting a lot of questions lately about the next book in the Shaede Assassin series. When is the release date? Why wasn't there a teaser at the end of CRAVE THE DARKNESS? How many books are in the series's future?

Unfortunately, Signet won't be moving forward with the Shaede Assassin series. It's a business decision on their part. One that I understand, though it saddens me. But since I can't simply leave Darian hanging without the opportunity to get her shit together once and for all, I'm determined to publish future books in the series. I have to see the story through to the end for my own peace of mind as much as for Darian's. She saved my bacon when I was down and out and I owe her that much.

Though I can't give you a definite release date yet, I do know that book four (as yet untitled) will be out in the first part of 2014. If you're a subscriber to my newsletter, you'll get a sneak peak at the first chapter very soon, and I hope to have cover art as well in the months to come. I'm actually really excited about taking over the reins in regards to the Shaede Assassin world. I've promised a Raif spin-off for a year, and now, I'll have the opportunity to write his book. Kaii (the assassin from Tyler's novella) could also get a book. The possibilities are endless and I'm ready to write them all!

In the meantime, I'm busy doing what I love. Writing. In addition to the Shaedes series, I'm working on a a new adult paranormal trilogy that will be available this summer and a new urban fantasy novel in a brand new series that will be available in digital format and POD later in the fall. I'll be posting more in-depth updates as soon as I can with teasers, cover art, and actual release dates.

I want to thank all of the readers who've supported me the past couple of years and those of you who are still rooting for Darian. Word of mouth really is the best advertisement a book can get and assures readers continue to see new installments. If you loved the series, tell your friends! Spread the book love around. Write a review even if it's just a few sentences. It matters and it really does make a difference.

In the meantime, I'll try to be a better social networker. I've got months worth of goat-related tweets to catch up on! ;)

Finding a Schedule That Works

One of my CP's is going to laugh at me for writing this, but, I'm not a planner. Like not at all. I don't even plan things a day in advance, let alone months. So you can imagine what gearing up for a book release has been like for this non-planner. It's not the sort of thing you can do at the last moment. There's no, "Oh, my book comes out next week. Guess I'll do a couple of things." No, this is a months-long process.

And since I'm not much of a planner, my agent suggested I keep a calendar to keep track of my various social networking and platform building activities leading up to December and my release. So far, the calendar has been great! It's allowed me to see the days/weeks/months right there in black and white and since I'm a very visual person, I can schedule my activities in a way that works for me. I've decided to blog twice a week. I've admitted time and again that blogging isn't my strongest social networking medium. So, I'll blog once a week here, and once at week over at Magic and Mayhem. I'm going to post five days a week on my Facebook page. I LOVE Facebook. The posts can be as short as a sentence or as long as a small paragraph. And I get to interact with primarily readers, which can be really enlightening. I'll pop in and out on Twitter once or twice a day, but I have to admit, being witty in 140 characters or less is really HARD! ;) And I'll be giving away ARC's and jewelry and other goodies on all three social networking sites from August until the SHAEDES OF GRAY release on December 6th.

I have to say, it feels good to have a plan in place and a schedule to go by. How about you guys? Are you the plan-it-out, scheduling sort? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants?

Cover Art Love

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend! It rained here...again. And the greenhouse didn't get planted...again. I'm jonesing for sunshine, people. I. Need. It.

On a happier front, I got the go ahead to show my cover art last week. I am in deep love with this cover. And I'm not gonna lie; I tend to stare at it. A lot. It's absolutely beautiful. Darian looks just as I picture her right down to the hood on her coat and the color of her hair. My favorite part of the cover is the way the artist made the ends of Darian's hair and the edges of her coat wispy, as if she's just leaving, or just entering her incorporeal form. You see, Darian is a Shaede after all, and she'd rather travel as a shadow at night. ;) I'm also struck by the expression on her face. Serene, while at the same time reaching for her Katana and gearing up for an ass-kicking. That's my girl! After seeing my cover, I have only one thought: December can't come fast enough!

Magic and Mayhem - Books That I Scream Like a Girl For

I'm giving a shout-out to Patricia Briggs today over at Magic and Mayhem. RIVER MARKED, the sixth Mercy Thompson book releases today! I can't wait to get my copy :)

An Interview and Giveaway! Welcome, Author Michelle McLean!

I'm so excited to have author Michelle McLean as a guest on my blog today! In addition to being one of the nicest people I've met in the on-line author community, she's a contributor to the blog chain I used to participate in. I met some great people and found friends and crit partners through Michelle. And besides being an uber talented poet and fiction writer, her non-fiction book, HOMEWORK HELPERS: ESSAYS AND TERM PAPERS hit the shelves last week.

Tell us a little about your book, Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers:

Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers is a fun, user-friendly book that guides the reader, step by step, through writing a dozen different types of essays, including the dreaded SAT essay. Using straightforward, plain English, this book shows the reader exactly what they need to do, from start to finish, and includes rough draft, edited, and final draft versions of every type of essay discussed. This book also provides chapters that include tips and instruction on researching, proofreading, and citations.



What was your motivation behind writing the book?

My goal with it is to help people, especially students, get through their assignments with the least amount of pain and confusion possible. Essays are something that everyone has to write, whether they want to or not. Being confused by the process doesn’t make it any easier. It seems like most of the “help” guides out there are so full of complicated language and instructions they don’t help anyone. So I wanted to write a book that would actually help students through the entire process, from picking a topic to turning it in.



What issues did you address or target in Homework Helpers and what was your research procedure?

For the most part, I am just walking my readers through every step of the writing process for a dozen different types of essays. I also address things like researching, proofreading, and citing sources, and included a chapter with tips on how to write the SAT essay. As an English major, I’ve spent a lot of years writing every kind of essay and paper you can imagine. So, my research for the book mainly consisted of triple checking to make sure I had all the right rules for each essay. The sample essays in the book are actually my own essays from my school days, so I used them as a base and went from there.



Query letters vs. Non-fiction proposals: which would you rather write and why?

Ooo tough one LOL Query letters can be a pain, but I think I’d have to go with them. They can be kind of fun to play with and they are much shorter and less involved. A non-fiction proposal contains an overview of the book, a marketing section, a promotion section, an author section, a competition section, a detailed outline, chapter abstracts, and sample chapters. They can easily run 60+ pages.



Are you working on any other non-fiction projects, companions, or follow ups to Homework Helpers?

I am :) I am working on a book on how to write about two dozen different forms of poetry and a book that focuses on literary analysis essays and literary criticisms.



Aside from your non-fiction writing, you also write fiction. How long have you been writing fiction? Was it a natural path to follow from non-fiction or was your non-fiction borne of your fiction writing?

I’ve been writing fiction (with an aim for publication) for six years. I technically started with fiction since I’ve been writing stories and poetry for as long as I can remember. But I’ve always enjoyed writing essays and papers and even started my college career with the goal to become a historian or archivist. My first publications were non-fiction narrative essays in several Chicken Soup for the Soul books.
So, I’ve sort of always done both, hand in hand.



What is the hardest part of being a non-fiction writer? Fiction? Is one more difficult than the other?

Fiction is more fun, but harder for me than non-fiction. Writing stories for myself and writing them with an eye to get them published are two totally different things. There is an art to storytelling, one I’m still working on.

Non-fiction comes a lot easier to me. But then, I’ve been doing it “professionally” a lot longer. I have a master’s degree in English so I’ve spent a good 20 years writing essays and papers. Non-fiction is basically taking facts and presenting them to your audience. It’s taking information I know or can look up and arranging it in a logical and organized manner.

Fiction is a lot more messy :) There are more potential problems (plot holes, characterization problems, etc). It’s emotional as opposed to the more analytical non-fiction.



Tell us a little about your journey: What was your agent search like? Your submission process? Did you ever feel like tearing your hair out?

You know, I expected it to be hard. I’d spent a couple years repeatedly revising and unsuccessfully querying a novel in the past, so I’d definitely done my time in the query trenches and had more than my fair share of rejections.

So with this book, it was a shock at what a whirlwind it ended up being. From sending my first query to signing with my agent, it was only about 3 ½ weeks. My agent, the fabulous Krista Goering, emailed to set up a phone call within an hour of reading my proposal and I signed with her the day we spoke. It took about six months to get an offer for the book from Career Press.



Would you mind volunteering one random fact about yourself?

Um… my right foot is half a size larger than my left foot, courtesy of my pregnancy with my son :D



Is there anything else about your book you’d like my readers to know


While the book is mainly geared toward junior high, high school, and college students, it also contains chapters on researching and proofreading that can be used by any writer. The processes I outline for writing essays can also be applied to any project, so even if you aren’t currently in school and needing help with essays, you can still find useful information and tips in the book.


In celebration of Michelle's release, we're giving away some sweet swag!

All you have to do to enter is comment on the blog. I'll draw a winner from the comments, just please make sure I have your contact information if you don't supply it on your profile! Thanks for stopping by, Michelle! And good luck!!

If you want to find Michelle's book on the web, you can find it at the following places:

Amazon
Borders
Barnes and Noble