Thursday, February 20, 2014

Commercial Break

As we settle into 2014 I've been rather busy with promotional stuff, so I thought it was appropriate for a general update on what I've been up to of late.

Firstly, a round-up of guest appearances on the Internet for 2014. At the end of January, I featured on Chris Weigand's Palace of Twelve Pillars blog, talking about how I was inspired to create my amateur sleuth Shara Summers. Earlier this month I visited Janie Franz's blog Anasazi Dreams, talking about ambition and discipline being the tools of a writer. And most recently I've visited Helena Fairfax's blog, where we've been reminiscing about childhood holidays in Blackpool.

All of this is an endeavour to drum up interest in the Shara Summers series, as the first two books are being released by MuseItUp this year. The first, DEATH SCENE, is a re-release. The previous version is no longer available, but the re-release will be out in the summer. If you haven't been introduced to Shara yet, this is the one to start with. And if you've already read DEATH SCENE, a new publisher means new round of edits, so this version will be slightly different than the first.

If you enjoy meeting Shara in the first book, the second book in the series, DEAD COOL, will be released in Autumn so you won't have to wait too long to catch up with her again.

Thus far, I don't have definitive release dates or covers for either book. But you'll be the first to know when I do, so watch this space.  In the meantime, if you want a sneak peek, there's a blurb about each on the 'Coming Soon' page on my website.

And finally, if your tastes run to darker fiction, I've got some back listed horror titles that might be to your liking. SUFFER THE CHILDREN - available on the Kindle (US and UK) - is a supernatural horror novel with its roots based in mythology. And SOUL SCREAMS - available in print and ebook - is a collection of short horror stories about "that inner scream no one can hear but you". It's recently received some rather positive reviews on Goodreads, and if creepy stories are your thing, it might be right up your alley.

All this is why I've not had much time for the blog recently.  But of course that's a poor excuse, and I hope that from now on I can improve on this year's track record.

If you've recently discovered this blog, I bid you welcome and I hope you'll stick around for a while.  If you've been following from the beginning, I'd like to say thank you for bearing with me - your support means a lot.  It's going to be a busy year for me, writing-wise, and I hope you'll join me for the ride.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

My Wish

Maybe this will be my year, publishing wise. Death Sword was offered a (back list) contract by Kensington/Lyrical Press, and I have a release date for Exterminating Angel. That means I'll have two short novels, plus two short stories out. While I don't have a release date for "Gabrielle" (Hekate Press), it should be this year. Add to that my five anthology stories and I have to admit I'm not doing too badly. Add to that the partial and completed manuscripts and ideas, and I have material for a few years at least.

Sometimes, though, I feel I don't have the support of my fellow authors, that I don't fit in. I stopped going to one writing group because I sensed some members didn't like my subject matter: m/m romance. Another group seemed to be dominated by a few individuals, and, quite honestly, ruined that group for me, although I like several of the authors there.

My wish is for readers. And it's not like I haven't tried to reach out to them. Sometimes I wonder if they got lost. :-(  I keep hoping that maybe things will get better. I think the Ten Tales anthology stories are helping. Have to admit, it's a great feeling when a reviewer likes my story. Not that it happens with every review, but when I collect my stories together to publish in a collection, I plan to mention those particular reviews to the publisher. (I have a couple of local publishers in mind for this collection, which is an ongoing work in progress.)

Also, I should have some more good news soon. But I can't say anything just yet. Soon, though. It took almost a year, but when they say "patience is a virtue," yeah, I can say sometimes it pays off. :-)