FYI

Blogging as an author is an interesting challenge. Some days there's nothing going on. Some days, there's so much going on that I'm afraid of overwhelming people with one long, rambling post full of updates. But more often, there's something going on, but I'm not yet free to share or comfortable with sharing it online.

This has been the case a lot lately. So I've been pretty quiet online, but between real life, the Alpha release, and starting my new adult series, things have been pretty chaotic behind the scenes.

So I'm going to take this opportunity to answer the two questions I'm getting most often. Then I may ramble a bit. ;)

Q. Will you write any more Shifters books?

A. I honestly don't know. I hadn't planned on it, even after getting many, many requests for more. (So glad people want more, though!) And I can say for sure that Faythe's story is over. I know a lot of people wanted to see her settle down with her chosen mate and start a family, but the thing is this: that was never the point of the novels for me.

Do I see her doing that after the final page of Alpha is closed? Yes. Maybe not immediately, and maybe not in the stay-at-home capacity, but yes. I do eventually see her with a family of her own. But I don't want to write it. The story I envisioned for Faythe has reached its conclusion, and I'm very happy with it. So please feel free to picture her in your head as the world's most bada$$ mom ever. I know I am. ;)

On the other hand, I have not decided against a spin off. But I haven't decided in favor of one either. I do have an idea for one, but I have not proposed it to my publisher, for a couple of reasons. First, I don't have time to write a spin off series right now. I'm pretty swamped, at least for the next few months. And second, I need to know that I can make it in adult fiction without the Shifters series. I don't want to be that proverbial one-trick pony. (I'm counting the Soul Screamers series as a separate one-trick pony because it's YA.) I need to know that I can do something else.

Q. Why haven't you told us what your new adult series is about?

A. Because I'm not very far into it yet. The Shifters and Soul Screamers series both sold with books already written. (Stray and Rogue, for Shifters, MSTTake and an outline of MSTSave for Soul Screamers). But this new series sold based on...nothing. Well, nothing but the theory that I could come up with another adult series idea, based on the fact that I'd done it before.

And I did come up with another adult series concept. The concept was approved by my publisher months ago, the release has been scheduled, the back cover synopsis has been written, and cover design has already begun. But because of Soul Screamers deadlines, I just started the manuscript for this new book a couple of weeks ago. And it's been slow going so far, because I'm getting to know brand new characters and a brand new world (it's our world, plus some).

I've spent a lot of time rewriting what I'd already written, refining the characters and expanding the world building. I've been figuring out details that were vague in the concept proposal but now need supporting details. This stage of the process for me is very time consuming, yet shows little quantifiable progress. Which is very frustrating.

So, hopefully it's obvious that until now, it's been too early for me to tell you about this book. That would have been like trying to tell you what pattern a kaleidoscope shows, only to have it change on the next turn. And the confusion from that would have been magnified by the fact that news spreads very quickly on the internet, and it seems to evolve with each retelling, like that "telephone" game we played as kids.

But I'm now waiting for the official green light on my latest (and hopefully last) big concept adjustment, and when (and if) that comes, I'll do a whole post about this new series. Shouldn't be long. Unless my publisher doesn't like it. And if that's the case...well, you won't see much of me for a while, because I'll look a bit like a mad scientist, only with an ergonomic keyboard, rather than test tubes and beakers. ;)