When we last left our heroine, she had a bunch of stuff in progress but no firm plans and wasn’t sure when her next release would happen.
A lot changes in three months!
Of course I still have a lot in progress (two WIP zero drafts, two others I’ll have to start soon) but I’ve also got some surprise stuff scheduled. Let’s get to this!
What’s New
Okay nothing new actually released publicly in the past three months, however The Silent Places is now in hardcover if that’s your thing.
Also Witch Hunt is well underway.
Four parts have posted–they go up the first Friday of every month at 10am–and are scheduled at Patreon. The conclusion will post February. This is the bare-bones zero draft, so I’ll be doing some revision and editing through the spring with an eye to release the paperback in the summer.
And because I was asked again a couple of weeks ago: no, these books are not releasing on Kindle or anywhere else. Maybe several years from now when the series is done. Yeah, I’m taking a hit financially doing it this way, but piracy was too high and too stressful. eBooks do go out to patrons, and anyone who buys a paperback from me will get an exclusive download link. You can read Witch Hunt as it’s posted for $1/month, download an eBook when it’s polished up at Patreon, or wait for the paperback. Those are still plenty of options!
There were two West POV shorts posted at Patreon, as chosen by patrons, set during Yampellec’s Idol. One set during the first confrontation scene, the other set during the final goodbye.
Both were a bit of a gut punch but that’s par for the course with anything regarding that book lol.
Also: paperbacks and gift boxes for sale! Putting money towards Shawn’s dental work.
What’s Upcoming
One preorder is up with another on the way!
First, my surprise summer book Dweller on the Threshold is set for April 5 2022.
Patrons will get an extended look at this one in March.
Amidst the 2020 pandemic, Norah Sloane has been sheltering in place with her ex-boyfriend—the equivalent of three toddlers in a trench coat pretending to be an adult—who abruptly informs her he thinks she needs to move out. Coincidentally, her estranged father has just died and left his family’s home to her, and in a fit of defiant frustration, she packs her bags—and her cats—and drives five hours north to the tiny village of Hope Falls to claim her inheritance.
Selling the big, partially renovated old house during a global pandemic is out of the question, but the bills are paid for a few months to give her time to get on her feet. It’s the best solution, all things considered.
So what if it’s haunted?
Other stores (Smashwords, Payhip) will have it closer to the release date, and it’ll also be in paperback and hardcover (probably a little ahead of April).
I’ve also got something planned for 2023!
After three and a half years rewriting and reworking the book, the first in a non-paranormal mystery series is done (zero draft, so there’s a lot to do yet). It’s not up for preorder yet–Amazon’s maximum is one year from release–so I’ll probably wait a few months before settling on a date, but it’s tentatively planned for spring 2023. I’m partway through the rough draft of the second book right now, and the hope is to have maybe three more done and scheduled when The Killing Beach releases a year and a half from now (I’ve gotten wildly ambitious, haven’t I? lol).
Stumbling across a body makes for a hell of a homecoming…
Waverly Jones has been called misanthropic. Distant. Obsessive. Manipulative. But despite not being a people-person, she’s built a successful business as a private investigator. After a lengthy absence, she’s returned to Port Milton amidst the biggest homicide investigation her hometown has seen in over a decade. Bodies of middle-aged men have been washing ashore and the police have confirmed foul play but not much else—and she’s eager to insinuate herself into the case.
Particularly when she’s the one to find the latest body.
Even if it’s not the one you’re looking for…
It’s not a coincidence Waverly happened across the newest victim. She’s been combing the beach every morning because these victims physically match the description of Detective-Sergeant Sebastian Kyle, missing these past eleven years after investigating the now-dormant serial killer who made Waverly’s sister his last victim.
At least her familiarity with the murders has left her well-prepared when hired by the wife of one of the dead men, giving her a professional reason to dig deeper into these crimes. Have the police unintentionally fumbled this case in the wrong direction, or does the widow not know as much about her husband as she thought?
And pulling on this thread might unravel a whole lot more.
Port Milton has always had its secrets, and Waverly will drag every single one into the light to get to the bottom of this mystery. And maybe somewhere along the way, she’ll get another step closer to who killed her sister and what happened to Sebastian Kyle.
I’ve also very tentatively planned a Zara Lain Halloween short story that ties into Elis’s books, but it might be Patreon-only.
I love doing shorts in my various worlds but they tend to be what people are most likely to complain about (other than “Where’s the next Livi book?”), and it’s one of those things where I don’t know if the stress of all the complaints is worth the dozen sales I’d be lucky to get. (Prime example: How the Werewolf Stole Christmas–I had fun with that! And everyone just complained about it! Or even Hungry Like the Wendigo back in the day–bitching that it’s not as “in depth” as the books…of course it’s not because it’s a freakin’ short story! *sigh*)
Anyway, Hallowed is Zara and Nate taking the kids trick-or-treating and Zara meets Ashur. I might intertwine it with present-day Elis. Regardless, I know it dovetails into Hell Fire, so I’d like to do it at least for patrons before that serial is done.
What I’m Working On
I’ve got a few things in progress–including A Wild Kind of Darkness, Waverly #2–and I have to start Hell Fire (Elis #3) soon, probably in January, for it to serialize starting next summer.
I’ve written about 250K on various projects since June.
That is huge for me lately given how burned out I’ve been for so many years. Part of it is the weekly write-ins kicking me into gear (I’m competitive); part of it was going on expired steroids to get my health wrangled (I write more when I feel better). And a big part now is just the momentum of keeping it all going.
It’s also terror.
Because the last several years have been such a struggle, and because I’ve been so sick, I am terrified of what the future will hold. I’m basically anticipating several months of trying to get my immune system in order again, multiple tests, potential surgery, and what that will mean for writing. And now I’m so anxious I keep thinking “If I just get all these things done and scheduled years in advance, maybe I can breathe again.” Of course, the way anxiety works, I won’t breathe again; I’ll still be angsting.
But when I hit June’s big Livi 5 release with nothing else up for preorder or planned…you have to understand, it feels a little like you’re running with a predator breathing directly against your neck. The predator, in this metaphor, is a mishmash of everything–sales petering out, readers dropping your books, your career spiraling into nothing. Publishing is a very weird beast (as is freelancing) because if you’re not constantly thinking and planning ahead, your income dries up and you drown. And the mere thought of feeling pressured to rush Livi 6 and the next round of hatemail about the wait just paralyzed me so the predator was ready to tackle me.
I hate that feeling, and I also don’t know for how long I’ll be feeling well enough to work, so I’m just writing everything I can in the hopes I can get a little ahead of the game and cover myself if (or WHEN) I get knocked down again.
Anyway, it’s Wednesday, which is my scheduled writing day thanks to Patreon, so as I sign off here I’ll be back to work on one of the many things I have in progress here.
Writer of horror, mysteries/thrillers, and urban fantasy.