Big news!
Let's get this out of the way. The news is not that a certain actor I have a thing for has found me, realized I'm all he could possibly want in his life, and has whisked me away. Okay. Now that that's cleared up, some amazing things have been happening. First, I've decided to branch out. I decided to try writing something a little different and in the summer, started writing a traditional contemporary romance novel. By December, it was pretty much ready to roll, and so began the dreaded querying process. Querying takes some thick skin, and I won't lie: my mood's been riding a veritble roller coaster with the stress over each rejection. It got to the point where every time I saw a response in my inbox, I assumed it was going to be another, "Thanks, but no thanks" letter. Good thing I read all of them anyway because...
Yup! EXtasy Books offered me a publication contract for the new book! I'm beyond stoked. This has been a hope and goal of mine for years. I've been reading a lot of contemporary romance lately, have gotten a feel for structure and tropes, and figured out what kinds of things I like, and where they connect with the kinds of things I'm good at writing, and it paid off. I'm not sure I'm allowed to give anything away about the book now that the contract has been signed, but I think y'all are gonna like the story. Sometime in 2023, I will be a traditionally published author with a publisher with a good and longstanding reputation. Whee!
I haven't given up hope with the superhero romance series. The feedback I generally have gotten about those books are that they're creative, well-written, and interesting (all good). The issues have been that the books are mixed-genre (the superhero and romance stories are inextricable, and the style is literary), and that all but one of the books were previously self-published, thus narrowing the number of publishers available to take them even though they're (hopefully not forever) out of print now. With luck and more patience, I'd like to think they'll be back out there for others to enjoy soon.
So, that's the big, big news.
The other news is that it turns out I really enjoy writing romance books right now, and I've found a few authors whose books I get excited about every time I find a title I haven't seen yet. I'll give them shout-outs in future posts. As of now, I'm almost finished writing the second contemporary romance. Just like with my original series, writing these books is consuming, maddening, and so much fun. As always, I'm eternally grateful that you're here to experience the process with me.
Meanwhile, check out the other books EXtasy offers, and enjoy!
