KAREN JANOWSKY

I'm back! Yes, the blog hasn't died, although it has been a bit neglected. I've been busy with work/teaching and "life" stuff, and if you've read some of my other blogs, you'll know I'm terrible at time management! But, I do have some news:

Briefly, for one shining moment, my re-done and renamed superhero series had a home. Yep, a traditional publisher finally accepted them. Yay! Then they more or less went out of business. Sigh. This will be the third time either an agent or a publisher said yes to them and then had to let them go again. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little depressed about it. Okay, a lot depressed--maybe devasated. But, my plan is to pull on my big girl undies, give them one more spit and polish, and query publishers who accept previously published material again. I mean, there's no rush--the series lay dormant for a couple of years at least. They can wait a little longer. And even if I end up self-publishing them again, strap yourself in! My super people are in a revamped, totally wild ride! Just give it a little time. 

In other, better news, not one, but two titles of mine have been longlisted for the Chanticleer award's romance division! I sent Her Name Was Lola and Dear Prudence in thinking at least one might have a shot--I mean, this is a slightly bigger award than the others they've won. So, imagine my surprise when both books made it through the first round! Cross your fingers that at least one gets shortlisted. I have no idea what the judges' timetables are. But, in the meantime, Her Name Was Lola also won a Pencraft award in November.

Not only that, but I've got two new romance books in the works. One is with an editor already. The other still needs some rough edges smoothed out and hopefully willl get to an editor sometime this winter or coming spring. Those are going off into the Wild West of the querying world. My personal goal isn't just for them to get picked up by an agent or traditional publisher, but also to be patient about it. These things take a long time and as someone who lives with anxiety, the unknown is really hard for me. That's a big reason why I write romance in the first place--I know how it'll all turn out.  Stay tuned.