RITA ® Award-Winning Author of Fantasy Romance
//Fun news on covers and Italian rights – along with some info on how selling foreign rights works. Also, my recent experience with a published book contest and how negative comments can be devastating.
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It. Is. Finished.
Yes, oh my lovelies: I completed the final proofing of ROGUE FAMILIAR this morning and will have it uploaded everywhere tomorrow for release on Monday, April 24.
Cue the rejoicing!!!
And, since this is coincidentally (OR NOT???) spring promo week here at the SFF Seven, it’s actually apropos for me to be mentioning this book. I know a lot of you have been waiting for something like mumble mumble two months mumble for this book. All I can offer is….
Now you can haz!
As a special treat, here’s a little excerpt:
It wasn’t as if magic made logical sense at the best of times anyway. Closing his eyes, trying to screen out the worry that he hadn’t heard Seliah’s heart beat in far too long—you wouldn’t be able to hear it from here anyway, idiot—he let his fingers drift over the gadgets. Waiting for one to speak to him. As if a metal doohickey could speak.
You’re wasting time, his inner voice observed. Wasting what little life Seliah has left.
I’m not. She wouldn’t survive a trip to find a healer. She might not survive the next few minutes.
At least finding a healer has a chance of working.
An infinitesimally small chance.
Still a non-zero chance, whereas this… What are you even thinking? You might as well dance around the bed beseeching the spirits of our ancestors to intervene.
He paused. Is that something people do?
You’re asking me? I am you. I don’t know anything more than you do.
I’m not asking you. I’m wanting you to shut up.
Then shut up.
You shut up! Cursing in frustration, Jadren took his own advice and attempted to quiet his mind. If this had any chance of working—It doesn’t. Shh.—then he needed to give it his all. Quiet mind. Trust his wizard’s intuition. Seliah deserved his best effort.
//It’s release day for SHADOW WIZARD!! My audiobook narrator says it’s her favorite so far, so that’s awesome. I’m also talking about taking audiobooks wide vs. ACX exclusive and which platforms I’m using and how.
//I’m ruminating on characterization today, especially of beautiful/privileged women, with a particular focus on Nic from DARK WIZARD and how she changes over the series. Thus, there may be spoilers.
//Some stats on my Bookbub Featured Deal and setting DARK WIZARD free for the week. TL:DR-great sell through on books 2 & 3! Also how I harvested grapes, organized all the things, and danced to TSwift.
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A gratifying milestone for me – DARK WIZARD has passed 500 ratings on Amazon! And with a 4.3 overall average, too. I’m so thrilled by all the love this book and series has received.
I’ve been busy writing SHADOW WIZARD, the next book in this world (coming 9/29! available for preorder now), and so missed my usual Wednesday blog post. I’m making that up today, because I really did want to address this week’s topic at the SFF Seven. We’re talking about Writing Community and asking: do you have a writing community and if so (online, phone calls, zoom, in person) how do your interactions refill your creative well?
I’m so deeply grateful for my writing community! I have many different ones, from one-on-one friendships to large, professional organizations. Here’s a smattering of them and how they refill that well.
Friends
Just yesterday I had one of my monthly hour+ phone calls with writer bestie Grace Draven. We’ve been doing this for a couple of years now. Aside from our other messaging via text and FB messenger, and quick calls, we set aside time to have longer conversations about our business strategy. These talks help us both clarify our priorities.
I get on Zoom daily with another writer bestie, Darynda Jones. We typically do three one-hour writing sprints with some chatting in between. Having that company while writing (even though we mute while actually working) gives me a sense of companionship, and the daily discussions of our writing keep us invigorated. We can also bounce ideas off of each other, from “what’s the word I’m trying to think of?” to “Help me solve this plot problem!”
I also have other writer besties I communicate with via email or social media, people I can call upon for insight or emergency beta reads. We don’t necessarily talk on a regular schedule, but knowing they’re out there is priceless.
Small Groups
I’m part of various smaller communities, from a private author group on Facebook, to a Fantasy Romance Discord, to the much larger Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) Discord. I love to dip in and out of these groups, answering questions and asking them, too. They’re fun and fantastic resources.
Professional Organizations
I already mentioned SFWA. As the current president of the organization, I get to interact with all kinds of creators, from newbie writers to names on the spines of books on my shelf. Getting to email with Neil Gaiman, have coffee with Catherine Asaro, or chat for a few hours with Jane Yolen are thrills I never quite get over. Feeling like a part of that larger community is validating for me on a critical level. I believe more in myself and in my work for having those associations.
Conferences
I just returned from WorldCon in Chicago – my first big conference since the COVID pandemic – and it brought home to me how wonderful these gatherings are. Conferences bring in so many different members of the reading, writing, and creating community that the cross-section of conversation is incredibly stimulating. More than the programming, just getting to be around other people who love the same stuff and sharing that excitement refills my creative well like nothing else. One of the great revelations of the pandemic for me was how much social stimulation I gain from conferences. I value them like never before.
I value all of my writing communities, and am so grateful for each and every one of you!
//Updates on my next projects and on the state of trad publishing – spec is out, full mss are in – and thoughts on being hybrid & the “middlest” author. Also info on how/why trad publishing only counts print sales.
//I’m celebrating finishing SHADOW WIZARD! And the exciting results of my BookBub Featured Deal with setting DARK WIZARD to free. Also a bit on endings, respecting the story brain, and tithing to the creative powers.
//Happy release day to ONCE UPON A FORBIDDEN DESIRE, a Fantasy Romance fairytale anthology! Besides that I’m discussing defending writing time with fences and thoughts on setting first in series free.
//Telling some stories about WorldCon that illustrate the power and efficacy of networking – and how that’s really making friends with people. While we never stop pitching, it does get easier and friendlier.
