Romance Writer’s Weekly: New Year, Who Dis?

Welcome in! Welcome to 2020! And welcome over from Caro’s blog.  What did you think of that gorgeous cover on her new book?

The cover on my next book is pretty, too. But it’s also nowhere near done yet. It’s about halfway there — I’m hoping for a May release.

That, I suppose, is a good way to start talking about my 2020 plans. I know I have two books coming out this year because I’m publishing them.  Bones of Earth (the one that’s half finished) and Wings of Air will finish out my Heir to the Firstborn series.  I have the covers for both, but I’m only showing you Bones of Earth, since that’s the next one. No blurb yet, because I haven’t written it (and it would be super spoilery for Forged in Fire.)

As I said, Bones of Earth will be a possible May release. Wings of Air will be closer to Christmas. And maybe in between…

Well, I haven’t had any solid nibbles on Hidden Things, yet. That’s the first book in my Swords of Charlemagne series. If I don’t hear anything from anyone who currently has it by May, then I’ll start the process of self-publishing that series. I might do a rapid release on those over the end of the year, or I might stagger them and release over the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 — it depends on a couple of things, including if the editor I want to read through for continuity has time when I’m ready to do this.  (There also might be title changes — I’m toying with the idea of changing Hidden Things to Swords of Charlemagne: Durendal. We’ll see.  I do have mock-ups for covers for those books, too. But they’re still rough, so I’m not showing them off yet.)

I also have another project going — I’m participating in a Wild West Paranormal box set this year, and I’m having some fun with the project. If you read my blog, you know what I’m talking about — John Zebedee and the Elf-King’s Son. Also known as “What paranormal figure can I call dibs on that no one else will ever think of? How about the Wandering Jew?”

A long time ago, a fisherman’s son named Yohanan ben Zavdi loved and lost a man who wasn’t a man. A man who bid Yohanan wait until He returned. A thousand years later, John Zebedee still waits, and wonders. How long will he be alone? How long must he watch the people he cares about grow old and die?

A new country offers opportunity, and a chance to live without the weight of thousands of memories. John settles near Fort Coffee, Arkansas, on the shores of Deadman’s Slough, where no one seems to notice the endless line of John Zebedee’s living outside of town. He farms. He fishes. He lives alone. And he waits.

Until he finds an injured man hiding in his barn after a storm. A man who isn’t a man – one with pointed ears and eyes slitted like a cat’s. A man on the run, who needs protection, who needs help.

Who needs John.

A man who John Zebedee isn’t going to lose. Not this time.

Honestly, though?  I’m starting to think this one needs a new title, because John Zebedee and the Elf-King’s Son kinda gives everything away. I’ll think on it. I still have a little research to do, but then I’ll dive right in. It’s not due until December, but if I get it done before then, I can start in on either the next Flesh and Blood book (Blood Brothers) or on The White Raven: Morrigan’s Wrath. Which one depends on what happens with publishers.

That’s something else we’ll see this year — I have a novella under contract with Circlet Press, and two novels waiting for a nod or a no. Under contract is Sapphires and Gold, and in the slush are Bonds of Blood and Steel (the sequel to House of Sable Locks) and The White Raven: Morrigan’s Heir (sequel to Princes of Air). If Circlet gives me the nod on the first White Raven book, I’ll swing right into the second and get that out to them soonest. Otherwise, I’m having fun with my BDSM Vampires.

Yes, I said BDSM vampires. That’s something I hope to sell this year — the paranormal erotic romance Blood Bound, which is the first in the Flesh and Blood series. I just finished it recently, and it’s still being polished before I start sending it around. We’ll see what happens with that.

So, you can see I have a lot of irons in the fire for this year. And that’s not even counting where I’m going to be appearing as a guest, or my duties to my RWA chapter (which have already been interesting in ways that I never expected, and wouldn’t wish on ANYONE. Needless to say, there hasn’t been a lot of writing done yet this year…)

That’s enough about my plans. Thanks for stopping in. Your next stop on the New Year’s Resolution Revolution is Jenna’s blog. 

Have a great year!