Bad News

Well, here I am, finally updating. I wonder if anyone even remembers me these days? I'm such a terrible blogger, it isn't even funny. But I've been busy with real life stuff - both writing and non-writing related, so unfortunately, something had to give. And since it seemed like I'd blogged about everything I could think of, guess what got sacrificed?

Anyway, I'm back for now and unfortunately, I'm the bearer of bad news. Last Friday, I woke to an email from Musa Publishing. It seems they are closing their doors as of February 28, 2015. And just like that, I've got orphaned books.

Six orphaned books, to be exactly.

The four books in my McKenzie Brothers series and the two in my Mordainia series are now homeless. Damn it.

Now, I'll admit, they didn't earn me a fortune, but the royalties were a nice little bonus every month. But more importantly, it just makes me sad that they will no longer be out there. I've received quite a few good reviews on them, and frankly, I'm very proud of them. They are--in my humble opinion, of course--good stories. And I've grown quite fond of both the McKenzie family and the Mordianian royal family.

So, I don't really know what my next step will be. I will have the rights returned to me free and clear as of the end of the month. I'm considering self-publishing them, since they've been edited and the only changes I want to make to them are very small. But I don't know yet. We'll see. One day at a time and all that and I have a ton of research to do before I make a decision.

But, considering I believe that every time a door shuts, another one opens, I"m trying to look at this as a positive thing. Trying. I was lucky when this happened with Aspen Mountain Press. Musa scooped up my three orphaned McKenzie Brothers books (The Pursuit, Playing With Fire, and A Perfect Lady) and gave them a home. This time around, I don't know what will happen. We'll see.

There is quite a long thread over on the Absolute Write Water Cooler forums regarding Musa--both the good and the bad--and I have to admit, I've had my ups and down with Musa, I was always paid on time, but there were issues with what seemed to be a long list of revolving editors. But over all, mine was a good experience and I don't regret it. What I do regret is that it's ending this way. And I wish they'd given more than a week's notice. But what's done is done. All I can do is look to the future now.

We'll see what happens.

Just Popping In

Hey there, remember me?

It's been a while, hasn't it? Almost three months. I think that might be the longest I've been away from blogging since I started way back so many moons ago. Part of me has missed it, but I have to admit, part of me hasn't. To be honest, it's been nice, not having to worry about it, not having to think of topics to blog about (and especially trying to come up with ones I've never blogged about before. I've been here since 2006, so that's a long time.)

I've kept busy this summer. After my mother's funeral, we went down the shore for several long weekends. One of my husband's cousins was married at the beginning of August, so it was nice to get together for a happy reason. My brother and I have been dealing with Mom's estate and getting those matters settled, which is a lot of fun, let me tell you. And the rest of the time? I've just been hanging with the kidlets and trying to get lost in their world. The weather has been weird this summer. A lot of rain. A massive heat wave back in July. And then it actually got cold. I mean, open the windows and pull up the blankets at night kind of cold. Perfect for me. If every summer was cool like this one, it'd become my favorite season.

A few days after my mother's funeral, I got a tattoo on my right wrist. It's my third one (both ankles are done as well) and I'm planning on getting another one sometime in the next few weeks. It's simple but awesome, as far as I'm concerned.

I've also been working. I'd finished a first draft of my next Sebastiano book just days before my mother died. I let everything go for a few weeks, just because it was too much to deal with, but about a month after the funeral, I started thinking about it. So that's how I knew it was time to dive back in. Since then, I've revised that as well as another book that had just been gathering dust in my office. I've got a new project forming in my mind, so when these are done and out the door, I'll be working on new words.

I should have some cover art to share soon - just waiting for the final ok. Stolen Promise will be out sometime in October (I have to double check.) I'll post the cover as soon as I can, along with the release date.

And that's been that. It's been a long three months and I'm glad the summer is just about over. Hopefully, I'll be back on a regular basis soon,and for everyone who commented on my mom (both here, and on my FB page(s)) thank you. It meant a lot to read your kind words.

Some News!

Hi there! Remember me?

I hope so. It's been a while.

I'm Kim. I'm a writer and a terrible blogger.

It's been too long since my last post, and so here I am. I've come out of lurkdom to share some good news!

I've sold the first book of my historical-fantasy romance, Stolen Promise, to Musa Publishing. I don't have all the details yet, as the contracts were only finalized a week or so ago, but when I do, you know I'll share. :D

It's so nice to remove the "On submission" and change it to "Sold!"

I'm very excited about this book, and the series as a whole. Right now, I'm finished with book two and starting on book three (as soon as I finish up the other two projects on my desk.) The series centers on the royal family of the country of Mordainia and the first two books were a lot of fun to write. These books are a change of pace for me, and give me a chance to explore areas and plots that I can't really do in straight-up historicals.

Stolen Promise began life as a NaNo project a few years ago. It was supposed to be a straight-up historical romance, but somewhere around the middle of November, it went off the tracks and crashed (or so I thought) so I decided to just let my imagination wander and see where it went. The end result was a story that I absolutely fell in love with (after a few revisions and beta reads - a million thanks to Marguerite Butler, who had the thankless task of being the first beta reader) and I just hope everyone else loves it as much as I do. :D

And Another Two Weeks Passes...

Without a new post from yours truly.

Great. I suck, don't I? And when did Blogger change? I'm not so sure I like it. But then again, I don't really like change much to begin with, so that comes as no surprise.

So, where to begin? Hmmm...

I've been busy putting subs together for Stolen Promise, which is nice. Keeps me busy. Keeps me out of trouble. What? Why are you laughing?

I've also been revising Don't Tempt Me, which is the second book in the Mordainia series (Stolen Promise being the first) and doing some interesting research in the process. Last Sunday found me researching gunshot wounds, knife wounds, late 18th/early 19th century treatment for both, and anatomy. I ended up ordering a copy of Gray's Anatomy because my knowledge is sadly lacking in that arena. This is how used to living with a writer my husband is - not only was he not the least bit phased when I asked him if he'd rather be stabbed or shot, but he had some great suggestions about exactly where on the hero's body would be a good place to give him a serious (and yet not fatal) wound. And when I told him I needed a copy of Gray's Anatomy, he didn't bat an eye. He is awesome, isn't he? I love being a writer, we get to do some cool things in the name of research. :D

I also got to see Bruce Springsteen in concert again - my brother and I saw him at the Prudential Center (affectionately known as "The Rock" in these parts. :D) last night and it was amazing. Not only is The Rock a helluva lot easier to get to than I thought, and it's a nice arena, but Bruce was AWESOME! It's so amazing to go to one of his shows - energy like I've never felt flows through whatever venue he's playing. I've seen him at Giants Stadium, at twice Continental Arena (which I actually think is called the Izod Center now, but who cares?) and at The Rock and he puts on the very best live show I have ever seen (and I've been to a LOT of concerts.) I'm seeing him again at the new Giants Stadium (which is technically called MetLife Stadium, but since I think the Jets should go embarrass themselves back in NY and get their own damn stadium, I still call it Giants Stadium. Ahem...) in September and I can. Not. Wait.

So that's what I've been up to. A little this, a little that... you know. Life. It's keeping me busy. And that's a good thing for me, just not so good for the blog. :D

NaNoWriMo

Ah... every November, NaNo fever strikes.

If you don't know, NaNo is short for NaNoWriMo, which is short for National Novel Writing Month. It takes place every November, and it's a contest with the goal of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. It's basically a challenge to write a category-length novel under pressure of a looming deadline. The prize? Bragging rights to anyone who will listen that you wrote a novel in 30 days or less. It's fun, it's crazy, and I look forward to it every year.

I think editors probably dread this time of year, however, because I wouldn't be surprised if they are inundated with NaNo novels (er, kind of redundant, I guess, but you know what I mean) every December, of which only a very small percentage would be even close to publishable. Some people can write fast and churn out good material, but I think it's safe to say that that is the exception rather than the rule.

I've been fortunate. Tiger Eyes began life as a NaNo draft. So did Devil in Disguise. And Stolen Promise. And this year's NaNo? It's a follow up to Stolen Promise and I think it will be quite good when it's polished (I'm working through first revisions now. This one won't be ready for quite a while, though.)

This year, I did it in 13 days, my average was 3500 words/day. I don't know for certain, but I think that's my personal best. I just got into the zone and the story told itself, which was nice. Other years, I've struggled but this year? Smooth sailing. It is just a rough draft, but I think it's a solid draft.

I love doing NaNo. Even when it's a struggle to get those 1667 words (the average needed to finish in the 30 days), when it's all said and done, I'm glad I did it. It's helped me power through writing blocks, it's given me the chance to write something different (Stolen Promise started out as a straight historical romance, then veered off into paranormal elements as well.) It's given me the excuse to just write and not worry about being perfect (at least until December, anyway.)

And now that I'm done for this year, it's time to go and sit and veg a little. Oh, and work on those revisions. :D

And Just When I Thought I was in...

I vanish again.

Sorry about that. I've been trying like crazy to get Stolen Promise out the door and on submission, and I'm happy to say that it is gone. Woo hoo! That'll mean I have no more reasons excuses for not blogging more often. And that'll I should get myself right back on a regular blogging schedule, right?

Right.

But maybe I will. It's a bit difficult, what with all the running I've been doing for my mom. Chemo every three weeks, doctors' visits for bloodwork at least once a week. Pharmacy runs. Getting her house cleaned out and readied to be put up for sale. There's a LOT involved with all of this and it chews up a lot more of my time than I originally (and rather foolishly, it would seem) thought.

Now, I'll update on my mom from time to time, but it's not really something I like to talk about. Not even in my own family. I'd rather keep this blog focused more on writing, news and info about any upcoming releases, and maybe the Boy and the Girl and my other half. It'd be too easy to get bogged down in the suckitude that is cancer. Especially lung cancer. It's brutal. It's ugly. It takes over. It can consume everything in its path if you aren't careful and I don't want it to do that here. I'm going to try to keep this blog the way it's always been - breezy, funny (I hope at least at times), informative, and just fun or interesting (or both, I wouldn't mind both) to read.

So with that in mind, I think I'll try coming up with a list of blog topics - that way I stand a chance of keeping somewhat current here.

Oh, and by the way, I'll be chatting with a bunch of other really terrific Aspen Mountain Press/Aurora Regency and Aurora Regency Historicals authors tomorrow over at the Love Romances Cafe. There will be contests and prizes and some great conversation with equally terrific authors. If you aren't already a member, you'll have to sign up, but don't be afraid. It's quick and painless and you'll probably thank me when it's all over.

So stop by and say hi! You'll be glad that you did!

Oh, and one more thing - I received the first review of Playing with Fire from Coffee Time  Romance. They gave it four cups and here's what they had to say about it:

A Regency novel is made all the more interesting when you have two characters with as much spunk and fire as Drew and Heather. Drew is a man all women will easily fall in love with, due to his passion, zest for life, and wicked sense of humor. Heather of course is a bit more subdued, and at times a little insecure, but she rarely lets Drew get away with a temper fit. They fill this read with sweetness and spice and everything naughty and nice.

 You can read the review in its entirety here (and you know you want to, right. ;-) )

So here's to new blogging and (hopefully) new followers and people happy to comment (because I need to get back into my blogstalking mode. mwahaha. :D

Maybe I'll even find a good LOLCat to post every now and again....