Monthly Goals: May

Is April over already? Seriously? Wow. Time really flies, huh? Well, now that I can mostly write outside (it can get rainy this time of year), I'm planning to get a lot more projects done and ready for the summer.

The first thing I want to and will get going is my blog series. It's called Blood Moon, it's about monsters, and it's going to be super cool. I'll post more info about it later today. I'm also going to begin editing Needfire and making sure it's ready to go for its summer release. I don't have an official date set since I'm waiting for the cover and I need to do more research, but I'll keep you all updated.

In a similar vein, I'm going to take a closer look at writing a full length, stand alone novel. I want to say that it will be Eternity Blood, but I'm not 100% sure. Oh, I have an idea that might fit the style of course, but I need to mull it over a little more. That one definitely won't be released by summer, but I'm hoping to have it independently published by the end of year.

Also, I'm going to be compiling a series of short stories for an anthology that will be self-published. Before I get going with that, I want to make sure that all the stories I've selected for it aren't chosen by the publishers I've sent them to. That might sound a little strange, until I say I'm doing it this way because I don't want to get into a contract when I've sent something out independently. But I'm hopefully going to hear back from the last publisher by the end of this week, so I'll let you know how it goes.

I might have mentioned on my Twitter a couple weeks ago that one of my short stories has likely been accepted for another anthology. It's sounding pretty official right now, but I won't confirm anything until I read the contract and understand exactly what I'm being asked (long story short, there was a miscommunication when I sent the story in– they weren't asking for an anthology short). Still... Yay!
As far as my other two major series, the Areios Brothers sequel: Shallow Water has now gone through its second draft. I'll be sending it out for review in the next couple months (hopefully). In the mean time, I'm working on a short prequel called Cold Trail. It's told from Liam's POV and takes places five years before Hollow Hill. For those of you who have been keeping up on the Areios Brothers, you can take a guess as to what trouble the boys got into. I've been having so much fun writing it that I can imagine I'll have it done by the end of this month.

Cursed is also going really, really well now that I'm getting back into it. I've completed the second draft of Dark Divinity and have the storyline done for the third and final book in the series. I won't tell you much, but I will say this: It's called Damnation's Door, and it's going to be intense. I wrote the prologue just for the heck of it, then I started working on the first chapter, and then I only stopped because my stomach reminded me it was dinner.

I spent all of yesterday writing and sending out queries for Hollow Hill and Cursed: Demon's Daughter. I would love nothing more than to know that one or both was accepted, but I'm keep my expectations reasonable, i.e.: I'll be amazed if they're accepted. Not because I don't believe in my writing. I know I have talent, I'm completely confident in my skills, I'm driven, and thirty more rejections won't stop me, but every author who's ever talked about getting accepted has said the same thing: Doors get closed in your face sometimes. And I'm fine with that, really. If I wasn't totally, 100% convinced that this wasn't what I wanted to do... Well, I wouldn't be doing it.

Whoa, this post turned out a lot longer than I intended it to. At least you can see that I'm working hard! Anyway, now that my updating and ranting have drawn to a close (thank you to all those who read to the end, by the way), I guess I should get back to work. Cheers! :)

Amy