Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' Open Arms

La La is on a roll so forgive me for bragging. I just published Dragon a week ago and now I'm nearly finished with Used. Aces, baby. At this rate, I can start Bulldog next week. Heck, I might finally get started on Blue Awakening after a year of saying I would.

While I'm still behind on my publishing schedule, I should hit my goal of ten books for the year. This is what I must write this year:

1) Used (next week)

2) Bulldog (July)

3) Blue Awakening

4) Little Memphis

5) Saint (final Damaged book)

6) Broken Memphis

7) The Moon Burns

I'm also hoping to begin the new Bijou series Lush Gardens and Coliseum by the end of the year. Might even get a few standalone novellas published too. My hope is to finish at least two of the open Angela series ~ Blue Davison and Gigi Monroe. That'll leave Vivi Rios's final book. I also have the three books for the Dakota Shepherd Angelic Redemption series, but it'll likely take two years to finish them.

Dragon has sold well and readers seem happy with the book that took me forever to give them. I also had a pretty successful free weekend for Gator a.k.a. the little novella that could.

In more good news, the day Dragon went live, Ammy agreed to make Beast permafree in the US. I'm already seeing an uptick in the sales for Knight and it's been less than a week. I'm planning to set up The Fallen as permafree, assuming Ammy is willing. Making the first book free for these longer series is a great marketing tool that many authors on Kboards have talked up. Miranda was a godsend by pointing me to the awesome threads there.

Speaking of Candy Girl, she's turning her creativity towards writing a book. Oh, it's a doozy too. Here's the link to her GR page. How badass is she? Blogger, Whisperer, illustrator, she's now working on adding author to her resume. I'm not worthy...

Unfortunately, Pooh remains ill. In the last week, we've changed his medications and hope to see an improvement soon. I'm also happy to report Lil Sis learned her son's tumor was benign! What a blessing for Marcy's family.

In BBA news, STGRB decided to institute a new commenting policy on May 24th. This respectful version of the hate site lasted until May 27th when they posted comments like this one. Charming, huh?

 

In happier news, June 2014 looks to be an exciting month in indie publishing. Books by S.N. Garza, C.M. Lema, Ember Casey, and Laramie Briscoe will be released. Oh, and those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. Even though summer is known for slower sales, many great authors will soon deliver awesome reads. I'm excited to read them all.

 

In honor of the great Steve Perry's first public performance in decades, my songs are Journey classics.

Tuesday's Gone

High five for book three in 2014! Damaged and the Dragon is also my seventeenth release since I first published  2012. Hot damn! Cool beans! Fan-fudging-tastic!!! Too much?

There were many times during the last few months when I believed I would never ever in a million years finish Dragon. I last published a Damaged book in late November. Six frigging months passed and I just couldn’t seem to get Dragon written. Then wham bam thank you Candy Girl and Mustang Sally, I finished. Sarah and Patty were great beta readers as always.

Today, I'm already focused on the next project. Pooh’s health issues and my short attention span (squirrel) have put me behind on my publishing schedule. I had hoped the books set for May releases would be Damaged and the Bulldog and Blue Awakening. Nope.

Used is the next book I’m planning to publish. The standalone novella is scheduled for release on lovely Miranda’s birthday. Even though June 3^rd is right around the corner, the book is already half written. As soon as it’s published, I am on to Bulldog, Blue, and the Cooper novelette.

As busy as I’ll be with Used, I have two interviews I need to post on Indie Angie. One is with new romance author and super sweet chickadee Sera Bright. The other is with Trevor Tomlin who I interviewed on When Zombies Come to Read. These days, he’s writing urban fantasy using a second pen name. We all know how I love authors who cross genres.

The BBA continue to be butthurt. No big shock. Nothing new to report besides they continue to suck. However, there's no denying the dorks are entertaining when I’m bored.

Pooh remains in poor health, but we keep chugging along and hoping for him to make a turnaround. Faith is a big part of my life and I trust in God’s plan.

My Lil Sis Marcy has struggled this month too. Her ten year old was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Henrik’s already gone through two surgeries. The kid is a trooper, still enjoying his life even through the fear and pain. Marcy is an amazing mommy and her family remains strong with the help of family, friends, and prayers.

The songs this week are by Skynyrd. In Dragon, I added the Free Bird shout out as a tribute to sweet Candy Girl. Using a quote from the book, she created the cool bear teaser above. The other song is perfect since it mirrors my mood. Oh, and I’m posting this on a Tuesday and everything…

Happy Birthday, Pooh!

My middle boy turns seventeen today. Unfortunately, Pooh remains sick even after returning home from the hospital. He's never had an easy life and the last few months have been especially tough. However, we're beginning to see the old sparks in his big brown eyes. Soon, we might enjoy a smile on his freckled face again.

I am still working on Dragon. The finish line is in sight finally. Next week, I plan to have the book in the hands of Sally and Candy Girl. Once that happens, I can work on Used. The standalone novella is already half finished, but I put the book aside to work on Dragon.

My recent real life issues have slowed down my writing, so my goals for this year are up in the air. I do know I'll finish the Damaged series by autumn. I have a few new romance series I'm sketching out. The Memphis duology will likely be next, but I'm unsure whether I'll also work on Lush Gardens (four books) or Coliseum (three books). I also have a number of novellas on my to-do list.

Candy Girl redesigned the covers for most of my Angela books. I love seeing them with a fresh look. It's exciting to see Miranda learning lots of new design tricks. I can't wait to unveil the Used cover she designed.

April was a long stressful month, but May had already shown blessings. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and finds many reasons to smile.

FYI, the songs on this post are two of Pooh's favorites.