Happy July 4th to
my fellow Americans. I’m spending the holiday writing and making a huge batch
of chicken casserole. Oh, and playing Call of Duty with the boys.
Since my last
post, I published Right Amount of Wrong and finished up writing Rich S.O.B. for
my Bijou pen name. The latter proved tricky because the hero was very different
than my normal alpha guys. I took awhile to get his voice just right, but I’m
hoping readers enjoy him. Even if they don’t connect with Asher, I had a blast
writing him.
Now that Rich
S.O.B. is in the feedback stage, I'm plotting new projects. During my
author lunches with Shyla, we talk about how to keep from getting burned out on writing (which remains the best job ever!) and variety seems to be the key.
So I'm working on four main
projects, which makes me sound super productive. I’m not, though. I
don’t know how many of the four will ever be published. One will for sure
since it’s my next Bijou book.
The other three
are for new pen names. I’m working on my first dark romance. I guess Gator
could be considered dark, but Jake was an anti-hero. The “hero” of the new
book is a villain and the story feels more like a thriller than a romance. I’m
unsure if I’ll finish it since I can’t even read abduction romances without
ending up depressed.
On the other
hand, Miranda once suggested my writing felt emotionally muted because I’d
gotten used to repressing my feelings during the tough times with Max. It makes
sense that I’d lean toward happier, comedic romances for a while, but I think
it’s time to safely unleash some of my darker feelings by writing ugly stories. I've even been listening to old rock songs to inspire my inner-bitch to come out in the
book.
It’ll be interesting to see if I finish the book. Assuming I do, I have
a pen name set up for the dark stuff since my Bijou readers would not appreciate
one-clicking something so different than my usual books.
That’s why I
redid Lost Highway under a new pen name I'm using for my paranormal books. Along with
redoing my old Angela books (eventually), I’m plotting a paranormal romance
series with aliens. I have the basic plot organized but paranormal books need a
lot of world building especially if I’m setting up a series. It’s still very
early in the process, so I’m unsure if I’ll publish the PNR this year.
Finally, I’m
writing a few short clean romances since I sometimes don’t want to write sex
scenes. They’re Bijou-esque without the sex and cussing. Since many Bijou
readers expect boot-knocking in my books, I’ll likely publish under a pen name.
It seems like a
lot of work to create new pen names (and it is) but I have a plan to hopefully
cut down on the workload of managing so many. Besides, some could end up being
like Jorja or Dakota where I rarely use them. So I don’t
see a future where I’m rocking more than one pen name at a signing like a
couple of chicks I know.
This year, I
still have two events scheduled. I had to pull out of a third because it
conflicted with RL. I might end up pulling out of the other two too (waiting to
see what happens with family health issues), but fingers crossed that I can
attend them.
I’ve wanted to
attend the Rebels & Readers signing for a few years, but I never got the
invite. Hangs head low for being unworthy. I got lucky this year and
will head to W.V. in Nov if family issues allow. Next year, the organizers are
planning for a smaller venue and fewer authors, meaning I likely won’t get the
nod. I mean, I know I’m awesome (wink, wink), but organizers need to bring in
the most popular authors to draw the most readers.
For the next
month, I’ll stay close to home (and where it’s air conditioned). Then Luca will
start school and I’ll plan for signings and finally the holidays will take up
much of my time.
For July,
though, I can chill and enjoy my many blessings. I hope everyone is able to do
the same!
