First, I want to thank everyone who voted for the cover to Spirit of Life, the final book in my epic fantasy trilogy the Rise of the Fifth Order. You are all awesome and I appreciate not only the votes but the feedback. I’m happy to say there was a clear winner… but you are going to have to wait to find out which one it was!
The good news: you shouldn’t have to wait long!
You see, I heard from my very awesome editor and she hopes to have Spirit of Life back to me within the next two weeks. The countdown to release really has begun! Can’t you feel it?? I can and I’m getting really excited. Of course, there is still lots to be done. Just because the cover is done and my editor is wrapping up her work doesn’t mean I’m a button away from publishing. I still have to review her edits, read through it at least one more time, and then do the final formatting. But…
I’m thinking a mid to late May release is highly probable! 😀
Check back for updates or if you are really, REALLY, anxious, sign up for my New Release Email List. If I get a few more sign-ups there, I’ll definitely include a very special deal for the people on it!
In other news, if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you know I’m working on re-editing book 1, Born of Water, in order to format it CreateSpace (and will release a new e-version too. I’ve done lots of cleanup!). I’ve always wanted to have a copy in actual book form and with the final book coming out, I thought now was the time. Edits are going well. I have less than 20 chapters to tackle (which is less than half the book).
I’m guessing Spirit of Life will arrive from my editor before I finish the edits on Born of Water though. That project will probably be back-burnered until Spirit of Life is release. BUT, wrap up will come pretty quick after! Sometime this summer, I will have Born of Water available in paperback, followed by Rule of Fire (with a quick round of editing, but I’m not expecting those to take as long as Born of Water has), and then Spirit of Life. This will be such a great summer! And I really can’t wait to see all three together on my shelf. 🙂
And if all of that wasn’t enough… my newest WIP is going really well! Yes, I’m still writing on top of everything else (don’t ask how I find the time… there is this time portal thing I found… 😉 ). I’m working on the fourth short story to Friends of my Enemy: Stories from the War. So far, the short stories are titled: First Meeting (finished), Orders (finished), Stirrings (finished), Beginning of the Guard (in process), War in the Streets, New Heir, Loss, First Foray (finished), Changing Tide, Last Battle. I hope to start releasing these stories sometime in August. They will be free (or maybe I’ll hold onto two and combine them in a 99 cent collection with the rest – decisions, decisions). Look for them on Wattpad, Goodreads, and via Smashwords distribution to B&N, Kobo, and Apple (there are more e-stores there too, but I honestly can’t keep up with how many places Smashwords sends my books to anymore!).
Those short stories lead into two novels as yet unnamed beyond Friends of my Enemy. I’ll figure something out… The first one will be released until sometime in 2015, hopefully around May of next year. That may sound hopeful (or slow. It depends on your perspective of writing speed!), but the two novels are loosely based on an unpublished manuscript I wrote about five years ago titled Deliberate Actions. I can’t say I will follow the action in that book entirely, but it does mean there is already a fairly complete script in my head. That certainly helps keep the writing flowing.
I have to admit that working on Friends of my Enemy goes smoothly for more reasons than I’ve got a preliminary work to follow. This story really captivates me some level. Even when I wrote the first version, Deliberate Actions, I wrote it longhand in a month! I couldn’t get it out of my head fast enough. Maybe there are some stories or characters that simply mesh with an author’s psyche more than others. This one is mine. I can’t wait to be able to begin releasing the short stories!
So that is where my writing is going these days. If you have questions, let me know! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂