Goals for the Upcoming Year and Some Reviews

I really don't like New Year's resolutions...

There's no particular reason to wait for a certain date to get something done, and I'm never really sure the intense pressure a lot of people feel about New Years does them any good at all...

Also, plans are what you make while life happens;

But, going forward:

First off, I plan to review every single book that I read. (I may or may not review books that I've previously read and am currently re-reading, since I do that a lot, too...)

Second, I have two novels to write this year; Blues, the sequel to Roll, and Howling Bitch, the sequel to Blood Sight. Since I did Blues as my NaNoWriMo project and I'm 54,000 words into the novel thus far, I plan to have it completed by the end of February. I'm guessing I have a little less than 10,000 words to go on the project, so it shouldn't take me that long.

Howling Bitch is going to be about the same length, so if I start writing it in March, I'd like to aim to have it done by the end of August. Mostly because I don't intend to try another NaNoWriMo-type-push... guestimating about ~700 words a day, four days a week, I should finish in six months... seems reasonable, right?

Third; Liz and I are finally finished writing and editing our collection of short stories, which underwent a project title change recently, and is no longer "Promptly" but now "Whetting the Appetite" which might be better if I could spell Appetite correctly the first time. Which I cannot. So, we're going to wait a week or so, then both do another complete read through it, make sure we didn't miss any typos and then submit it by mid-January... wish us luck.

Fourth; I also have several other side projects I want to work on. My friend Jonah's working on a collection called Local Magic and I'm hoping to get this ghost project together by January 15th for him. I also have several shorts I want to write and submit for some other collections. I have a ton of story ideas that got abandoned for other projects. Alive and Kicking, Leaving her Marke, one of these days I'm going to write the Wormwood Trade, a steampunk romance that I've had brewing for a while. (Amazing how I seem to only have one front burner, but 500 "back burners".)

I wrote a couple of reviews today, kicking off that particular goal....

Four Stars All I want for Christmas - V.L. Locey

 Let's start off with the fact that I love Locey; she's funny and sweet and her stories are intensely emotional. if I am ever disappointed in a Locey book, it'll be because I went off my medication.

Alex and Cooper are another mis-match to start, attracted to each other but each with preconceived notions that turn out all wrong. One surly painter, one optimistic do-gooder and a pair of quirky cats turn their worlds upside down.

Again, bravo!

Five Stars The Wicked - Thea Harrison

Great add on piece

I love the Elder Races, and this one was pretty fun! Great supplement to the main stories... hot grouchy alpha male, puzzled, exasperated intelligent female. Good mix.

Five Stars Dragos Takes a Holiday - Thea Harrison

More Dragos, More Pia,  and a little bit of Peanut on the side...

Cute story and every bit as fun as the rest of the series; I love the Elder Races...

Five Stars Kinked - Thea Harrison

Best one yet! I've been reading the Elder Races since the beginning, but I really liked this one a lot. Clears up some old mysteries left over from Dragon Bound and brings new life to side characters that have gotten very little attention up til this point. Also, continues to answer questions about the world, tying all the stories together. Marvelous!

Four Stars - No Good Duke Goes Unpunished - Sarah MacLean

Emotional Rollercoaster of a novel

I admit the premise is a bit weak; I spent a LOT of the book going "oh, COME ON... really?" but the love story is good, the sex is hot, and the characters are fairly typical of MacLean, which is to say tough women and tougher men.

(Note: I have not read the other books in this "series" so maybe I would have liked it more if I knew the side characters better...)

The Demoniac Codex Novels

Less than two months after announcing the acceptance of my first novel, Roll, by Torquere Press, I'd like to announce that my urban supernatural novel, Blood Sight, has been picked up by Hot Ink/Vamptasy.

Spare me your pitiful attempts at sarcasm.

One again, I'll get more details for you as soon as I have them. I'm not sure how long the acceptance to print takes; altho I've been told by my editor for Roll that we can be expecting that to be in our hot little hands by the end of February.

Blood Sight is the first in an expected four novel series called The Demoniac Codex. I've already drawn up a complete outline for book two, with features the Paracop, Nico, and his misadventures with demons and werewolves, entitled Howling Bitch.

Blood Sight, A Demoniac Codex novel

When the half-functional oracle, Rachael, discovers a vampire at her front door, she is both frightened and angry. Her emotional turmoil is made worse in that this particular vampire is her former lover, Marcus. Reluctantly, driven by new dangers - attacks by vicious magical poodles - and new enemies - the angry, jealous vampire child, Jonathon, the two band together to do what they can to save Rachael, and the crippled spirit of the Oracle inside her head. 

Aided along the way by a Paranormal cop, the archangel Rafael, and Rachael's brother, they deal with kidnappers, demons, lies and deceit, and the difficulty of flying across the ocean when one cannot be exposed to the sun to discover the true nature of their enemy, and their reluctant love for each other.  

Special thanks to The Antique Toys, whose songs "Falling" and "Follow You (Into the Dark)", I listened to over and over again while I was writing this novel. Especially thanks to my major girl crush, Annabel Adams, the lead singer, who has a small cameo role in the novel as Marcus's blood-doll.  

Also thanks to Sean McCaffrey, my model, who is the perfect Marcus. Depending on how much creative control I get with the novel cover (I don't know, never done this before) I'd like him to be my cover model... Sean is one of the creative leads at Ladies of Steampunk. 

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Two Years and Three Months Later

My novel, Roll, was accepted for publication by Torquere Press.

(Working) Blurb

Fake it 'til you make it was Beau Watkin's motto. A college freshman who had it all in high school; the cute girl, the popular, jock lifestyle, a loving family. And a burning secret that must be hidden at all costs; he's gay. Vin Reyes is the president of the college's Gay Student Association, heir to wealth and power. Openly gay and a political activist, Vin hides other, more dangerous, secrets behind his devil-may-care smile. Secrets even he doesn't know - everything - about.

When an enemy from Vin's past unexpectedly puts Beau in harm's way, they have a choice. Will they roll together, or fall apart?

That's a working blurb. I need to tweak it a bit. Right now it sounds like a spy story, or something, when really, it's more of a coming of age/coming out novel.

Roll is the first of three novels expected for the Rainbow Connection series.

(You Might Be Interested to Know: Hector Lange, one of the side characters, makes an appearance in a short-story "After the Party" in Promptly, the collection Elizabeth and I are putting together.)

Oh, and since I'm pretty sure I forgot to mention it here, my short story, Blood Cries Up, is also going to be published with Torquere, for their October short story line up, Lights Out.