I know I’ve been really quiet lately. I wanted to assure you that I am working, it’s just slow going. 2011 hasn’t been the best of writing years for me, unfortunately. First Reverb wiped me out and now Leashed 4 is kicking my ass. But that’s just whiny author talk. I’ve been doing lots and lots of reading, much of it in series, so I find myself being just as impatient for the next story as some of my readers. So I get it. I DO get it.

It looks like Toys for Good Girls will be coming out in November so that should be fun. Again, it’s a not quite Christmas story that takes place in Santa’s Village which resides in a parallel universe where elves can shapeshift into reindeer or chubby little men with jolly laughs and pudgy tummies. This one’s m/f though so we’ll see who of Reindeer Games‘ audience is interested. Sorry guys, I gave it some serious thought but Bok insisted that he wasn’t gay. I think Tanty’s pretty cool though so hopefully some of you will enjoy her.

Leashed. Oh my gods. I’ve written this elsewhere but let me just say again that I have a new, profound respect for authors who write series about the same individuals. I’m not so sure I’ll be doing it again anytime soon. It’s one thing to write Heaven Sent or Dark Elves and keep the rules straight, but each of those books is about different people. Fresh heads. New perspectives. With one exception, Leashed is in the head of the same person! Now, don’t get me wrong, I like Meg. I really do. I’m pretty sure there’s a psychological reason that hers and her sister’s are my only first-person narratives. Meg’s head is very comfortable for me, probably because her thought patterns match mine very closely, and Noelle is a lot like Meg. Meg’s not my problem. It’s the rest of the crap! Oh man, decisions I made back during Two for One Deal just aren’t as easy to bring to life as I’d thought. Then I had vague ideas. Now I’m reaching some of the realities. BUT… I’m determined to make it work this time. I abandoned this story last year and I’m not going to do it again. There must be something to it because when I took up the manuscript again, I thought I’d be tossing most of the old stuff out and I’m finding that, instead, I’m leaving most of it in. It’s the fine tuning that was off and one relationship that I’m having a devil of a time getting to work. But, hopefully, with the help of the crit partners and a few beta readers, I’ll get this one in shape in the next month or so.

What then? I think probably the second Indigo Knights. It’s been awhile and I think Lance is ready to tell his story. Yes, Lance, not Danny. Not yet. I’m pretty sure our lovely lead singer will be last in this series. He’s got some growing to do. (Oh my, isn’t that ominous lol)

Although, y’know what? I probably shouldn’t say this publicly because I’ll get the pressure to actually do it (but maybe that’s ok). I’m thinking I need to go back and write some fantasy. Maybe a Dark Elves offshoot or tangent story. Or maybe Colt from Sursein Judgment is ready to tell his tale. I need a world that’s not ours to work in for awhile. Or maybe some entirely new world to play in. That really is — was — my first love. Swords and sorcery, magic and mystical beings in a medieval type setting. Castles. Dragons. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Sideline. If you’re an author of fantasy and you want to get some research books to get a feel of medieval life, I can’t recommend a particular series enough. Here’s a link to Life in a Medieval City by Joseph and Frances Gies. I read these ages ago and they’re terrific. Not too in depth but not elementary either. They give you a great feel of real life and ideas of what kind of detail to put in stories. The same authors have a few other books and I’d recommend them too. And now they’re on Kindle!!!

But, that’s down the way. First, must tackle Meg and the boys and beat them into submission! Uh, I mean, see what they have to say.