Looks like CAT’S CRADLE has gone up on the Samhain Publishing “coming soon” pages, but the cover hasn’t made it up yet. I saw the cover a week or two ago, so I know it’s done. I’m not sure what the hold up is, but I’ll be checking to see when it goes up so I can post it for you. (The cover isn’t official until it goes up on the Samhain site, which is my signal it’s been approved by The Powers That Be.)

I’m working on the galley proof of ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DEAD right now. As soon as I’m done with that, the book is done – on my end at least. If my last Kensington Brava book is any indication, the next thing that will happen is I’ll get some ARCs in the mail. Can’t wait for that!

I’m also working on the second round of edits of CAT’S CRADLE. We’re behind schedule on this book because of all the turmoil in my life. I can’t thank the folks at Samhain enough for working with me during this time. They’ve been very supportive and flexible on the timing of my deadlines, which is a really big help. Since the book is due out on January 5th, we still have a nice amount of time to get everything done, so I’m not too worried. I just need to find the time to do the work in between and around doctor’s appointments, cooking, coaxing Mom to eat, and housework. Ah, what a glamorous life.

So that’s it from here for now. More news as it becomes available.

While it was all fresh in my mind, I began work on the sequel today and am already about 3,000 words into it. I’ll probably write a bit more tonight because I’m seeing it very clearly right now and want to get my plans for this novel mapped out a bit more before I settle in. I have a little bit of free time, so it’s best to lay the groundwork for the next novel now, before things get busy again. I’m agonizing over a title for it now… wish me luck.

The other happenings this weekend include a new contract offer from Samhain. It looks like I’ll be expanding my contemporary paranormal world a bit next year with the publication of a great cat shifter story I’ve had in the works for a while. It’s called CAT’S CRADLE and I’m thrilled it’s found a home at Samhain.

I also changed the graphic theme on the main pages of my website (the parts with the castle background). It went from being 800 pixels wide to 900 pixels. I’m curious to know what people think of the new arrangement, so please feel free to give me feedback either here, by email, or on my Yahoo group. It still needs a little work in some places, but I’ll be doing more on it this coming week – things always need updating when I have a new release anyway, so it’s the perfect time to fix things.

There’s been a lot of activity behind the scenes this weekend too. Some personnel changes and shakeups that I’m sure will have everyone talking next week, but let’s not forget what’s really important. LOL. I have a new book coming out on Tuesday! Yes, it’s all about me. hee hee hee.

Well… to be more accurate… it’s all about Grady Prime and his love life. GRADY’S AWAKENING is due out in ebook formats on Tuesday from Samhain, so please don’t miss it! It’s a plus sized novel that is scorching hot, with what I hope you will find to be a great story with lots of cool new characters.

Now it’s back to writing for me. Have a great rest of your weekend!

On Saturday, I read Christine Feehan’s HIDDEN CURRENTS. Loved that too! I adore her Drake Sisters series as well as her Carpathians. They were the first paranormals I ever read in ebook form. I had this old Palm Pilot they gave me at work and I searched around in the Palm store and found these vampire books. I had no idea who she was at the time – this was more than a decade ago – but those ebook versions of DARK GOLD, DARK PRINCE and DARK…whatever (I get the names all mixed up ’cause they’re so similar) turned me in an ebook believer!

But I digress… my book, ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DEAD, is coming along. I had a really good week last week, adding over 17,000 words to the manuscript. I’m at a crucial point in the action, which I guess is why I stalled a little. I need to think through how the next series of events is going to work. My mind works in the background while I do other things – sorta like a computer doing updates while allowing you to continue doing other stuff (LOL). I’ve been sorting through how the events are going to go down and I think by later tonight I should be ready to write it all down.

I know where it’s going and how it will end up. It’s the convoluted path to get to that point that’s up for debate. Right now I left my heroine hanging as a prisoner of a mad scientist. *evil grin* The zombies are getting stronger and the hero is super pissed off. Never get in the way of an angry alpha male warrior. I foresee he’s about to kick some ass. Big time.

I’m aiming to finish the first draft of this manuscript by early August, if possible. Then I’ll have a few weeks to self-edit before I send it in. Wish me luck!

Some of you may have noticed, I finally updated my sidebar on the blog a bit. About time, I know. I’ve added the August eBook release covers and tried to do a little cosmetic fixing here and there. I also reinstated the progress bars for two current WIPs (Works In Progress).

DRAGON STORM is the next Dragon Knights novel. I decided on the title – finally – a week or two ago. As you can see from the meter, the book is almost done. Just a little polishing and finishing off of final scenes and I’ll be ready to submit it to my editor at Samhain.

The meter currently called “Zombie Novel” is tracking my first paranormal military romance (with zombies) for Kensington Brava. The working title is ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DEAD, but that was too long to fit on one line in the sidebar.

On the website side, I’ve also added a preliminary sort of “announcement” page on my site for the new series. I’m tentatively calling the whole series Guardians of the Dark, but that could also change. Still, I was sick of waiting and wanted to put something up there now, so I’m running with this until I find out otherwise. You can find the page here.

I’m also tinkering with my website again. I’m considering going to a 1000 pixel wide main section that would have two sidebars – one on the right and one on the left – but I’m not certain it will work out or not. I’m also worried about compatibility. I know most of us have widescreens nowadays but I am aware that some people are still using older systems and I’d hate to make my site difficult for them. Any opinions?

I also need to find a way to sort of segregate the kinkier menage books from the more traditional m/f stories. I haven’t sorted out how to do that yet and am still looking for a solution. Again, any ideas would be welcome!

It’s going to be a long couple of months of non-stop writing to meet my new deadlines. I’ll also be reinventing my website, I hope. Wish me luck!

I went through serious withdrawal. I expect many of you can understand what it’s like for a computer addict to have to go cold turkey like that. It’s not fun.

Luckily, the vacation was great and now I’m back, raring to go. (As soon as I finish “recovering” from my vacation and get back into the swing of things.) A lot has happened over the past weeks that I didn’t have a chance to talk about.

First, I attended the Lori Foster event back at the beginning of the month, which was fantastic! The most fun for me this year was hanging out with Valerie Tibbs, Jambrea Jo Jones, Vivian Arend, Jayne Rylon, Mari Carr and Rhian Cahill. It was only a few hours, but it really was the highlight of my weekend. These are some super-fun and talented ladies!

Then I went on vacation and all hell broke loose. My computer went on strike, my family went nuts and I went on a shopping spree the likes of which have not been perpetrated in many years. It was FUN!

In the meantime, JACI’S EXPERIMENT was officially released in print. I got the proof for the cover for GRADY’S AWAKENING, which is so awesome, I can’t wait to show you guys once it’s approved. I also got the cover for TAG TEAM, a military/paranormal menage novella that will be out at the end of August. That one, I believe I can post without delay, so I’ll do so tomorrow for your viewing pleasure.

I’ve also been working on my military/paranormal novel for Kensington Brava. We’ve been kicking around title ideas and may go with something like ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DEAD. See, the bad guys in the book are zombies and they like to bite. If you’re like 99% of the population, when they bite you, you die, then rise to become one of them. But if you’re one of the lucky ones, you’re immune from their contagion and live to fight another day. So I think the title could work.

Lots more going on, but that’s all I can think of for now…

Oh! INFERNO comes out next week!!! Mark your calendars! Tuesday, June 30th. Yay!!! :D