A little of my publishing background: Penguin Random House published three books in my Shades of Fury urban fantasy series under their Ace Books imprint. That series features the main character, Marissa "Riss" Holloway, a Fury who is also the Chief Magical Investigator of Boston. I was so thrilled that she was nominated in 2010 for the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Best Urban Fantasy Protagonist. (RIP Romantic Times Magazine. :( )I like to think that's one of my big strengths as a writer: creating flawed but likable characters who fight like hell for what they hold dear. Realistic dialogue is also something else I love creating, along with plot twists that are unexpected but do not seem to come out of nowhere. Since I'm more of an organic writer than those who extensively plot ahead, that means going back to layer in subtle foreshadowing. Just because I usually write by the seat of my pants doesn't mean it has to look like it! ;)
Good thing I'm an oddball who loves the revision process!
Unfortunately for me, I scored the Shades of Fury deal right as traditional publishing decided that readers just didn't want to read urban fantasy and paranormal romance any more. I think we all know better than that! At the time they cancelled my series, I was starting to go through the loss of five very close relatives in five years, including my mother, both her parents who helped raise me, my stepfather, and most heartbreaking of all, my baby nephew.
No wonder I disappeared from the publishing scene for a few years! Fast forward to last year, when I finally reached a much better mental space, and I began rebuilding my publishing career. This time as an indie author. My awesome literary agent Ginger is still trying to sell something else (SF & fantasy projects rather than UF/PR) to a big NY publisher, but in the meantime I'm excited to focus on indie publishing fun and thrilling UF and PR books.
When my amazing friend Yasmine (yes, that Yasmine!) invited me to join the talented Urban Fantasy Fiend author crew, I jumped at the chance. It's been creatively and emotionally satisfying to connect with a group of writers who know what you and I do: readers absolutely still want to read UF and PR.
In addition to Shades of Fury, I'm now actively publishing the Untamed Elements series and the Eternal Academy series. I'll be releasing the fourth book in the first UE quartet (Phoenix on the Rise: Ignited by Ashes) sometime next month. Next year I plan to start the second quartet, publish more Eternal Academy books, and continue my Psychic Storm and Shades of Fury series with one or two more books. Depending on what my awesome readers indicate they want to read by buying them! ;)I will also somehow find the time to finish my steampunk featuring a changeling Jane Austen's children and start publishing a paranormal cozy mystery series under a pen name.
Hey, I have years of a creative black hole to make up for!
And that's the lesson to learn from my story. If you love doing something, but your mental health demands you stop for awhile, that's okay! Your well-being comes first. And it's never too late to pick back up on your passion projects in life.
As the line in one of my fave science fiction movies says, "Never give up! Never surrender!"
(Brownie points if you know which movie that's from!)
No comments:
Post a Comment