Month in Review – March 2013

March was a mixed month for me. I spent most of it working on the edits of Unleash so it will be ready for the May 18th 2013 release date. I also had some time off for good behaviour in Barcelona and Scotland.

During my time off in Barcelona, I devoured the first book in the upcoming Eternal Mates series because I had an urge to read it, even though it’s only first draft right now. I really like this new series and venturing further into the same world as the Vampire Erotic Theatre series is based in. I’m excited about writing the next two books for the series so I can get all three of them released close together.

When I was up in Scotland, I decided to read over the first book in my upcoming Guardians of Hades series. I liked it. It’s a very different feel to the first Eternal Mates book, but I think that’s about the characters. The heroine in the Guardians of Hades book is less spunky than the one in the Eternal Mates series. It’s more like my usual brand of paranormal romance books – less humour, more darkness and drama. I’m also excited about getting more books in the Guardians of Hades series under my belt.

I do feel in a strange place right now with my books. I’m approaching the end of the Vampire Erotic Theatre series with Unleash, even though it’s not the end of those characters as they’ll make appearances in the Eternal Mates series. I’m also getting close to the end of the Her Angel series unless I continue it with another, different story arc. The next book is for Asmodeus and then I might write a book for Nevar. I’ll see how I feel after Asmodeus’s book as that’s a bit of a game changer again. This is one series I write that doesn’t have a defined direction and never has. It sort of grows as I write it and develops its own arc.

I need to write another Vampires Realm series book but I think that series needs a major overhaul in the marketing department at least. It doesn’t sell as well as my Her Angel and Vampire Erotic Theatre series. I think it’s because it’s reached ten books now. It’s more difficult to keep getting good sales figures with the books. I need to think about what to do with it to make it sell better. I do have more books I want to write for that series, so I don’t want to see it die.

Back to positive thoughts…

Unleash is coming along nicely though. I’m feeling the pressure a little with this one, but this is Snow’s book, like it or leave it. It’s what he wanted and it’s his story, and that’s all I can write in the end. I know some readers have very definite ideas of what his story should be, so I hope this doesn’t disappoint. I’m going to have it completed by next week, pending proofreading sessions, and then I can begin working on my next book and put Unleash out of my head until the release day rolls around.

April will hopefully be a better month for me as I’ll get to write again. I hate it when I get stuck in an editing rut and I’m just constantly working on that side of what I do. I like to mix up writing and editing but sometimes it just isn’t possible and I end up spending 8 weeks just editing before I can get writing again. I would hire editors, but to be honest, I don’t think it would save me much time in the end. I would still want to do a full edit as a second draft, and then a second polishing edit, and then rounds of proofreading. I’m obsessed with quality, and don’t feel I’m putting out my best books unless I edit them this many times over so I can catch everything and make it the best it can be.

What I really need is more hours in the day for writing! I’m always desperate to get more books written and have so many on my to write pile… I definitely need more writing time and less time spent on marketing and other things, but that’s the nature of the beast. I have to market my books otherwise they don’t reach readers and sell! I do need to get marketing down to a fine, fast art though, or find a way to get someone else to market for me!

Any suggestions?