A few people have asked about my writing, upcoming books, and future plans, so I thought I’d give you an idea. I don’t usually talk about works in progress but as I intend to keep this as vague as some of my current ideas, I’ll make an exception. Don’t worry, many of my story ideas start out exceedingly vague, and I still manage to write whole novels out of them.
The Swithin Chronicles 3: The Comet Cometh came out on April 1st. I was biting my nails. I kept imagining that it would be put back without my knowing and I would have an April Fools played on me but it came out as scheduled. Right now, I have nothing else lined up for publication, except a reprint of a short story sometime this year.
Swithin Spins: I’ve mentioned these and I am intermittently working on them but I don’t know if the publisher will even be interested, or if I will wish to submit them. The chances are I will, and Loose-Id have first refusal on these, but they’re not ready anyway, so I don’t want to predict. If they go ahead, it’s quite possible the first one wouldn’t see publication until the end of the year. The first book is at present only a rough draft. I would need to finish it, submit it, then if they take it, it would go through the normal process and have to find a slot in the publication schedule. If the spins go according to plan, they will go in this order of pairings: f/f, m/f, m/m, m/m/m (the last being a story containing Uly, Markis, and Ryanac from the trilogy, which is why it’s m/m/m. The other spins will also feature some characters from the trilogy but I don’t want to say who at present or I’ll give too much away. I’m writing these very much as inspiration strikes so there’s no set time schedule, although if I take too long the chances are I’d end up seeking another publisher or self-publishing them. I’m only saying that because the chances are I will submit to LI and they will end up accepting, but I don’t want to say that’s certain because it isn’t. Most publishers only commit to three books in a series, though are open to spin-offs depending on time-frame. I may not be able to turn them in to my satisfaction within a good time due to personal plans this year, so if the spins end up being future projects then I’m open to options.
I’ve a m/f, light paranormal, first draft finished. This book does need enhancing before I sub it to anyone, so plans right now are to heighten the tension and then decide where to publish.
I’ve also a m/m/f sci-fi with first draft complete. Again, this needs work. It’s a long manuscript and I want to tighten the emotional aspect of the story. If you have read any of my work, I’m sure you know that I like to give ‘good story’ *g*. Seriously, if I’m writing an erotic romance, I still believe in the story. Both elements of story and romance need to fit. I’m 95% happy with this. Until I’m 100%, it’s not going out. It needs a serious self-edit before I decide what to do with it.
I want to write at least one more story for Aspen’s Del Fantasma range and have drafted it out. It’s m/m/f (not by choice *waves to a certain reader*) because these stories have drinks for inspiration and one just sparked a certain idea in my mind. If I write more than this one then I will look into other pairings but you can’t dictate where ideas will spring from, and the plot doesn’t work with any other pairing.
I’ve a m/m (some mild m/f) vampire novelette length story that is driving me crazy. It’s not long and won’t be suitable for Loose-Id simply because it’s not the type of thing they would publish. I’m considering self-publishing it for a bit of fun. I’ve even run up a great cover design for it. The trouble is the end is absolutely avoiding me. I may finish this and get an independent editor to look at it to tell me what in the world is wrong with this one. It’s lacking something. Once I can spot what that something is, no doubt it will stop defying me.
I’ve another m/m vampire novelette I’ve yet to finish. Again, it won’t fit with Loose-Id so I need to consider other options seriously, but it should be ready soon.
I have two short story collections in mind. One is for a m/m book of short stories, which would feature all kinds of genres as well as explicit and non-explicit tales, and I could either look for a publisher or, again, self-publishing is an option. The other collection is more in tune with my non-explicit work and finding an interested publisher may well be difficult. In either case, I need to finish writing the stories for inclusion. I would have liked to do something with these this summer but I think sometime next year is more realistic.
I have a m/m fantasy to finish. First six chapters are complete, and for those of you not into fantasy, this is very much a character driven story, which I feel even lovers of more contemporary works might well enjoy. It does have a title but I’ll call it ‘C’ for now as I’m keeping it under wraps. The ‘C’ absolutely does NOT stand for comet and the storyline bares no resemblance whatsoever. It’s a completely new and separate fantasy. Oddly enough, my sci-fi title also starts with a ‘C’. Don’t ask me why; it just worked out that way.
I’ve two ideas for m/m contemporary stories. I can hear fans of Snow Angel shouting yayyyyy! The ideas are quite strong in my mind and I know the characters very well so I don’t foresee a huge problem in the actual writing of them.
Of non-romance work, I have two fantasy trilogies that I really need to rewrite. One was an idea I had years ago. I learned a lot writing it, but with the experience I have now, I want to work on it seriously. I have another, very odd, fantasy that I wrote a couple of years ago, and then I got sidetracked (into writing m/m she says with a smile and a laugh). The plot is such that I could turn it into an erotic romance if I chose but while it has certain ‘elements’ shall we say, I don’t truly envision this as a page by page explicit work. Still, it has great potential and I don’t intend to entirely forget these works. I do write in other styles and have readers who like my non-romance work.
Well, that’s about it, and it’s quite enough to be going on with. I have two to three years (or more) of constant work there in various genres, especially baring in mind that personal plans are going to make writing something of a task for me this year. I will muddle through as and when I can. This is quite a list and it doesn’t include numerous ’small’ and as yet unfledged ideas that constantly bombard me. Eg: I intend to write my flash offering ‘Roped’ to the Loose Ends blog into a full story. ‘Roped’ sparked an idea and I will write it out in full even if it’s only a short story. Who knows what else, including other flash pieces, will kick the muse this year.