Announcement

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The following titles will no longer be available after 90 days (mid-September):

Flash of Dark

Blood Fever

Forged in Fire

Midnight’s Ghost

Midnight’s Shadow

As of this moment in time, they’re going in the vault and will not be published in any form. In short: I’m closing the door on the Rebirth series and the Star Runner Saga forever. ***Of note: I have no control over when the titles will be removed from the publisher site or any of the distribution sites (i.e. Amazon, All Romance eBooks, B&N, etc) so if you want to snag a copy, I’d advise acting quickly.

I never make decisions in regards to my books lightly. And this decision was probably one of the hardest I’ve ever had to make. Mostly because these were my first books. In fact, Flash of Dark was my first book. And Midnight’s Ghost won the 2011 RWA Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal PRISM for Best Futuristic Romance. These books opened the door and are the reason I am where I am today.

They also opened the door to a great friendship with my editor, Tracey West. She was the Acquisitions Editor at the time and gave me a chance with Flash of Dark. I was lucky enough to work with her time and time again. We still work together now, but in a different capacity. And for that I am grateful.

My sincerest thanks to those who embraced the characters between the pages of those books and loved them right along with me.

The Big, Bad Scary World Called Publishing

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Publishing is sometimes a very scary, very lonely place. You have to make decisions based on your head and not your heart. In fact, a lot of steps that are taken in publishing you have to remove your heart from the equation all together. At least, that’s the way I go about my business transactions (and yes, writing for publication is a business) from submissions to conventions to emails to … well, anything.

Sure I can let my guard down around my friends where we’re talking turkey (and I do) but for the most part, any “business decision” I make in regards to how I deal with people who are publishing my books, my heart isn’t a part of it. Maybe it’s a coping mechanism. Maybe its simply a way to protect myself. I don’t make any decision regarding anything to do with the publication of my books lightly.

Each decision I make has usually been carefully  worked out (usually, obsessively so–much to my husband’s chagrin because he takes the brunt of me talking and talking and talking about it. Which he does beautifully BTW). Mostly because I need to make sure the decision is right for me. It’s a step in the direction that I want to go. Not everyone does (or will) agree with decisions I’ve made (or will make), however, they aren’t behind my keyboard making those decisions. It’s easy to talk about what you would have done in the situation, but here’s the thing…it’s not your decision.

I don’t know where I’ll be in five years in terms of my writing career. Hell, I don’t know where I’ll be by the end of this year. At this point, I don’t have a “plan” that is so far reaching. Maybe I need one…

corkboardI do make a yearly goals plan. Problem is, I usually set my yearly goals so pathetically low, I have no problem beating them at all. Maybe that too is a protective mechanism. Set goals I know I can make. Can’t possibly be setting myself up for failure that way, right? Which is…wrong. By handling my goals this way, I am setting myself up for failure.

Where am I going with this? I’ve been mulling over one of those business decisions I was talking about and realized I was leaving my heart in the equation even though I said I don’t. It was a decision I was attached to in my heart, even though my head was telling me to get on with it. Its a decision which affects my yearly goals. Timely, as I’m quickly approaching the time in which I set my 2014 goals (in August).

I took the plunge this morning. Hopefully, it will be an easy and painless process for everyone involved (including readers). But this is, once again, a reminder of just how big, bad and scary this world of publishing is.

Silver Phoenix Labs: Defying Conventions

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splToday, we’re welcoming Misa Buckley, who just recently had a dream come true. She’s sharing about it today and how she got to meet her inspiration face-to-face this past weekend.

~*~

Thank you for hosting me Sara. : )

My book bio says that I “grew up watching Doctor Who and Star Trek” and this much is true, but I don’t think that really conveys just how much of a sci fi geek I am. I love sci fi as it defies conventions and is full of endless possibilities. The only limit is your own imagination. But talking of conventions, this weekend has seen me travel to Birmingham for the good kind – a Stargate fan convention (did you see what I did there?)

It’s a little hard to describe a sci fi con to those that hadn’t done one. If you haven’t, go and watch Galaxy Quest and then come back to me. Done? Great. Now you know how crazy they are. :D

Though I love sci fi and Stargate, there was a bigger reason I travelled three hours on a coach to the National Exhibition Centre. That reason goes by the name Cliff Simon.

hugs

Anyone who follows me on Twitter will have seen this name before. I’ve spoken about him on my own blog and at least one other. I admit quite readily that I’m a complete fangirl where that man is concerned, and with good reason – he’s incredibly talented and generous, as well as being hot as hell and having the sexiest accent ever (he’s South African).

He’s also the reason I got published when I did. See, I was reading an interview where he was talking about acting and the importance of having an audience. Television shows, especially sci fi ones, owe everything to the fans. We’re the ones who buy the DVDs, go to the conventions and get loud when they get cancelled. Cliff, being very aware of this, said that “Without an audience, we’re not actors.” That struck me as a real truth not just for the acting profession, but anything that relies on being seen: theatre, art shows, fashion… and writing.

I was a writer. I wrote loads and loads. But without an audience, without readers, that’s all I was. And it wasn’t enough. I wanted to be an author. I wanted my books out there. More than anything else, I wanted people to read them, to share in the stories I was telling.

After reading that simple, six-word sentence, I became determined to get published. It took me just three months to get an accepted. Last year, I thanked Cliff over Twitter. This weekend I was able to do that in person, in the same week that Champagne Books put out a print collection of my novellas. Talk about a special moment.

Chevron 8.0 has left me more determined to push on. I’ve a novel-in-progress that I am going to finish and then start submitting to agents. I’m aiming higher than ever, because I’ve the most incredibly generous guy encouraging me (he retweeted my book link yesterday, because he’s just that lovely).

He’s my inspiration. What’s yours and what does it encourage you to do?