Change of Plans, A Contest and Hiatus

Okay a couple of things.

I’ve decided not to write The Way to Forever. That was the vacation story, part of the Postcards From Paradise series. It just wasn’t working. I hated the idea of abandoning the story, but when even changing the location of the vacation didn’t lead to inspiration for me I decided it was time to throw in the towel. I contacted the Editorial Director at AQ and he was just as nice as can be about my failure. I think my problem is I said yes to writing this story before I actually had any ideas in mind. So from now on, if I can’t think of an appropriate idea BEFORE volunteering, I won’t.

So the good news is I can use the name Billy for another story down the line. I’m working on other stories that I feel much more warm and fuzzy regarding.

Now for the other. I’m going to be busy for the next few weeks with real life issues pressing in on me. I'm going on hiatus. So, here’s what I am going to leave you with.

I’m having a contest. Just an ordinary comment one. Make a comment from now until I return to posting probably April 25th. I’m going to choose FIVE random winners to win their choice of anything off my backlist (including my two paperbacks if desired) or they can choose one of my upcoming releases, Galaxy’s Heart (Sutter’s Bay 3) coming in May or Becoming His coming in June.

So, comment away. Which can just be "I want to enter".  And Good luck.

Up To

So what have I been up to?

Still working on The Way To Forever. I hope to have the darn thing done by the end of the month (April).

I've started another story (please don't ask, my head will explode) where I've gotten nearly 2000 words done on it. I suspect it is my way of procrastinating on The Way to Forever.

I have ZERO releases in April. Yeah I'm shaking with angst over it right this minute. I'll get over it though. I hope.

Tonight I'm watching The Sixth Sense, one of my favorite movies. It would scare Ava, lol.

Here's a nice little picture for you.

Moving Forward

Sometimes what you originally intended for a story doesn’t really work, as I‘ve discovered recently while working on The Way to Forever.

Originally Billy was going to go to Ireland. I’ve been there myself, I thought, so piece of cake. But there was something not working with the story. I kept procrastinating on it. Billy was supposed to have a vacation affair you see, because, well, that’s the way it’s supposed to be for the Postcards From Paradise stories. But if he were traveling around different parts of Ireland, how was he supposed to carry on a two week affair while there. The Irish guy wouldn’t be traveling along with them.

Okay, so I changed it to they spend two weeks in Dublin. I still didn’t like it. Having been to Ireland I didn’t spend two weeks in one city. It seemed a bit weird to me. So I set it aside and began to work on Waking the Prince. Pretty soon, I thought, I will have to join Procrastinator’s Anonymous with Ava March.

Then I started thinking, oh, God, I don’t remember enough about Dublin to write about it. When I went I spent a day and a half there because we got to the tour we took late due to a plane problem. I’d have to do research, my stomach churned.

Finally I decided, I need to write this damn story and quit whining. I started in on it again and went…wait! Who says I have to have him vacation in Dublin or even Ireland at all. What place do I know better than anywhere that others in the country might decide to go to for a vacation? Why, Southern California, of course! And I know that also means Ian, Billy’s hero, can live there and have his two week affair with Billy while Billy explores Southern California. Perfect!

So, yeah, yesterday I changed all references to Los Angeles and California. Today, I actually WROTE on the darn thing for the first time in several days. Go me!

And yeah, even though they start out having the vacation fling, this is a romance, and I’m supposed to make it HEA or something. But I feel better now.

Not So Bad and What Next

Well it seems I have more wiggle room for the deadline for The Way to Forever than I originally thought. I was getting frustrated and anxious because I thought I had to have it done by the end of this month and that is so not going to happen. So I checked with the Powers That Be and found I do have a few extra weeks if needed, which is a huge sigh of relief for me. I still intend to get it done sooner rather than later.

Than once that is over and done with, my schedule will be wide open to work on whatever I want. So, here are some of the things I have in mind. If anyone would like to put their two cents in as to what should be my next project once The Way to Forever is finished, comment away.

Manfred’s Cursed Again

Sutter’s Bay 4

The Price Paid, my collaboration with Ava March

A sequel to another book (please mention what book you’d like to see a sequel to)

My Cop Partners Serial Killer Story

My re-write of a medieval paranormal

Waking the Prince, my gay Sleeping Beauty story

Can’t Be His, the third “his” book

Write-in a suggestion of something else

Galaxy's Heart, Sutter's Bay 3 and Other News

I have finished the third Sutter's Bay story, Galaxy's Heart. Yes, ahead of the end of  February. I was determined.

I've got a release date of May 15, 2011. So, that is good news.

I'm now moving on to my Postcards From Paradise story which will take my hero, Billy, to Ireland on vacation. The tentative title is The Way to Forever. That's subject to change.