Kalayna Price's Blog

GRAVE WAR is here!

 Today is the day! Grave War is out in the wild! 

I hope you love this story. I'm thrilled to share it. Thanks for reading! 

(Note: The print and ebook should be available. The audio book will be coming. I'm not sure of the release date, but I approved a cover for it, so it is coming.) 

-Kalayna Price

One more day until GRAVE WAR

 It's hard to believe that GRAVE WAR hits shelves tomorrow! I'm so excited to share this final chapter of Alex's story with you. I'm also extremely nervous as I'm anxious to hear what you think of how everything concludes.  It's been about a year since I first turned in this book, and yet I'm more anxious now than when I wrote "the end" and sent it off to my publisher. Then it was done, but not "done done." I knew it still had many more eyes that would look over it and I would see it again and still work on it. Over the months that followed there were revisions and edits. But now all of those have been done for over half a year. I haven't actually seen it in print yet (with covid and all, I haven't gotten any advance copies) so some of you may see the final project before I do! (Amazon says my copy will arrive on Thursday.) Now, this story is headed out into the world to your hands (or ereaders) and I can't wait for you to get a chance to read it. I'm also scared because I really hope you love it. It was quite a tumultuous journey at times, but thank you for being here for it until the end. (And also welcome to any just arriving and discovering Alex and her friends--don't start Grave War though. I'd say this series definitely needs to be read in order.) 

Thank you everyone. I hope you enjoy the book when it releases tomorrow! 

-Kalayna Price

Happy New year and Cover Reveal

Hello and happy New Year everyone!

2019 saw the release of the sixth book in the Alex Craft novels, Grave Destiny, and I turned in the final book in the series, GRAVE WAR. This was an unexpectedly emotional event. While I've written "the end" on nearly a dozen books, this was my first time ending a series. This book marks the end to the Alex's story, and while I hope that I can write in Alex's world again (I'd love to continue to explore Briar's story, and I have a short story planned for Rianna) this is the last book that will be from Alex's perspective. This was a pretty big thing for me. The book is not completely finished--I will have a pass of revisions and copy edits and such, but unless my editor hates the book, it is more or less the story that you will see when it hits shelves. It was a hard book to write, but I think the outcome was worth it and I can't wait until I can share more with you.

So what does 2020 hold in store for me? I'm not sure yet. I know I plan to re-write Third Blood (finally. I got rather discouraged after discovering the original draft was lost, but I'm ready to jump back into it, rewrite from scratch, and hope to have positive information for you soon.) I also plan to write a short story about Rianna and Desmond. Other than that though . . . I don't know yet. I have a couple ideas for new books in new worlds, so we will have to wait and see.

How was your 2019? Any big plans for 2020?-Kalayna Price

What's Next?

A lot of people are writing to ask if Grave Destiny is the final book in the series. I'm very happy to report that no, this is not the end! Ace has contracted one final Alex Craft novel so that I can finish up the story. I'm currently writing the first draft, and while it has a tentative title, I'm not free to share it quite yet. I'll be turning in the 7th Alex Craft novel this September, so I anticipate it will be released late 2020 or early 2021 but will update you when I have more information.

So, for those of you worried that this might be the end, worry not. There is more.

I hope you are enjoying Grave Destiny! -Kalayna Price

GRAVE DESTINY Releases today!

Today is the day.
-Kalayna Price

Excerpt for Grave Destiny now Live!

The excerpt for GRAVE DESTINY is now live. Click
Grave Destiny will be hitting shelves (and e-readers and wherever you might listen to audio books) on April 2nd! I can't wait to share this book with you. A lot of big events happen in Alex's world in this one, and I hope you enjoy the chaotic ride.

Here is what Publisher's Weekly had to say about the book:
“With style and a lovingly detailed exploration of the land of Faerie, the thoughtful, satisfying sixth Alex Craft urban fantasy (after Grave Ransom) transports readers to a world where magic rules and shadows come to life. . .With a hint of wit and the return of familiar faces, this installment delivers on all of its promises.”

We are only a few weeks away from the release, so I hope you'll check out the excerpt now and be back soon for the full story. If you'd like to help me spread the word about the release and excerpt (and enter to win an advanced signed copy of the book) head over to my facebook page and check out the contest post.

Thank you everyone for checking out Alex's continuing story. -Kalayna Price

Cover Reveal: GRAVE DESTINY

The completed draft of GRAVE DESTINY (Alex Craft book six) is in the hands of my editor. It still has to go through a lot of steps before it reaches you, including revisions, line edits, copy edits, and page proofs, but the biggest part of the process is now done and the book is more or less the story you will eventually read. Yay!

I don’t have an exact release date yet (and I’m not sure if UK and Audio will be behind US print again, but I’ll try to find out before release this time) but from what I understand the plan is for it to come out in Spring of 2019. What I do have for you today is the cover! Guys, I LOVE this cover. I hope you do too!


Grave Destiny: Alex craft book 6
I’ll update with more information as soon as I can! In the mean time, feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of the cover! -Kalayna Price

UPDATE: GRAVE RANSOM and an upcoming appearance this weekend!

Hello all!

Swinging by for a quick update about all things Alex Craft. The website now includes the cover for GRAVE RANSOM (Alex Craft book five), several links for where the book can be pre-ordered (with more to come as they become available), and AN EXCERPT!

Part of the excerpt might look a little familiar to some of you as an early draft of it was included in the end of Grave Visions last year. Some key points have changed though, and there is more included in this excerpt than was released last year, so I hope you'll pop over to the site and check it out.

I also wanted to let you know that I received a couple advanced reading copies of Grave Ransom. I will be holding a contest for these copies in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back soon!

Also, I wanted to let you know my schedule for ConCarolinas next weekend (June 2nd-4th). I'm excited to be returning to this con again this year, and it will likely be my only appearance in 2017, so I hope to see many of you there! In addition to several panels, I will also have a table at the event where I will have hours posted that I'll be available to sign books or just chat. (I will have a few books with me to sell--not Grave Ransom unfortunately as it is still a month out, but I should have a few of all previous release, as well as some free swag. I don't plan to bring any t-shirts unless someone requests something specific. Please comment here or drop me an email with any special requests you'd like me to pack.) Remember if you see me sitting at my table all alone--I'm shy but I'd love to chat, so stop by and say hi!!

My ConCarolians schedule:
Friday, June 25:00pm Who Wants to Live Forever? 6:00pm Hold Onto the Light 
Saturday, June 311:00am Shadow Queens and Evil Dwarves 7:00pm  Everyone is the Hero (Moderator)

Okay, that's it for this update. I hope to see many of you next weekend. And don't forget to check out the Grave Ransom Excerpt! -Kalayna Price

Is there an author in the house?

Some of you likely recall my post "where did the author go?" from several years ago. This post is basically a follow up to that, as well as a look toward the horizon.

This weekend, I made my first public appearance since about 2012. I was nervous for many reasons, not the least of which was my long hiatus. Thankfully, it went really well. ConCarolinas, while not the biggest convention, has always been a favorite because of all the great friends who attend it. Thank you everyone who stopped by the table to say hi, who attended panels, and who chatted at the bar and/or breakfast. All of you made this a wonderful first con back, and I am encouraged to expand my schedule further in the future!

But where have I been? Well, that is a murky tale, and I don't like putting too much of my personal life out for public consumption, but I feel that those of you who have stuck around deserve some information. So, let me try a little non-fiction here:

I ran into some health troubles several years ago. At first it didn't affect my writing too much, but these things tend to have a ripple effect, and eventually it began affecting every aspect of my life, including my writing. As that happened, I began falling behind and missing deadlines. This caused a good bit of writing-related anxiety, which caused its own snowball effect. I began falling further and further behind. Third Blood got lost. Grave Memory eventually got turned in and miraculously released on time because my editor is a saint. But by that point, things had spiraled out of control. Every aspect of my life was in shambles. Depression had set in, tangled into every aspect of my life. In regards to my writing, I'd fallen so far behind that I'd passed the point of embarrassment, and in my deteriorating mental state, reached a point that opening my laptop caused panic attacks. I stopped answering emails. I more or less fell off all social media. And more devastatingly, I stopped writing.

Before this point, I can't really remember a time I didn't write. When I was in school, sometimes I might go a couple months without writing, but even as a child, I can't think of a single year I wasn't creating stories at least part of the time. But now I wasn't writing. I was barely reading. (looking back, I was barely living.)  Both my physical and mental health were falling apart. My personal life crumbled, leaving me adrift, and my professional life? Well, the reverberations of all of it shattered my identity as a writer. I was drowning, and I was tired of fighting to swim. I nearly died.

When a life boat came, I spent a lot of time shivering and looking shell shocked before I finally made it back to land. But then things got better. Then they got A LOT better.

I'm much healthier now. Much happier. But starting to write again was hard. It felt like wading back out into the water, the soft lap of waves at my ankles reminding me of being in over my head and being dragged under. My reemerging identity as a writer feels fragile, the edges still jagged and sharp from where I shattered earlier.

So, it has been a slow return. The most important part, the writing, returning first. I have plans to increase my presence here and on social media as well. And of course, to break my hermit-like ways and travel a bit more. Maybe I'll eventually tackle the years of backlog in my email. But those will take time--and hopefully I'll get on point enough to save what is left of my career--but in the meantime, my main focus is back to writing and trying to catch up.

GRAVE VISIONS has been fairly well received, and book five is coming together. It is due later this year and should be on shelves in Fall of 2017. There is a sixth Alex Craft book under contract that is projected to release in 2018. I'm not sure what will happen with Alex after that. I'd love to continue her story past this story arch, but we will see. I'm also itching to write some more Briar Darque short stories like the one which appeared in Kicking it (or even a full novel following Briar). We will see. THIRD BLOOD is currently a deconstructed mess on my old harddrive. I haven't looked at it since my hiatus began, but I have every intention of resurrecting it (or possibly starting again from scratch) after I turn in book five in a few months, so hopefully I will have news to share on that front by the end of the year.

And that is where things stand.

I'll try to be a little more vocal here and on facebook to keep you abreast with what is going on, but even if I'm a little quiet, know that I am writing again. Books are coming. Thank you for sticking with me. -Kalayna Price

ConCarolians

ConCarolians is this weekend and I will be there with books, swag, and hopefully something intelligent to say on panels! If you are in the area, please stop by and say hello. This will be my first public appearance in several years, and I'm insanely shy, so if I'm a little quiet, please know I'm absolutely thrilled to see/speak with you, my tongue just gets a little tied!

So where will I be? Well, I'll have a table in the author's hall. I will only be at it a few hours during the convention, but I'll have times I will be there posted, so do stop by to see me and say hi. I'll also be speaking on the following panels:

FRIDAY:
3:00 PM Doing It All: Blending Character, Plot, and Backstory 
5:00 PM Paranormal Suspense - How to Ramp Up Action in Your Paranormal  
8:00 PM The Burden of Years  

SATURDAY:
11:00 AM Fantasy the World Over  
8:00 PM The Writer's Life: Not Exactly a Bed of Roses  

I hope to see you there!   -Kalayna Price