Kaje Harper's Blog, page 44
November 3, 2011
Ghosts and Flames released
My new novella Ghosts and Flames is now available from MLR press. I've put a link here - just click http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?... to get to the publisher's website. I had fun writing this one. I hope people will have fun reading it.
October 31, 2011
Ghosts coming Friday
It looks like my novella Ghosts and Flames will release on Friday, Nov. 4, from MLR Press. This one is a paranormal, a little less emotional (well, that's not hard when comparing to Full Circle), and hopefully fun. I've put the cover up on my website at http://kajeharper.wordpress.com/2011/...
Since it's about 22,000 words it will release as an e-book only.
This short novella is probably as close as I'll get to a companion book to my free novel Lies and Consequences . If you have read the novel, you may remember that Chris was a writer. When they were stuck on the mountain, he started to read from his own work, about a character named Ben and his friend Grant, who was a ghost. I'd thought about actually writing that story some day. But the collection of waiting story ideas in my brain is overflowing and I doubt I'll get to it. This, however, is the story of how that relationship between an insubstantial ghost and the man who never dared speak his feelings aloud works out. So here's the blurb:
When Ben’s best friend Grant died, all Ben’s unspoken hopes for love died with him. Grant’s return as a ghost eased Ben’s heart, and even saved his life, but that could never be enough. So Ben left town. Now in a Florida hotel room he discovers that he failed to leave Grant’s specter behind. When the meddlesome ghost urges Ben to go out and have a drink at a bar, he isn't expecting to run into supernatural trouble, or a sexy man like Talon. But that combination may turn out to be just what Ben needs to learn to live again. If he survives the experience.
Something a little different for me, almost in time for Halloween. I hope you like it.
Since it's about 22,000 words it will release as an e-book only.
This short novella is probably as close as I'll get to a companion book to my free novel Lies and Consequences . If you have read the novel, you may remember that Chris was a writer. When they were stuck on the mountain, he started to read from his own work, about a character named Ben and his friend Grant, who was a ghost. I'd thought about actually writing that story some day. But the collection of waiting story ideas in my brain is overflowing and I doubt I'll get to it. This, however, is the story of how that relationship between an insubstantial ghost and the man who never dared speak his feelings aloud works out. So here's the blurb:
When Ben’s best friend Grant died, all Ben’s unspoken hopes for love died with him. Grant’s return as a ghost eased Ben’s heart, and even saved his life, but that could never be enough. So Ben left town. Now in a Florida hotel room he discovers that he failed to leave Grant’s specter behind. When the meddlesome ghost urges Ben to go out and have a drink at a bar, he isn't expecting to run into supernatural trouble, or a sexy man like Talon. But that combination may turn out to be just what Ben needs to learn to live again. If he survives the experience.
Something a little different for me, almost in time for Halloween. I hope you like it.
October 28, 2011
Why I write
A writer friend, Patricia Lynne, asked me to do a guest spot on her blog, in a series she's doing from other authors on "Why I write." I asked if saying "Because it's fun!" a dozen times counts as a post, but sadly she wanted something a little more complex than than that. So I had to think about why being able to write tops eating chocolate, on my hit list of life's necessities. (And if you know me, you know how close to the very top of the list that is!) You can read my thoughts on her blog: http://plbjourney.blogspot.com/2011/1...
And in the vein of enjoying my writing, I got to see the rough cover for my upcoming short novella, Ghosts & Flames. I like the guy they picked for the younger MC, Talon. The manuscript is through proofreading, which means it may come out as soon as next Friday! As usual, MLR leaves it a little open, but as soon as I know the release date I will post it. And when I get the final cover, I'll put it up on my website. It's always fun to see the work of my imagination appear in finished form.
I've turned in the second novel in the Hidden Wolves series to my editor at MLR press. Hopefully she will like it enough to accept it. If so, it has usually taken 2 to 3 months to go through the editing process and get a book out. (MLR is faster at that than many other publishers, which I appreciate!) For now I'm waiting on her response, while polishing the third Life Lessons book for submission soon. And I have a free short story coming out in a couple of weeks. So fortunately loving writing is not a problem - I'm getting to do a lot of it these days.
And in the vein of enjoying my writing, I got to see the rough cover for my upcoming short novella, Ghosts & Flames. I like the guy they picked for the younger MC, Talon. The manuscript is through proofreading, which means it may come out as soon as next Friday! As usual, MLR leaves it a little open, but as soon as I know the release date I will post it. And when I get the final cover, I'll put it up on my website. It's always fun to see the work of my imagination appear in finished form.
I've turned in the second novel in the Hidden Wolves series to my editor at MLR press. Hopefully she will like it enough to accept it. If so, it has usually taken 2 to 3 months to go through the editing process and get a book out. (MLR is faster at that than many other publishers, which I appreciate!) For now I'm waiting on her response, while polishing the third Life Lessons book for submission soon. And I have a free short story coming out in a couple of weeks. So fortunately loving writing is not a problem - I'm getting to do a lot of it these days.
October 17, 2011
Warm Fuzzies
It's been a nice couple of days. Reviews for Unacceptable Risk have been pretty positive so far. And sales seem to be picking up (maybe because the Gay Rom Lit gathering in New Orleans is over; my readers have stopped bar hopping and started buying books again.) Then someone recommended my books to Josh Lanyon on the grounds that I sound a little like him. (Now there's a compliment!)
And I got to make a donation to The Aliveness Project, one of my favorite Minnesota charities. The Aliveness Project provides support services to individuals with HIV and AIDS in the Minneapolis area. They do very worthwhile work and I'm proud to be a supporter.
So I was glad when Amazon came through with a royalties check for And to All a Good Night. Some of you may remember that when I put that free story up on Amazon, the retailer insisted on charging a minimum of $0.99 for it. I decided to donate the author's share to charity, until the price dropped to free. And now I have the pleasure of passing that along. Not big bucks (at $0.34 per copy, I was pleased to have topped the $100 mark) but it's nice to feel something I wrote has done some good in the world.
And I got to make a donation to The Aliveness Project, one of my favorite Minnesota charities. The Aliveness Project provides support services to individuals with HIV and AIDS in the Minneapolis area. They do very worthwhile work and I'm proud to be a supporter.
So I was glad when Amazon came through with a royalties check for And to All a Good Night. Some of you may remember that when I put that free story up on Amazon, the retailer insisted on charging a minimum of $0.99 for it. I decided to donate the author's share to charity, until the price dropped to free. And now I have the pleasure of passing that along. Not big bucks (at $0.34 per copy, I was pleased to have topped the $100 mark) but it's nice to feel something I wrote has done some good in the world.
October 13, 2011
Unacceptable Risk available
My first werewolf novel, Unacceptable Risk is now available from MLR Press at http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?... . It's also already up on Amazon (I'm amazed but delighted how fast that happened compared to past books) and will be on other sites like All Romance ebooks within the next few weeks. Hopefully those of you who have liked Tony and Mac will also become fond of Simon and Paul. Enjoy.
October 9, 2011
Keeping Busy
I just sent back the galley proofs for Unacceptable Risk, on schedule for the e-book to be released on Friday (Oct. 14th.) I realized I haven't posted the blurb yet, so here it is:
Simon Conley was born a werewolf, making him one of a tiny minority in a sea of vanilla humans. The safety of the pack lies in absolute secrecy, sometimes violently enforced. In a species where pack-members are born and not made, being gay is considered a perversion. So when Simon falls in love with a human man, he's twice damned. Even his Alpha's grudging tolerance may not be enough to shield him from the hatred of the other top wolves. Then his lover Paul stumbles across pack secrets Simon was sworn to keep, and if the pack finds out, they may both end up dead.
By the time I'm looking at galleys, I'm often pretty over-saturated with a particular manuscript and ready to avoid it for a while, but I kind of enjoyed rereading this one. It surprised me. (Not that there aren't still things I could have done better, but a hundred rounds of editing probably would never change that.) I think Simon and Paul are my favorite of all the couples I've written so far. I'm looking forward to seeing what readers think.
I've also been editing my November-schedulled novella Ghosts and Flames in its second round. That one is tied into Lies and Consequences loosely. For those who read that book and remember the story Chris was writing about Ben and Grant the ghost? This novella is how that story-in-a-story ended.
I have a YA short story I'm writing for the Goodreads Gay-Straight Alliance group which will come out this month (under Kira Harp). That needs a bit of polishing and a serious look at whether my fictional teenagers talk too much like middle-aged folks. And I did the final edit for my Christmas short story for MLR.
MLR is going to have a great Holiday short story collection this year. They have 42 (count 'em) stories, to be released one at a time from the middle of November through New Year's Eve, and then as a collection. The author line-up is amazing; I feel like a fan-girl just from finding myself on the same list as these writers. My story will be second-to-last on Dec. 30th (which is probably good since I have a November release already in the works.) I'll blog about more details of the collection closer to the date (and when Yahoo lets me into the MLR group site again; Aargh. Love technology.)
Anyway, plenty to keep me busy. Including deciding whether to submit Hidden Wolves 2 or Life Lessons 3 as the next book for my editor to work on. It's a nice choice to have.
Simon Conley was born a werewolf, making him one of a tiny minority in a sea of vanilla humans. The safety of the pack lies in absolute secrecy, sometimes violently enforced. In a species where pack-members are born and not made, being gay is considered a perversion. So when Simon falls in love with a human man, he's twice damned. Even his Alpha's grudging tolerance may not be enough to shield him from the hatred of the other top wolves. Then his lover Paul stumbles across pack secrets Simon was sworn to keep, and if the pack finds out, they may both end up dead.
By the time I'm looking at galleys, I'm often pretty over-saturated with a particular manuscript and ready to avoid it for a while, but I kind of enjoyed rereading this one. It surprised me. (Not that there aren't still things I could have done better, but a hundred rounds of editing probably would never change that.) I think Simon and Paul are my favorite of all the couples I've written so far. I'm looking forward to seeing what readers think.
I've also been editing my November-schedulled novella Ghosts and Flames in its second round. That one is tied into Lies and Consequences loosely. For those who read that book and remember the story Chris was writing about Ben and Grant the ghost? This novella is how that story-in-a-story ended.
I have a YA short story I'm writing for the Goodreads Gay-Straight Alliance group which will come out this month (under Kira Harp). That needs a bit of polishing and a serious look at whether my fictional teenagers talk too much like middle-aged folks. And I did the final edit for my Christmas short story for MLR.
MLR is going to have a great Holiday short story collection this year. They have 42 (count 'em) stories, to be released one at a time from the middle of November through New Year's Eve, and then as a collection. The author line-up is amazing; I feel like a fan-girl just from finding myself on the same list as these writers. My story will be second-to-last on Dec. 30th (which is probably good since I have a November release already in the works.) I'll blog about more details of the collection closer to the date (and when Yahoo lets me into the MLR group site again; Aargh. Love technology.)
Anyway, plenty to keep me busy. Including deciding whether to submit Hidden Wolves 2 or Life Lessons 3 as the next book for my editor to work on. It's a nice choice to have.
September 26, 2011
Pen Names and Young Adult fiction
I've been debating the issue of using the same author name for my YA fiction as I use for my adult explicit romance. Up until now it hasn't been an issue, since none of my YA material was published or available for download. (I don't count Like the Taste of Summer since I wrote that for the adult romance group. It just happened to come out on the less-explicit side.)
The first really YA story I've put out was Intervention and I just posted that here and on my website, and figured that would be it. But I've had several requests from people to re-post it elsewhere or to get a downloadable copy. I'm really pleased that people have enjoyed the story, but before letting it get spread around I wanted to think carefully about the pen name issue.
There are three options as I see it: used the same name for adult and YA material, use two different names but link them, or use two different names and keep them completely separate. In the end I decided to go the middle route. My adult m/m romances are just too explicit for me to feel comfortable using the same name on both. I'd like to avoid having some teenager read Intervention and then maybe decide to download the free novel Lies and Consequences as a follow-up, expecting a similar work. At the same time, I don't want to be running around with two secret identities that have to stay hidden from each other. Especially since Intervention is already up here, and that's the story I'm currently getting requests for. (Sure, I could say no, keep this story as a Harper and out of YA hands, and start new with a secret YA pen name...but I admit I want Intervention to be read.)
So I came up with Kira Harp as a YA pen name. Hopefully it's similar enough to be identified as me (ie. no, Kira Harp did not plagiarize my story) and different enough that if some teenager puts the name into a search some day, it won't automatically just pop up all my other books. If that teen ends up here, they will find out that I write under both names. Then they (or their parents) can decide if they want to look at the identifiably adult material I write as Kaje Harper. Not a secret identity. More like branding. So readers know what to expect, either way.
Golly, I hope this works out. Anyway, having made that decision, I'm thinking about putting Intervention on Smashwords or Amazon eventually so it can be downloaded. Except I have to get my daughter to make me a new cover first.
Incidentally, it looks as though Unacceptable Risk will release from MLR Press October 14th. And then we'll see how my readers like taking a break from cops and teachers to play with my werewolves.
The first really YA story I've put out was Intervention and I just posted that here and on my website, and figured that would be it. But I've had several requests from people to re-post it elsewhere or to get a downloadable copy. I'm really pleased that people have enjoyed the story, but before letting it get spread around I wanted to think carefully about the pen name issue.
There are three options as I see it: used the same name for adult and YA material, use two different names but link them, or use two different names and keep them completely separate. In the end I decided to go the middle route. My adult m/m romances are just too explicit for me to feel comfortable using the same name on both. I'd like to avoid having some teenager read Intervention and then maybe decide to download the free novel Lies and Consequences as a follow-up, expecting a similar work. At the same time, I don't want to be running around with two secret identities that have to stay hidden from each other. Especially since Intervention is already up here, and that's the story I'm currently getting requests for. (Sure, I could say no, keep this story as a Harper and out of YA hands, and start new with a secret YA pen name...but I admit I want Intervention to be read.)
So I came up with Kira Harp as a YA pen name. Hopefully it's similar enough to be identified as me (ie. no, Kira Harp did not plagiarize my story) and different enough that if some teenager puts the name into a search some day, it won't automatically just pop up all my other books. If that teen ends up here, they will find out that I write under both names. Then they (or their parents) can decide if they want to look at the identifiably adult material I write as Kaje Harper. Not a secret identity. More like branding. So readers know what to expect, either way.
Golly, I hope this works out. Anyway, having made that decision, I'm thinking about putting Intervention on Smashwords or Amazon eventually so it can be downloaded. Except I have to get my daughter to make me a new cover first.
Incidentally, it looks as though Unacceptable Risk will release from MLR Press October 14th. And then we'll see how my readers like taking a break from cops and teachers to play with my werewolves.
September 19, 2011
Updates
So the short story Full Circle is now available from MLR Press. It will be interesting to see what readers think of a story line that is not traditional romance. Hopefully it's clear enough from the blurb that people looking for a HEA won't pick this one up. It's always fun to see the comments appear on a new work.
I just got the cover for the werewolf book Unacceptable Risk from the artist. That's exciting - the first look at the public face of my book. I've submitted the manuscript to proofreading now, so it should only be two or three weeks from release. MLR decides the exact day based on how busy the queue is, so I don't have a definite release date yet. (Different publishers work differently, I guess. When my stand-alone novel was accepted by Samhain, they immediately gave me a March 6, 2012 release date. Way organized, but it also means more inflexible deadlines, where MLR caters to the author's writing speed.) Anyway, the wolves should be coming soon, I'll let you know when I know. In the meantime, the cover is on my website:
http://kajeharper.wordpress.com/2011/...
I just got the cover for the werewolf book Unacceptable Risk from the artist. That's exciting - the first look at the public face of my book. I've submitted the manuscript to proofreading now, so it should only be two or three weeks from release. MLR decides the exact day based on how busy the queue is, so I don't have a definite release date yet. (Different publishers work differently, I guess. When my stand-alone novel was accepted by Samhain, they immediately gave me a March 6, 2012 release date. Way organized, but it also means more inflexible deadlines, where MLR caters to the author's writing speed.) Anyway, the wolves should be coming soon, I'll let you know when I know. In the meantime, the cover is on my website:
http://kajeharper.wordpress.com/2011/...
September 11, 2011
Full Circle releases Friday Sept. 16
I just found out the short story Full Circle will be released by MLR Press this coming Friday, September 16th. I thought some readers might be interested in seeing the blurb in advance:
It may be better to have loved and lost, twice, than never loved at all, but it sure as hell gets lonely. Jamison Severs is sitting in a bar contemplating his past as a failed lover, failed doctor, failed drunkard, and a fading old man, trying to find a reason not to lift that glass. Then a beautiful blond boy walks in the door, bringing reminders of Jamie’s past with him. Meeting the son of Jamie’s former lover, Toller, brings back the good old days, and the bad. And maybe it’s finally time for Jamie to come to terms with all the things that brought him and Toller together, and the things that broke them apart.
This 19,000 word short will be available initially on MLR's website, and later from the usual commercial vendors. As the blurb suggests, it is more reminiscence than the standard romance arc. Hope you like it.
It may be better to have loved and lost, twice, than never loved at all, but it sure as hell gets lonely. Jamison Severs is sitting in a bar contemplating his past as a failed lover, failed doctor, failed drunkard, and a fading old man, trying to find a reason not to lift that glass. Then a beautiful blond boy walks in the door, bringing reminders of Jamie’s past with him. Meeting the son of Jamie’s former lover, Toller, brings back the good old days, and the bad. And maybe it’s finally time for Jamie to come to terms with all the things that brought him and Toller together, and the things that broke them apart.
This 19,000 word short will be available initially on MLR's website, and later from the usual commercial vendors. As the blurb suggests, it is more reminiscence than the standard romance arc. Hope you like it.
September 6, 2011
Short story upcoming from MLR
MLR Press let me know that my short story Full Circle has gone to proofreading, which means it should release in a couple of weeks if all goes well. I'm grateful to MLR for being willing to publish this story, because it isn't a typical romance short. It has romance and love and sadness, and the ending is happy, but the main character/narrator doesn't settle down to a happy ever after with his lover. I had one beta reader upset about this. She's a purist on the HEA front. My other readers loved the story as it stood, so I'm expecting a mixed reaction but hopefully most people will like it.
I also found out the cover for Full Circle will be MLR's "Got 20 Minutes" standard with two naked guys. (I have the cover posted on my blog: http://kajeharper.wordpress.com/2011/... ) Can't complain, as I understand the finances of a separate cover for every short story would be prohibitive. Hopefully people will read the blurb and not expect angst-free hot sex from this story, based on a glance at the cover. So I'm excited and a little nervous to see Full Circle approaching its release date.
I also found out the cover for Full Circle will be MLR's "Got 20 Minutes" standard with two naked guys. (I have the cover posted on my blog: http://kajeharper.wordpress.com/2011/... ) Can't complain, as I understand the finances of a separate cover for every short story would be prohibitive. Hopefully people will read the blurb and not expect angst-free hot sex from this story, based on a glance at the cover. So I'm excited and a little nervous to see Full Circle approaching its release date.
