Looking forward, Looking back.

I recently updated my website, and as you can see, I used all of the images from my completed six-book Zodiac series for the banner. Isn't she amazing? It may be confusing for anyone who hasn't read the series, and doesn't know that Joanna Archer is a superhero, and that she must don different identities to remain safe in a world that's hunting her from all sides. But it should be clear to all that she changes a great deal through the course of the series, and that both physically and emotionally. Admittedly, it's not a series for the faint at heart, but there are solid rewards for those who persevere to the end.

I've lived with the fictitious Joanna Archer inhabiting my gray matter for nearly six years now, and like her, I've changed a lot in that time. Those who know me say they can see me peeking between the lines of the text like some sort of overprotective stage mother, and though I am not my character – I don't have superpowers or evil fathers or any supernatural enemies that I know of – there was no way Jo and I could essentially share the same mind and not have some parallel adventures. So this post is a recap about my journey as the author of this series over the years. It's a small pictorial highlight reel of what I was going through while Joanna Archer was kicking ass and propelling herself to THE NEON GRAVEYARD's explosive end.

This is THE SCENT OF SHADOWS. The cat is aptly named Tank. He was my baby before I had a baby, and what I remember most about this time is repeatedly pushing him aside, and off my lap while I drank copious amounts of iced coffee in the Vegas heat, and tried to finish my first book. He was fabulous company, and the cat in the books, Luna, was certainly inspired by his presence.

You'll forgive the lack of photo evidence regarding THE TASTE OF NIGHT, but that book found somebody else inhabiting my lap, and I don't remember much of it. Scent hadn't even come out yet, and I was learning to juggle new mommyhood and full-time writing. I remember this time as being one of the most anxious-ridden, creative, fulfilling, and exhausting times of my life. And, of course, I would do it all over again in a nanosecond.

This is THE TOUCH OF TWILIGHT. By this point, my kidlet was mobile and I was getting up at 4:30 a.m. – before the house began to stir – in order to get my writing in. While getting up early is a habit I carry with me today (as is having three different drinks at hand at all times) the most important thing I learned from that time was how very much both of these careers – mommy and writing – meant to me. I wasn't going to drop any balls.

Of course, I did drop balls … and a big glass one at that. This is after CITY OF SOULS, the book that marked a distinct S-curve in my protagonist, Joanna Archer's, evolution, and my personal life as well. This was the hardest book to write, so I wasn't surprised when it got the most reader reaction. The reason I have a photo of me with my girlfriends – celebrating them, actually – is because this is the moment when I knew that I was going to be okay. Friends carry you through when it feels like the world is falling apart.

As for Joanna, next up was CHEAT THE GRAVE. Jackie summed it up nicely here when the book came out: "If City of Souls was a punch in the face, Cheat the Grave is the cool compress on your swollen cheek."

That was apropos for both my readers and me – which is why I'm including a photo of me with some of my forum readers, self-appointed VPeeps. Not everything about Joanna's past is answered in this book, but there's some definite closure, forgiveness, and some much needed self-acceptance too. CHEAT THE GRAVE is distinctly Joanna Archer's journey, but writing it helped heal me … and my long-term readers were a part of that. I love mah Peeps.

And now? THE NEON GRAVEYARD. Here's a photo of the tweetup I did in Las Vegas to launch the book.

Still more amazing readers. Now I'd wanted to use this title ever since we moved away from the sensory ones, and can't think of a more perfect one with which to end this series. In this book, paranormal Las Vegas is at risk of becoming a wasteland. Joanna has either lost or disassembled everything she began with in THE SCENT OF SHADOWS – her family, her identity and sense of self, her reasons for moving around in the world.

Yet I've discovered that the silver lining to almost any loss is the resultant space in which to create something entirely new. After penning Joanna's final 'The End', I lifted my head from the page and took a moment to mentally canvas the last five years. Then I thanked this strong, stubborn, malleable character for being a part of my journey … and turned to another blank page. I too have new reasons for moving through the world, and with Joanna's story told, I've also the space to create something new.*

I'd love to hear about your journey these last five years. What have your experiences been in that time? And where do you hope the next five will take you? And thanks to those of you who came along on this amazing journey with Joanna and me.

*This is a whole new post, of course, but for those who don't already know, next up is THE TAKEN, the first in my new Celestial Blues trilogy. That begins June 2012.