The End and The Beginning

Oh, my friends, I've missed you. The last couple of months have been busy, busy, busy, but now I'm back and I'm excited.

See, I finished BLUE-BLOODED VAMP (out June 2012). I turned it in on Monday and yesterday, my editor called to tell me she loved it. Huge relief! Waiting for the verdict from one's editor is always nerve-wracking, but I'm blessed because mine is a super-speedy reader which cuts down on the length of the agony. But for this book in particular it was especially gratifying. BBV will be the fifth and last Sabina Kane novel, so a lot was riding on getting it right. I wanted so much to give Sabina's story the perfect ending and it looks like I succeeded.

A lot of people have asked me why this was the last Sabina book. There tends to be this idea that if an author finishes a series it's because they were told no one wanted more books. This was not the case at all. When I set out to write the series, I'd initially planned on there being only three books. I realized pretty quickly I couldn't tell the whole story in three, so I upped it to five. But now I've brought Sabina's story full circle and it's time to move on to other characters and worlds. I suppose I could have kept going. I could have manufactured new dramas for our heroine, but that wouldn't be fair to you, the readers, and it wouldn't be fair to me because I have other stories to tell. Rest assured, though, I will keep writing. I don't know how to not be a writer. And I hope that whatever warped tales follow the ones I've already written will continue to entertain you.

So what's next? Well, first I have a few minor tweaks to make to the manuscript. Nothing huge, just smoothing out a couple of parts and finessing a scene or two. But then. Then. I get to do whatever I want.

It's gratifying and scary at the same time. I'm the kind of person who kind of flounders without a plan, so rest assured this euphoria will not last long. Soon enough, I'll be pitching new projects. But for now, I'm going to relax. I'm going to hang out with my kid, whose been a champ while mom's been under deadline. I'm going to read all the books that have been piling up. I'm going to hang out with friends. I'm going to, in short, refill the well.

And then I'm going to write the shit out of a new story. Trust that.