A little background…
Hey all! Since this is a new blog, let me give you a little background into my writing history. I’ll be brief. 
I started writing when I was a kid. Just something to do for fun and pass the time. Later, when I was in college, I decided to try and actually write a book. After a couple years, writing maybe once or twice a month, I had a book done. My dad and I edited it and I found a vanity press to publish it. Done!
Around that time, I started to meet other authors. Professionals. This is before social media, so when I say I was meeting people, I was actually meeting them in bookstores and such. Meeting them in person.
I was invited to a local writer’s group. At this point, I was writing short stories and wanted to see if I could sell one. The writer’s group I joined was a local PA/NJ chapter of the HWA (Horror Writer’s Assoc.) and it was run by Jonathan Maberry. He had yet to have his first fiction novel (GHOST ROAD BLUES) published. But he had a book deal and had other “guidebooks” and such published.
Jonathan taught me everything. And in no time, I had sold my first short story and was able to officially join the HWA. This was back in 2007.
Taking what I had learned from Jonathan, I reworked my writing career. I started selling a lot of short stories. I rewrote and re-edited my written novels. I created detailed submission packages with professionally written queries, synopses, summaries and more.
I was growing as an author every day. Soon after, 2007, I was getting manuscript requests. And then I had my first real publishing deal with a small press publisher (that’s a long story for another time). I was able to write a full-length novel of 80-100K words in nine months. Another skill Jonathan taught me. And with that skill I wrote, what I consider, to be my best work.
More and more submission packages went out. Remember, this is back when all agent submissions were snail mail. Yes. Snail mail.
After mailing them, months later, sometimes six to twelve months later, I had multiple manuscript requests. In fact, the number of requests I received from 2007-2010 was pretty impressive, when you look back at it. Even more impressive once all submissions turned to emails. I would get a partial or full request 2-3 times a month.
2011 Book Signing at Powells.During the years that followed, when I had two novels out in small press, and some short stories out in e-book format, I began to gain a following. People recognized my work. I had good reviews and book signings in bookstores. In 2011, Powell’s invited me to the Authorfest for the first time!
Bigger things were happening too. I had a TV production company reach out to me to write scripts for a Viking Age TV show (not VIKINGS). I turned them down. And I had a movie production company review my one movie. This was a crazy moment. My unpublished novel went against a published one and…of course came in second place. The move company decided to make Mortal Instruments into a movie instead of my book ONE SMOKING HOT FAIRY TAIL. This still burns my butt a little, because I needed an agent to help me back then and no one would. With an agent supporting me, I might have gotten that movie deal.
This is a tale of a foul-mouthed, fairy princess after a fall from grace. She had it all: fame, fortune, beauty… and now she is being hunted for her wings.About two years later, I was signed by a New York Literary Agency. Like all authors, I felt like I won the lottery. But that agent did not do the things they promised me. I was told there would be a spreadsheet shared with me that I could track all their submissions to publishers. I never saw it. So, who knows if they really did any work for me? And after two years, I parted ways with them.
At this point, with my one series being self-published, the rollercoaster ride was slowing down. I was questioning my future as an author, when suddenly I got a new publishing deal for the epic fantasy series that had been published before (the original publisher broke contract). I felt like I was back in business. New books being published. New book events. New book signings. I was promoting a lot. Getting good reviews…etc.
BOOM. COVID.
Book events stopped. Book signings stopped. The new publisher of my epic fantasy series stopped paying me and broke contract. I kinda felt like giving up. I kinda did give up.
But then the one book I had written, the only one yet to be unpublished, suddenly got a publishing deal. And a good deal. At a publisher I really respected. I am talking about the new YA book that was just published a week ago.
It’s funny. Many years prior, Jonthan Maberry challenged me to write a YA/MG horror book. I accepted the challenge and wrote the book. But with it being a new genre for me, I only did light submission for it over the years. Its publisher being the last place I sent it.
So, never give up. Clearly.
This brings us to today. I have another book deal in the works. And I am rebranding my social media. Want to see my publishing history to get a picture of the road I have traveled? I pasted it below.
Thanks so much for reading this brief history of my writing career!
Write Makes Might!
Kevin James Breaux
Kevin James Breaux – Publishing History
—————–2020——————–
YOUNG DAVY CROCKETT: THE WILD FRONTER WITH DINOSAURS – Suspense Publishing – 2/22/22
—————–2020——————–
BLOOD DIVIDED – Azure Spider – 9/15/20
** Silver Award – Literary Titan Book Review December 2020
—————–2019——————–
THREE BURNING RED RUNAWAY BRIDES – 1/14/19
** Gold Award – Literary Titan Book Review March 2019
**2nd Place Best Series Award Winner Paranormal Romance Guild 1/2020
—————–2018—————–
SOUL BORN – Azure Spider – 11/15/2018
** Gold Award – Literary Titan Book Review Jan 2019
**2nd Place Award Winner Paranormal Romance Guild 2/2021
—————–2017—————–
TWO POLLUTED BLACK-HEART ROMANCES – 6/7/2017
** Gold Award – Literary Titan Book Review August 2017
** Paranormal Romance Guild Nominated Book 2/18 and 2nd Place winner
THE LIFEBLOOD OF ILL-FATED WOMEN – 1/1/2017
** Gold Award – Literary Titan Book Review March 2017
—————–2016—————–
ENDING SUMMER NIGHTS – 10/28/16 – self-published ebook
ONE SMOKING HOT FAIRY TAIL – 4/6/16
**Pitch Perfect Pick Winner 6/22/16.
**Paranormal Romance Guild Nominated Book 2/17 and 1st Place Winner.
** Gold Award – Literary Titan Book Review April 2017
**1st Place Award Winner! Best New Paranormal Novel – Paranormal Romance Guild 2/2017
—————–2015—————–
SOUL BORN – Reborn Edition 1/20/2015 – self-published 4th Edition 2/6/2018
DARK WATER: BEAMING SMILE – self-published ebook – 1/15/2015
—————–Earlier—————–
Dead Man’s Party – short – ebook – Hellfire Publishing – 7/26/2013
The Journal of USS Indianapolis Survivor: Stefanos “Stevie” Georgiou” – Zombie Jesus and Other True Stories Anthology – Dark Moon Press – 11/3/2012
***3rd place Preditors and Editors poll 2012
She. Her. You. – Slices of Flesh Anthology. – Dark Moon Press – 3/29/2012
***Bram Stoker Nominated
Beer VS Zombies – Dark Moon Digest Magazine Issue #7 – 3/20/2012
Blood Divided – Dark Quest Books – 12/30/2011
Geek’s-eye View – article – Suspense Magazine November Issue 11/6/2011
Dark Water: Beaming Smile – Hellfire Publishing 10/2011
3rd place Preditors and Editors poll 2011
How the Castle BREAUX was built. – article – Suspense Magazine August Issue 8/10/2011
Top that Pokemon! – article – Suspense Magazine July Issue 7/1/2011
Mother’s Milk – Too Much Boogie – L-L Publications 4/2011
A Battle of Ego – Anthology of Ichor III – UnEarthedPress 4/2011
A Way to a Man’s Heart is Through His Stomach – Hellfire Publishing e-book 4/2011
Soul Born – Dark Quest Books – 11/30/2010
***1st place Preditors and Editors poll 2010
The Darkness part #7
A Tale of Many Reviews as part of the 2010 Spooktacular Event 10/2010
Ending Summer Nights – Lucrezia Magazine 5/2010
***9th placed P&E poll 2010
Only the Dead will Stand – Dead History: a zombie anthology Living Dead Press 2/2010
Love in the Time of ZOMBIES – Lucrezia Magazine 8/2009
For The Team – Bare Back Magazine 8/2009
Bang! PORTUGAL – Lucrezia Magazine 2/2009
***3rd place Preditors and Editors Poll 2009
Dead Man’s Party (original version) 1st publishing to Written World Magazine 6/2008
2nd publishing to Lucrezia Magazine 11/2008
