Q/A blog - what's happening in my world 2016

Happy 2016 all. As promised, I have been trolling through my in-box and thought it time to answer a few burning questions.

Q: I'm dying to know more about the next book in the Southern Sanctuary series, what can you tell us about it?
A: Well I could play it coy and just reiterate that the title of book 8 will be - To Thrill A Thief. Or, I could go one better, and provide you with the draft book blurb for it... decisions, decisions. Hah, since I'm a complete tease...

To Thrill A Thief

Thanks to her magic Eli Stevens is quite literally forgettable girl, ten seconds out of her presence and no one remembers who she is. Which makes her an awesome master thief but lousy girlfriend material. Resigned to a long lonely life Eli focuses all her attention on her job as Retrieval Expert for her eccentric magical extended family who have a tendency to misplace dangerous be-spelled objects.

Drafted to snatch five rubies imbued with the dead God Apep’s chaos magic, Eli is partnered up with Rafe, elite warrior of Maat, and logistics genius. The man is the epitome of walking temptation but Eli has been burnt too many times before to believe this time will be any different. Rafe might be a gorgeous semi-immortal being, but she’s forgettable girl. It’s time to lock up her heart for good and throw away the key before she gets it shattered into a million pieces.

For Rafe, falling in love with gorgeous thief Eli was easy… remembering her was the hard part. Now he just has to convince Eli to fight for them. To trust that in working together they will find a way to negate her magic. It will take all of his skills and all of his charm to thrill a thief.

To Thrill A Thief - Out May 2016.

Q: What's happening with Darcy? When will she get her own book?
A: Darcy. Darcy. Darcy. She's starting to become my Marsha Brady. Darcy will return as a secondary character in Book 8 and we are inching closer to her getting her own story. Currently she's still slated for book 10, or 11... maybe 12. Trust me, certain other elements of the overarching storyline have to come into fruition before Darcy's story can be told.

Q: Do you know who Darcy's mate will be?
A: Yes, and so should you. I've been dropping hints since book 1.

Q: Which other characters have you lined up to be the major players in coming books?
A: Book 9, at this stage, will star Fen Valhalla, brother to Hadleigh, Locke and Erik. Easy going Fen will meet his match when he goes up against a very determined Valkyrie. The draft title at the moment is - To Vex A Valkyrie. Promises to be lots of fun.
Then it will probably be Riya's turn - time to explain that mystery 24 hour pregnancy.
I'd also like to tell Patricia's story - whose books keep disappearing from her library and ending up in Cullen's potting shed.... I mean auxiliary library. I'm thinking maybe a Christmas themed story for those two.
And I have big plans for Quinn - which may edge out Darcy's story further, not sure yet.
Then further down the track will be Gigi, Fraser, Flynn, and Dash...
OMG... it's never-ending, just what the hell did I start when I invented this world?

Q: Do you plan to start a new series?
A: Absolutely, yes. It will probably be more of a Science-fiction type setting, as I have something bubbling away in the back of my brain. Don't intend to split my focus just yet though, and probably won't start drafting anything until after I have finished Darcy's book.

Q: Find myself laughing all the time when I read your books, are you funny in person?
A: Thanks. I must admit even I find myself laughing as I write sometimes. I'm pretty much the same in person, which is kind of scary when you think about it.

Q: Do you map out your books/Series?
A: Kind of, yes, no, maybe. Honestly, sometimes I start a book with a germ of an idea and it explodes in a completely surprising direction. Which is the great thing about writing a magical world, anything can happen. And as much as I've tried to add layers to each of my books, building on the world, adding fully fleshed secondary characters to enhance it - for me, forget the bad guys, forget the mystery - the most important part of my books is the romance.

Q: I love your books, can't believe more people don't know about you, what's up with that?
A: Thanks, sincerely. Grr, marketing, spreading the word in the literary world isn't really in my wheel house. I have a code - and I refuse to pay for reviews or pander to bloggers who request that I send them my book for free, promising nothing in return but that they may or may not get around to reviewing it in the next twenty-four months.
Currently I'm relying on word of mouth, people like you guys, who read my work, rate it, and leave reviews on Amazon/Goodreads.
It might be naïve but I'm working on the premise that good/funny books will eventually find an audience. I'm also working on getting my books into hard print this year, with the intention of moving into new markets... fingers crossed.

Q: What's the hardest thing about being a writer?
A: I'm not troubled, thankfully, by writer's block. I suppose my main gripe would be the feedback I get on my grammar/editing - hey, said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not perfect - but it's like some people don't even realise that the British/English style of writing exists - it's very frustrating - especially, since as an Australian, our book market is flooded equally by British/English books and American/English books - and I'm comfortable with both styles as long as the author remains consistent.

Q: Who are you reading at the moment?
A: At this exact moment in time I'm reading - A Red Rose Chain by Seanan McGuire. And am also in the process of re-reading the Grave witch series by Kalayna Price.

That's about it for the moment - there's a few personal questions that I think it's best for everyone that I ignore, let me maintain some measure of mystique, please.

If your burning question wasn't addressed above, then feel free to send me an email or post a question on my Goodreads author page.

In the meantime, happy reading.