I kinda don’t even want to go back to the post where I set my 2018 goals. I was a little bit unrealistic! I think I wanted to publish something like 5 books AND take it easy for the first time in six years. Talk about conflicting goals! ? (So yeah, I’m not even going to go back and address those goals. It would only make me depressed!)

There were several things that kept me from writing and publishing that many books:

• I had been writing in the Creepy Hollow world for so long that I forgot it takes tiiiiime to build a new story world. Yep. Definitely took me longer than I realized it would to figure out all the details of Ridley Kayne’s world.
• We had an overseas holiday. I did not do ANY WORK AT ALL while we were away. It was amazing.
• We bought a house. A house that was not yet built. So along with all the normal time-consuming stuff that goes into selling one house and buying another (the bazillions of forms and applications and documents and occasional lawyer meetings), there was all the time that went into choosing finishings etc. for the new house and meeting repeatedly with the contractor and developer. (Which was fun, don’t get me wrong, but I certainly wasn’t writing while I was doing all those things!)
• We moved house.

But (let’s look on the bright side here) I did manage to publish the following:

• a story in Once Upon A Quest
• Elemental Thief (Ridley Kayne Chronicles #1)
• Elemental Power (Ridley Kayne Chronicles #2)
• aaaaalmost the audiobook of Elemental Thief (It was completed and uploaded before Christmas, but distribution was delayed by all the holidays over Christmas and New Year. It’s begun showing up on various audiobook stores.)

So, that was 2018.

Onward to 2019!

I’m trying to be more realistic about my time this year, and I want to give myself the permission to move things around if I need to, but I also want you guys to have an idea of what to expect from me this year 🙂

So here’s the rough plan for 2019:

• Q1: start releasing the urban fantasy Cinderella retelling (title not yet revealed)
• Q2: continue releasing the urban fantasy Cinderella retelling
• Q3: Ridley Kayne Chronicles #3
• Q4: Ridley Kayne Chronicles #4 OR Creepy Hollow companion novella featuring Aurora*

*The longer I spend away from Creepy Hollow, the more time it’ll take me to get back into that world. So it’ll probably make sense to finish the Ridley Kayne Chronicles before returning to Creepy Hollow, which means that novella may only be released in 2020.

My other ongoing projects include the following:

• Creepy Hollow hardback versions.
• Posting regularly on social media (Facebook and Instagram) to stay in touch with readers.
• Advertising my backlist titles consistently.
• Producing more audio content. (Not 100% sure what this will be yet. Hopefully the continuation of the Ridley Kayne Chronicles, but they’re expensive to produce, so we’ll have to see how things go!)

So that’s that!

I’ll leave you with a teaser. The opening paragraph from the current draft of the urban fantasy Cinderella project 🙂

Elle Winter’s evening was going exactly according to plan until the moment she smacked face-first into a broad chest and ended up on her bejeweled backside on the sidewalk outside Club Onyx. She cried out, though it was more from surprise and embarrassment than from the pain that shot through her right wrist. Looking up, she squinted into the flashing purple light from the sign above the club’s doorway.

“I am so, so sorry,” said the owner of the broad chest, extending a hand toward her. “Are you okay? Can I help you up?”

“I’m fine,” Elle said automatically, darting a quick look over her shoulder. Every eyeball in the queue waiting to get into the fae-exclusive nightclub was now on her. Brilliant. Blond hair fell across her vision as she turned her face swiftly away from the crowd. This was exactly the kind of attention she tried to avoid.

She placed her left hand into the hand still stretched toward her. In one smooth motion, Mr. I Don’t Look Where I’m Going pulled her up. Momentum kept her going, but she managed to jerk to a halt before crashing into his chest a second time. She removed her hand from his as he asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Uh …” Twisting her right hand in slow, careful circles, she looked up and met his gaze. His silvery blue eyes were piercing in a way that only fae eyes could be, and his dark hair was just the right kind of messy. Makes sense, she thought. Of course the guy who’d witnessed her land gracelessly on her butt was heart-stoppingly gorgeous. That was the way the world worked, right?

~ ~ ~

Keep your eyes peeled for more news about this project 🙂