Update

Yesterday I let you all know that I was asking for my rights back on my earlier works. Today I got the paperwork confirming my request. While I am happy about this, I am sadden to report that Eternal Press also returned the rights for Forbidden Magic. As of right now, I am back to square one with this book and will be working to find it a new home.

I'm not sure how much longer Fade to Black, Malevolent Dead, Blood Moon, and Promises to Keep will be available for sale online, so get your copies now while you can!

Big Decisions

So the other day I made a big decision. Some of you may know that Eternal Press was sold back in October of 2015, further delaying the release of Forbidden Magic. I had thought once edits were finished and I received the cover art in February that a publication date was on the horizon, but it looks like I was mistaken. As of right now, the company is a mess and communication has broken down horribly. It is because of this that I have asked for the rights back on my earlier works.

What does this mean to you?
Very soon, Fade to Black, Malevolent Dead, Blood Moon, and Promises to Keep will no longer be available for purchase. As it is, many of these titles are not available online at the moment (part of that mess I mentioned earlier), however print copies are still available for purchase. I do hope to find another home for them in the future, but that won't be for a while as my focus is on my works in progress.

What about Dream Lover? What about Forbidden Magic?
Dream Lover's contract ends a year from tomorrow. At that time I will be removing that title as well, unless the company cleans up their act and gets the ball rolling again. Forbidden Magic will remain in their queue, hoping to one day see the light of day. I love the story of T.D. and Dez and can't wait for the day that I can share it with you.

What about your other titles?
As of right now, Epiphany will remain with Decadent Publishing and the White Wolf series and At All Costs will remain with Muse It Up. I have no plans to remove them.


This is very upsetting for me. Eternal Press is the first publisher to give me a chance, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with them. It kind of feels like high school; that bittersweet moment of realizing that a time in your life is over, but the journey is just beginning.

I hope you remain with me for the ride.
~HK

Forbidden Magic update

I would love to give you an update for Forbidden Magic. After all, the contract for it was signed in September 2014. By now I should have had cover art (I'll get to what you see here in a minute), edits, and a release date and I don't.

The publisher recently came under new management, so to say, so there is a lot of cleaning house going on. I have discovered that I am not the only author waiting for what feels like forever. I don't blame my publisher's current owner for this. I have been with this publisher since 2009 and they have always been awesome to me. I look forward to sending them more of my work in the future.

In the mean time, I've gotten to work on a lot of new manuscripts and even worked on perfecting an old one. National Novel Writing Month begins on Sunday and I have a great idea (my NaNoWriMo handle is dadewrites; please feel free to follow my progress. I believe there is a NaNoWriMo icon on the right side of this blog that will take you there too.). I've also found that I prefer Twitter's short format rather than a blog, so ramblings on here will be few.

Now for the delicious piece of art on this post. You can thank Ian Hill for it (follow him on Twitter @IanSHill1). I explained to him what I was looking for and BOOM! He made it. I don't think this will end up being the final art for the book (wouldn't that be cool if it was, though?) but it's something for me to look at rather than the black "Coming Soon" box I had before.

I hope 2016 will be the year of Forbidden Magic. It's a story that I am dying to share with you.
Forbidden Magic blurb:
When witches need their dirty work done, they call one person; their Enforcer Tabitha Drake. She is lethal and powerful with a dangerous secret. All magic comes at a cost, but she never has to pay. If the Conclave of witches ever found out, they’d experiment on her until there was nothing left. When a witch in South Carolina starts consolidating magic, the Conclave sends Tabitha to take care of it. There she runs into Dez, a born vampire with a secret of his own. It’s hard to work with someone you can’t trust, but it’s even harder when emotions start to get in the way. When secrets are revealed, Tabitha has to put her trust in a vampire shrouded in secrets. Will Tabitha’s heart get broken or is this the first step to a normal life?

Reaction to Kim Harrison's blog

I've been pretty busy over the past year. Writing has been slow going, and I have been developing a new project that isn't set in any world that I have had books published in. So lots and LOTS of world building and researching. Forbidden Magic, my next release, is in a sort of limbo, as Eternal Press has a new CEO and they are working on making things more awesome. Of Wolf and Man, my young adult baby, is no long available for purchase. I'm a little broken hearted, but also excited because I had an idea for a grittier version of that story that could span over two or three books. Now that I have the rights back, I can dive back into Juliet and Jenson's world and find out what happens when friends are not what they seem.

Today I came across a blog post by Kim Harrison. I love her books and am very much looking forward to reading her newest release The Drafter. It's not paranormal, like her Hollows series, but from what I read in the short prequel titled Sideswiped, I want to read more about Peri's world. Apparently, it isn't doing as good as Kim's publishers had hoped. This is from her blog, located at www.KimHarrison.net:

Unfortunately, this is the dark side of the publishing industry. She's right; there are no second chances if a book flops. Especially if the publisher put a lot of money into promoting it, like her's did for The Drafter. They were expecting the audience that put the Hollows series on the NY Times Bestselling list to do the same for this title. If a book fails, it will make publishers think twice about your future work. They don't care about how great sales were, they care about how great they're going to be. She may have to reinvent herself again; for those of you who don't know, she originally published books under her real name, Dawn Cook, but those didn't gain popularity. A new name, a new look (the wig!), and it was a clean slate for readers. Now, because of The Drafter's failure, she may have to go through the trouble of reinventing herself for a new series.

This, right here, makes me so nervous about writing and publishing. How one year you can be at the top of your game, everyone will love you and can't get enough, and the next year no one will want to touch you. It's heartbreaking. But it's reality if becoming an author is the path you take.

Across Time progress

Goal = 80-85K words (that's around 420 pages)
Current word count = 5k

Normally I'd be very happy at this point, but my progress is thanks for three short stories  that I'm struggling to add to the story. The prologue is a mixture of two of these short stories, changed a bit since this is going to be a novel. The  third story will be used for backstory for Amythist Dyier, my heroine.

In case you are interested, I have all my Amythist Dyier stories available on Kindle and Nook in an anthology called Amythist Dreams. You an purchase it on Smashwords HERE.

Tomorrow, Chapter One. I'll piece together the prologue later. :)

Forbidden Magic finished and beyond

FORBIDDEN MAGIC is finally finished. Final word count is a little over 21k. I've already done my read through and have submitted it for consideration to a publisher.

Which means I can finally start something new! I'm also changing my writing goal. When I first started writing, my goal was to get my work published. A fantastic goal, one many writers never reach. I've reached it, but only in the ebook market. I want more. To get more, I have to write more.

New Goal:
Write 80k or more per book
Submit to print markets

I want to walk into a bookstore and see my book on the shelf. So I will work harder. Which means that I will start outlining and preplanning my books. I tend to get carried away and the book is finished before I mean to and I suck at going back and adding stuff once it's done.

Today I will be researching methods to  help me with this new process of planning my books. Hopefully this will help me reach my new goals.

:)

As it stands, these are my current works in progress.

WIP:
DEMON SCORNED: Sarah Vargas 4
     *  I'm still outlining this. Writing about Sarah isn't coming easy this time. Maybe she doesn't want to fight demons?

ACROSS TIME
     * Story of Amythist and Dalamar. I've published several short stories about these characters. I'm looking forward to write a book to finish their story.

UNTITILED Beauty and the Beast
    * A twist to my favorite classic

UNTITLED Firestarter
     * Set in same world as my books

Wanted: Sarah Vargas

Name: Sarah Vargas

Height: 5'5

Weight: 120

Hair: black

Eyes: green

Last seen in Charleston, SC

Approach with caution. Sarah Vargas is armed and very dangerous.

"Fade To Black is one kick butt action-adventure ride from start to finish." - Dawn, Love Romances and More

"Malevolent Dead is an awesome adventure with kick-butt action, hot sexual encounters, and interesting characters." - Angelique, Happily Ever After Reviews.

"Blood Moon is a fast paced read, filled with suspense, action, and heat." - You Gotta Read Reviews.


Buy your copy today: Heather Kuehl's EP page

Epiphany has a new review!

Found this delightful review in my inbox this morning.

From Deana at Romancing the Book:

"The connection between Everlena and Mika is just magical. It’s my feeling that they were born to love each other. I found myself smiling a lot while reading. The secondary characters bring spunk and humor to this tale. I love tales of the Fae and I think this one hits spot on."

 

Read the entire stunning review, which was rated a Lovely Rose (that's 4/5!) at http://romancing-the-book.com/2012/08/review-epiphany-by-heather-kuehl.html

Interview today

I'm being interviewed at Brenna Zinn's blog today. Stop by and check it out!

http://brennazinn.blogspot.com/2012/08/heather-kuehl-how-kewl-is-that.html

Back in the saddle

I finally submitted Of Wolf and Man, in its entireity, to a publisher yesterday. With all the personal crap going on, I was in no mood to edit the manuscript in its current form... until this past weekend. I had the completed manuscript printed, however computer issues meant that I was three drafts behind on the file itself. I had to sit down and go page by page, line by line, until what was in my notebook matched what was on the file. Tedious, as this book is over 45k in length, but I'm hoping it was worth it.

Now that this is finished, I'm trying to figure out what to work on next. Sarah Vargas 4 is outlined, and I think I have a page of it actually written. I also have Forbidden Magic that's 2/3 of the way finished. It's a toss up, and as long as my Muse isn't going anywhere I'll leave it in her capable hands.

Where I have been

Dear Readers,

I feel bad that I haven't posted much during these last few months, even with new releases coming out. In many ways I feel as though I've abandoned you. Now that things are settling down, I think I owe you all an explanation.

Back in December, my husband of six years left to be with another woman. I was a stay at home mom, with only my writing as my income (and we all know how little that brings in unless you're a bestselling author). I had to figure out what to do. I had an apartment to pay for and a son to take care of. Thanks to both my family and his, the rent on our apartment was paid for until the lease ended in March, at which time me and my son moved in with my mother. I got a full time job at a call center, answering questions about Medicare Advantage plans. My Muse poked at my occasionally, but I think she understood that I had a lot on my plate.

Now that things are settling down, I'm looking forward to writing again. I have OF WOLF AND MAN that still needs to be submitted to a publisher. And I've had three new releases since December; AT ALL COSTS, WHITE WOLF, and coming on July 27 LOVE AND CONSEQUENCES. All three are through MuseItUp Publishing.

In the coming weeks look for website and blog updates. I'll be "cleaning house" and starting to get things back on track. Also, if you're not already, following me on Twitter (@heatherkuehl) and on Facebook (/Author.Heather.Kuehl) to get updates.

Thank you for your understanding during this rough time,

Heather Kuehl

New review

BLOOD MOON has a fabulous new review from Bitten by Books. Carol gave it 3.5 tombstones, saying "Once again, Kuehl does an admirable job of pulling the reader in to her very interesting paranormal world with its various alliances and characters."

For the full review, please visit http://ping.fm/dEfxC

Cover art!

I got the cover at for AT ALL COSTS yesterday. It's it gorgeous?!!

Time flies...

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted on here. I wish I could say I've been busy, but I haven't. I'm currently working on the edits for White Wolf, due out in April with MuseItHOT. "Raising the Dead" was featured in Shelter of Daylight and can be purchased on Sam's Dot Publishing's website. "Wedding Wizard" has been accepted by Residential Aliens and is due out in the near future. Other than that, nothing. Nada. My muse has gone on vacation, leaving me all alone.

Okay, it's not as bad as I'm making it sound. I've been catching up with my reading (almost finished Mortal Coils by Eric Nylund right now, and will start reading Secret Circle by LJ Smith next) and watching Supernatural via Netflix. I've got ideas for my future WIP, but right now I'm just going to relax some more.

And I just rememered....NaNoWriMo is next month!!! Holy crap I'd forgotten. Dear Muse, please come back from vacation. It's NaNo time! You can follow my progress on NaNoWriMo.org. My handle is dadewrites.

Dream Lover's first review! 3 hearts!

From Sizzling Hot Book Reviews;
"Dream Lover is a good concept with loving characters and is a good sweet love story."

For the complete review, go to http://www.sizzlinghotbooks.net/2011/08/dream-lover-by-heather-kuehl.html

Epiphany has been released!

Today starts my Epiphany and Dream Lover blog tour! It's also the day that Epiphany is released! So excited!

To purchase Epiphany, please visit http://www.decadentpublishing.com


I'm blogging at Decadent Publishing's blog today: http://decadentpublishing.blogspot.com

I'm also guest blogging at The Sweater Curse: http://sweatercursed.blogspot.com



For a full tour list, go to http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=199964386700292

Whoops!

How could I forget to mention that I was in 5x5 Fiction and that Ruby Red Cravings has been released.

Read 5x5 for FREE at http://5x5fiction.blogspot.com/2011/06/5x5-fiction-presents-issue-two-secrets.html

Buy Ruby Red Cravings at http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Red-Cravings-Brianna-Stoddard/dp/1617061271

Happy Memorial Day!

Yeah, I know, Memorial Day isn't until Monday. But I still felt the urge to say Happy Memorial Day, especially since my short story "What Heroes Do" is up at Flash Fiction Online. I'm so proud of this story, not just because this was my first professional story sale (WOOT!) but because of the message within it's short length.

To read "What Heroes Do" go to http://www.flashfictiononline.com/f20110503-what-heroes-do-heather-kuehl.html

New Review!

Tammy from The Pen and Muse has written a glowing review for Far and Away.

"Perfect for momentary jolts in between the daily moments of drudgery, Far and Away is loaded with slices of life that sting with humor and linger in memory."

Read more at http://thepenmuse.net/archives/2978

Thank you, my fabulous fans!

Isn't that awesome? Also, for Fantasy ebooks, Blood Moon is #65 and Fade to Black is #78. Top 100! WOOT!