Something old, something new

 With the re-release of the Sarah Vargas Series, I am now looking at all of the stories and books set in her world. And there are lot of them. I think I am going to go the same route as Blood Moon and combine them all together into one work. Tentatively entitled Clandestine Darkness, this book will include Promises to Keep, Dream Lover, White Wolf, Love and Consequences, Forbidden Magic, and Of Wolf and Man. This is going to take a hot minute to put together, so I'm thinking it will be released around the new year.

Epiphany also takes place in Sarah's world, taking place before the events in Fade to Black, but it's already available from Decadent Publishing. 

Get Blood Moon - FOR FREE - today!

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

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.

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

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.