News February 2012

News

A new year, a new start? Maybe. I don’t know because everything is up in the air right now. There’s not much news I can actually tell you, because it’s all in query or under negotiation, but I should be able to give you some real news soon.

Anyway, I always feel like a bit of a fraud doing these newsletters. What, people want to know about me? What can I say?

2011 wasn’t the best of years for me, but it wasn’t a complete washout. One book took much more time that I’d ever imagined it would, and that was the last Richard and Rose book, Lisbon. But edits are done and it’s almost there. I so miss doing the historicals, and I have written another one, but that is going out on query soon, once I’ve given it just one more polish! Instead of being Freddy’s book, it’s the start of a new series. I can’t really say much, except that characters sprang out at me while I was writing it, and their stories are mulling away, waiting to be told.

That’s why I enjoy writing series. I find a new character, but I need to get to know them. Featuring them in other stories and books means I can explore aspects of their characters, and I do find that giving them space and time means they have time to come out as three dimensional as I can make them.

I hope to have a new release for you soon, a one-off story for Decadent, set in my paranormal world, but with a completely new set of characters and ideas. Department 57 and STORM are left behind for this one, a story about the children of vampires, who aren’t vampires themselves, but can see and communicate with ghosts.

That doesn’t mean that I necessarily believe in ghosts. I’ve seen them, just as I’ve seen a UFO, but in real life I remain open minded. However, the ghosts of my stories are different, and I can do what I like with them! The ghost in this one was based on a program I saw once about ghost hunting in the old Queen Mary liner. While this story takes place on a different liner, it’s based heavily on the Queen Mary, now a floating hotel and reputed to be very haunted. It’s called “Rendezvous at Midnight” and it will be out soon at Decadent Publishing.

I do have release dates for two Department 57 stories. These are reprints, but very heavily rewritten. The plot and the characters remain, so you can reacquaint yourself with Andreas and Fabrice, but Rubies of Fire and Diamonds of Ice are the last two Department 57 reprints, coming out in March and May respectively. After that, it’s all brand new, and I’m already planning the next one!

And I designed a new header. It has my ugly mug on it, but it’s not a bad photo, taken at an RNA chapter meeting. I don’t even remember it being taken, but I do love the result, so thank you, Sheila! Any opinions gratefully received!

I did once have a professional photo session done, but he insisted that I took off my glasses, and I wear them all the time, and they were just so awful I couldn’t bear to use them anywhere. All the photos I use for author pictures are ones taken by friends or family, with me in more relaxed moments, and all but one is in natural light. I’m not very photogenic, so I keep the ones that turn out looking okay.

I’ve finished booking for RT Booklovers’ Convention. It’s in Chicago this year, and although I’ve been to Chicago before, I loved the place and I’m looking forward no end to going back there. I’ve taken a few days beforehand to stay in a hotel in the center of the city to reacquaint myself with it, and this time I won’t be alone. The last time, the volcano held a lot of people up. This time it might be the traditional Easter strikes at the airports, but I’ll just keep everything crossed that I get there okay. And thank goodness for the long battery on the Kindle!