A Bit of a Ramble for April

A bit of a ramble this month.

I am so excited to see Richard and Rose back on the shelves, virtual and physical! I know they've been around forever, and in several different incarnations, but I am so proud of these books, the first success I ever had as an author.
I started writing them when my children were little, as a respite from the nappy changing, wheels on the bus singing and Thomas the Tank Engine reading. I loved them, but I did need some time to myself. So I made space. When they were napping, at nursery school, in the very brief snatches of time I had, I wrote. I'd always written, always made up stories, but for myself. As far as I knew, Richard and Rose would be the same. Until I got the opportunity to see them published, and boy, did that start something!
I told you it waa a bit of a ramble, but sometimes rambling is the best thing ever. Setting out to wander, without knowing where you're going to end up, when the journey is more fun than getting there. I try never to forget that part.
This month I've been doing a lot of planning. Books and real life. I'm plotting a new series that I'm sending to Kensington. The Shaws finish at the end of the year. I'll have no unmarried Shaws left! I do have characters in the Emperors that have yet to find their stories, but I've been fired up with devising an entirely new series, set in the same era, but with a new set of characters. What do you think? Should I do it?
Of course that depends a lot on my publisher. I want to write, and I resent any time taken away from writing in order to promote and so on. But I have to do it, and the contact I make is at a comfortable level for me. I guess I don't have the entrepreneurial spirit. I should beg you all for reviews, mentions, spread the word, all that, but really, all I can bring myself to do is to say enjoy the books, and if you genuinely want to spread the word about them, I'd be very grateful.
I'm not offering bribes, making promises or buying reviews outright. Yes. times are tricky. but not impossible, and while I can write and publish the stories I love, I'll continue to do so.
So  just - thanks. For being here, for reading and for making the author community such fun.

Other plans? At the end of this month I'll be in the USA! It's a winding journey, one I should chronicle more thoroughly, but I'm too busy having fun to write it all down! I'm going to be in New York, then in Washington, DC, then Reno for RT Booklovers' Convention, and Los Angeles. It all takes a lot of planning and I'm woefully behind in doing it. I have the flights booked, and a few of the hotels, but not all of them.
If you're in those areas, let me know. Perhaps we can meet up!
I'm very excited to go to these places. I've been to all of them before, and I always find them vibrant and enthralling. So here's to seeing you in  May!
By the way, for those of you who review books, Dauntless is now up at Netgalley. It's out at the end of June, and one step closer to saying farewell to the family that has engrossed me for the last four years.

September Newsletter

So I got up, turned on my computer and there was a strange smell. Then smoke started curling up the back of my monitor.

Oh dear. I switched it off before it could actually burst into flames, and so I’ve spent most of the day shopping for a new one. I have edits to get in and books to write!

So this newsletter is a day late. Sorry!

Last month I carried on writing the next book in the Even Gods Fall In Love series. What a treat it is to get back to historicals! I do love writing them, going into a different world and writing about people who live there. The one I’m writing concerns Mercury, who you’ll meet in Mad For Love, Bacchus’s story, the second in the series.

There have been some odd coincidences and things that have made this series somewhat spooky. For instance, in Bacchus’s world, mazes feature a lot. He’s the god of wine and madness, so mazes are his thing. What was there a craze for in the mid eighteenth century? Mazes! Tada! That’s only one thing that’s happened. I recently introduced a new character, a nymph, and when I looked up her mythology, she turned out to be the future wife of one of my favourite characters. Blending ancient myth and historical romance has been pure win.

After my frantic gadding about it was nice to get back to my desk, exploding monitors apart. I’ve even joined the world of the mechanical keyboard!

I’m also planning to write the next Emperors of London book. I am wallowing in historicals right now and enjoying every minute.

Unfortunately I haven’t had too much time for contemporaries, and even worse, I seem to have temporarily lost my mojo for them. I’m writing paranormals under a new pseudonym and they are going fine, so I should be happy that those things are going so well. I even got in the Amazon top ten with the pseudonym. I guess that makes me a best seller!

This month there will be a Department 57 re-release. Crystal Tides, another in the Crystal miniseries. When all the series is out, I’ll do a box set of all four. I’ve really enjoyed seeing my backlist get a new lease of life, and the new covers are gorgeous. I was sorry to lose the Loose-Id covers but the new ones are lovely, too.

There will be another in the Thorndykes series out next month. That’s the Regency rakes, who were turned into vampires and shape-shifters, falling in love with women in today’s world. The first one found his lady in Texas in “Dispossessed.” More about “Dancing at Midnight” next month!

Sorry this one is all about books. That’s my thing, you see. Books, reading and writing. This year has been frantic, but deeply enjoyable.

I’m starting to look at flights for RT in Dallas next year, and I’m thinking about stopping in New York on the way, because I love the city and it makes the flights far more bearable. International flying is getting worse, but it’s still manageable. Does anyone have any tips for travelling light? I need formal clothes, informal ones and tough ones for the ranch when I go to stay with Kathryn Falk. A bit of a tall order!