Whew, I just made it through about 4 or 5 months of releases. Hard to keep up with all that. Different publishers, different blogs, different yahoo groups. It can be intimidating.

So you know what I did? I just laid low and let the books do their own thing.

However, Friday, June 12th was my last new release for several months - ICE WHITE. I believe Shake Your Moneymaker might not be coming out until September.

And the summer lies in front of me full of possibilities.

If you keep an eye on the bottom of my home page, you can see my ‘works in progress’ section. I’m finally getting back to some of the stories I’ve wanted to write. Although my summer is shaping up to be a busy one, the good news is that because there is little new tv on in the summer months and my DVD player is on the fritz, I likely will be spending a significant amount of my free time in front of my computer.

So what’s on the schedule for me? Right now I’m in the middle of BEEF CAKE 2. Looks like this one is going to have some menage elements to it, if everything works out. This BEEF CAKE series is fun, short, and hot. The first book which was released a week ago is about 16,000 words…looks like the sequel will fit right in there, perhaps even be a tad longer. I just never know.

After that I am going to work on a 4th book in my ARCTIC HEAT series…and if you wanted a longer story with some more plot to it, then you should be happy. This book is going to be darker, with plenty of shifter action! (ahem)

Then, I have a couple other things on my plate, a contemporary erotic which has been stewing in my head for awhile, another book in the DEN OF INIQUITY series (the Sept. release is the first in that series), and I also want to work on a cool story I started called ILLUSION. About a street magician and a sexy mysterious stranger…a paranormal story with some darker elements.

Whew! Not sure how many of these books will get written between now and Labor Day Weekend, but I’m hopeful I can get through at least a few of them.

Wish me luck!

Kris

I just finished the first draft of my bank robber/coyote shifter tale. Whew!  That book lingered on a little too long.

Right now the word count hovers around 20K. We’ll see what happens when I do a good edit.

Other bits of news:

* Got my editor assignment for the third book in my Arctic Shifters series - ICE WHITE

* Have an idea for the Nocturne Bites contest on eHarlequin.com

* Waiting anxiously to find out if I have a release date coming up for THE OPAL HUNTER.

Urgh. I am trying to finish up my coyote shifter story, but it seems to want to move along a little too quickly. Not enough *realistic* emotions between the hero and heroine. This is what I get for having an outline.

It gives me such a clear picture of where I’m going, I rush it. An outline only gives me the bare minimum when it comes to character. The outline really helps me more with the plot. I do stick some stuff in there…but when you have two words in an outline to describe the heroine’s emotional journey in one chapter it doesn’t translate well to paper.

Whoops.

The good news is that I’m two chapters from the end of this thing. The bad news is I will have to go back and layer more stuff in there to really make it sing.

I have a couple of pubs in mind for this story. I know one will be a challenge…I can’t tie it all up neatly and just finish. It needs to shine.

As my other edits are starting to bear down on me, it’s very important that I finish at least the DRAFT of this story. I’ve got a couple of days. That’s a chapter a day. I can do it!

Kris

Yesterday I got back in my writing groove. Finished with a major editing project, I felt free for the weekend to spend some time on my coyote shifter story.

It’s quite a good story so far, actually. And I managed to get through a second sex scene yesterday. You’d think that would be the ‘fun’ part of the writing, but it’s always the hardest. Trying to blend the physical with the emotional is tough.

My plan is to write around 1 or 2k per day. I’m about halfway through the story right now. Got the outline all done. Should be a breeze….HA!

But I’m very excited to have something new to sub. With so many new publishers, I’ll have to figure out which one would be the best home for this story. So continue to keep an eye on my home page where the Works in Progress section is. Hopefully, by the end of today, I’ll have a few more words to add.

Kris

I made some updates to my homepage this morning. I realized that I hadn’t changed my “Work in Progress” section in quite awhile. Which makes me look very sorry indeed.

My poor coyote shifter book is languishing. It is feeling so unloved! I have the outline right in front of me, 40% of the book done, but it just is not happening. Poor little story. So, even with all these edits about to crash down on me, I need to write something new.

As inspiration I added a couple more titles to the list…BEEF CAKE 2 and ICE CAPTIVE. BEEF CAKE 2 is obviously the sequel to BEEF CAKE. The first in the series is coming out with Siren this spring, and I’d like to have the next one at least written by then. Don’t want too much time to go between releases for a series, or the interest wanes (mine and the readers’).

ICE CAPTIVE might have a name change. Maybe just CAPTIVE. It is going to be another book in my ARCTIC SHIFTERS series. Because I had a cool idea for another story…and somehow when you start a series, it’s really hard to just turn your back on the fun little world you’ve created. This book might possibly be longer (the other three are just under 10K a piece) and take place off of the ice (thus, the need for a name change…we shall see).

I suppose it might be wise to see how those first three do before I invest more time in writing another. Hopefully, hot shifter stories are still in vogue!

Even if I might not have a ton of time to spend on these new stories, having a plan is a good thing. Letting things slide and doing no new writing is very, very bad!

- Kris

So, in about a week I should be done with editing ONE of my six books for 2009. I also know that one of my editors should be getting in touch with me next week to start on a second book.

See, this is what I’m most worried about…having to edit a million things at the same time. The more I can do right now, the better. And the edits seems to be coming in one after the other so far. Which is perfect.

I’m sure this won’t last. I’m sure there will be a moment in a month or two when I’m tearing my hair out and hoping to God I don’t send the wrong edits to an editor or what have you. That I keep my characters straight. All that stuff.

I did my best to do some new writing yesterday. I actually got about 1K done. And if I can do that every day along with the editing on my plate, this should be some decent progress.

2009 also looks to be a good year as far as TV goes. I am really, really looking forward to the rest of January for these reasons:

1) the return of ‘Damages.’

2) the return of ‘24.’

3) the return of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ - and after reading a short interview with its creator today, I’m even MORE pumped for the final season of this fab show.

4) the new show ‘Lie to Me’ with Tim Roth who is such a great actor…I know this will be awesome.

5) LOST! (need I say more?)

I’m sure there are a few others in there, but those are the ones that pop into my head right now. Bring it, 2009! I’m ready for it!

I’ve been trying very hard over the last couple of weeks to get back to writing consistently. It hasn’t been working well, but yesterday I did do some writing/editing to fix what I already had to match my outline.

Not too bad. But I’m looking forward to getting beyond the fixing and moving into the new stuff. Because I think I’ve figured out a fun kinda story that’s a bit different (for me) in terms of plot. There’s a bad guy and a little bit of adventure/action.

But with Christmas right around the corner and finances on the mind, it’s been difficult to get my brain thinking about writing.

I also got an editor assignment for one of my books in my Arctic Shifters series…this one is for ICE BLACK, the first book. Hopefully, I’ll get an editor for ICE RED soon. Because once I get through the editing, I’m that much closer to having a new book out!  And that means new cover art!

Since Cobblestone Press has some pretty awesome covers, I’m really looking forward to seeing what they come up with for my series. The Wicked line has it’s own ‘banner’ at the top of each book, so that part won’t be super unique. But I’m hoping for some gorgeous cover art that I can put all over my website!  My home page is looking rather dull, don’t you think?

So, today, even though I have some other work to do, I will try to work on my shifter bank robber story. Because I want this sucker done! Wish me luck.

So I signed my Liquid Silver contract the other day and was deluged with information! A new forum to master, new forms to fill out, a new blog to navigate and post in, etc.

Joining a new publisher is like going to a new school: you have no friends and you don’t have a clue where your algebra class might be. You wander the halls a little stupefied, glad you can at least unlock your locker.

It takes awhile to feel comfortable and at-home in your new environs.

Well, it’s really not *that* bad. But the feeling of being a fish-out-of-water is very similar. Not only that, but I have to do this with TWO new publishers: Liquid Silver and Noble Romance.

So excuse me if for the next day or so I am not being as productive as I want to be. At least I can share that I finished the outline for my shifter book, Shake Your Moneymaker. Looks like it’s shaping up to be a good one. A little bit of suspense or intrigue. Hot shifter dude. Yes, lots of fun.

Now if I could just open up the file and WRITE. Wish me luck!

I got back home late the other night. So late that yesterday was really a waste as far as writing is concerned. Jet lag. Not enough sleep. Whatever excuse you want me to use. Maybe it was the 3 hours I spent going through three email accounts and deleting/reading emails. Yikes!

Today, I am taking care of business like bills, bank items, phone calls, etc. But I do need to get back to writing before I get comfortable with doing none at all. Better to make myself write a little bit everyday, rather than slack off and start freaking out that I can’t write.

‘Cause that does happen.

While I was gone I had a couple interesting emails about subs. No solid news yet, but hopeful I will know something soon. I will post any cool info on the website as soon as I hear anything.

Kiss & Spell is on its way out the door…just a bit more editing to do and a contract to sign and return. Then I want to begin in earnest on my shifter bank robber story that has been languishing for months. Let’s hope I can remember the brainstorming session I had about it a couple of weeks ago. I started to write the outline, and then stopped…which worries me. I had it all planned out, and then I did this stupid vacation thing and didn’t finish it. Whoops.

Might start on a sci-fi erotic I came up with a couple of weeks ago. Just need to hammer out the details, but it could be a very hot idea!

I just wrote the last few words on my proposal story for Noble Romance. It is tentatively titled Monday’s Child: Kiss & Spell. Right now I’m not exactly clear on how the titles will work for this series. So I just guessed.

The story came in at just under 26,500 words. Perfect!

It still needs some editing before it goes off to the publisher, but I’m pretty satisfied with it overall. It’s got some angst, it’s got some kinky sex, and it has the ever important happy ending.

Now I can go on vacation with this story completed. Yay!