Tag Archives: Update

December update

I know many of you are waiting anxiously with news on Darkness Wanes.  It’s progressing, though not as fast as I’d like.  I’m working on revisions for the early chapters now and once I have them finished I’ll move back to writing the remaining chapters of the book.  The holidays have slowed me down a bit, as well as the medical issue mentioned in my last post.  No definitive news on that yet, but a new doctor I’m seeing is recommending some testing I haven’t had done.  She thinks I might have endometriosis and recommended laparoscopic surgery to check.  It could be what is causing my problem, but it’s a rather invasive procedure for something I might not have.  For now, I’m looking at alternatives and waiting until after the holidays before deciding what step to take next.

Now for some good news!  A while back, Kara-Karina over at Nocturnal Book Reviews asked me to write a short Christmas story for the Sensor Series.  She asked that it especially feature Kerbasi.  This was tricky because I knew it would have to be set after Darkness Wanes on the series timeline.  With the delays on the book, I didn’t want to reveal any major spoilers.  I eventually settled on telling the story from an all-new character’s point of view (a human woman).  It involves her meeting Kerbasi during a blizzard in Fairbanks on Christmas Eve.  They don’t hit it off too well at first, but their situation sort of forces them together.  You’ll have to read it to find out what else happens.

This story doesn’t conflict with Darkness Wanes in any way.  The only spoilers you might see are the fact Kerbasi is still around and the world is still dealing with supernaturals being out in the open.  Nothing earth-shattering.  I meant for it to only be about 2500 words, but it grew to about 5000 words after revisions/edits.  The title of the story is “An Unexpected Gift” and will go live on Nocturnal Book Reviews early morning on Christmas Eve.  Those who stop by and comment will be entered into a drawing with the chance to win a Kindle Fire HD 8 and some other book promo items.  I hope this helps make up for the book delays and that you enjoy the story.  I will post a reminder here and on other social media so you don’t forget to check it out.  A winner for the drawing will not be selected until December 30th.  If you can’t get to it right away, you still have a few days after Christmas to make it.

I’m also participating in a Facebook holiday event with 20 other urban fantasy authors.  A lot of amazing prizes are being given away each day.  Some of you have already joined in, but for anyone else who is interested this is the link:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1479007045739422/

Seven Days of Midwinter banner

My date for giving out prizes is December 19th, along with Donna Augustine and Hailey Edwards.  I’ll be running several giveaways and leave them up most of the day so that regardless of your timezone you should have a chance to enter.  The banners with the list of prizes are below.  Special thanks to Sarah L. for getting her husband to design them for me (and on short notice!).  They turned out great.

Other authors have already started their giveaways and more will continue all the way to the 20th.  You should definitely join in the fun!

Giveaway_1_DEC_19th_v2Giveaway_2_DEC_19th_v2Giveaway_3_DEC_19th_v2

I’ll continue to keep you all updated about Darkness Wanes.  In the meantime, I hope everyone’s holidays are going well!

 

 

Cover Reveal for Darkness Divides- Book 3 of the Sensor Series

I’m revealing this cover a little earlier than I usually do before a release date, but thought you all would appreciate getting to see it sooner rather than later.  Plus I’m excited by how well it turned out!  If you missed the last post or saw it before the update, you can see some “behind the scenes” shots from the photo shoot if you scroll toward the bottom.  Here’s the link.

Below you will get your first look at the cover, book summary, and expected release date.  Hope this helps build up your excitement for the next novel in the series!

 

 

Darkness Divides cover

 

Book Summary:

The blood and violence never ends—it only stops long enough for Melena to relax her guard, to think she might actually survive.  For the past year, she’s worked hard to pick up the pieces of her life.  The supernaturals in Fairbanks are tolerating her, the angels are shielding her from her enemies, and she’s getting stronger as her body changes into…something else.  If not for the man she loves being locked away in Purgatory, she might even believe she could be happy.

But for a sensor, peace is always an illusion.  A magical explosion is about to rock the earth between Alaska and parts of Canada, bringing with it a new wave of fear.  People she cares about will be hurt and she’s going to need answers.  Are her enemies trying to flush her out of hiding or are they up to something even more sinister?  It will take all of her newfound strength and the help of every ally she’s got to put a stop to their plans.

 

Expected release date:  April 20th, 2014

 

*Also stay tuned to this blog for other updates, including the first two chapters of Darkness Divides to be revealed in early April.

New Darkness Haunts cover!

Many of you will remember the original Darkness Haunts cover that I have been using for over a year now.  It was my first book and I was quite proud of it at the time I published it, but I also knew it wasn’t quite the right look for Melena.  Sometimes you just have to settle for what you can get (stock photos) and I couldn’t afford a professional photo shoot at the time.  My cover artist did a great job with it, though, and it drew in plenty of readers so I can’t complain.

But it was time for change.

After the awesome experience with the photo shoot for Chained by Darkness, I decided I had to redo Darkness Haunts.  It just couldn’t stay the same anymore.  I am very pleased with how it turned out and hope you all will be too!  So here it is:

 

Darkness Haunts cover

 

This was not done alone.  There are many people who helped make this cover come to life and they deserve a mention…

I enlisted the aid of several enthusiastic fans of the series who helped me with the planning for this cover.  Plus some other projects related to the series such as the Lucas promo pic in my last post and the soon to be revealed Darkness Divides cover.  Thanks to Heather, Rachel, and Kristy.  You ladies are awesome!

They worked hard with me to come up with the pose ideas, hair styles/make-up, wardrobe, props, and backgrounds.  I also had their help in selecting the right model after the casting call.  A lot of people don’t realize the level of detail that goes into these things, but it can be much more complicated than you’d think.  We exchanged countless emails and spent many hours researching potential ideas.  I cannot begin to express my gratitude!

I also have to thank my photographer, Teresa Yeh, for her amazing work.  She did a fantastic job coordinating this shoot and was so patient with my nitpickiness over all the details.  Not to mention me bombarding her with packages after I started ordering the wardrobe and props!  She did an awesome job of finding the right model to fit Melena’s look, too.  Haley (the model) did a great job of following my pose/facial expression guidelines and really captured the look I’d asked for!

It should be mentioned that we had one major hiccup just before the shoot.  The package I’d sent containing the weapons and related props got delayed due to the snow storms bombarding the northeastern US.  Despite my begging and pleading, UPS couldn’t get it there in time.  No way was I going through with the shoot if we didn’t have the weapons! The stylist handling the model’s hair and make-up came through for us, though, when she heard what happened.  Her husband offered up his gun and knife collection for us to use.  I certainly wasn’t going to complain if we could use real ones!  It was truly gracious of them and I can’t thank them enough!

You’d think I’d be done with my acknowledgements, but I’m not.  After the shoot took place someone had to do the artwork that goes with the model shot (the background and touching her up to fit it).  A big thanks to Claudia at Phat Puppy Art for her part in this.  She had this cover and the one for Darkness Divides done within a couple of days of receiving the shots.  I was blown away!

Then Ashley over at Bookish Brunette moved super-quick to get the typography on there so I could get it out as soon as possible.  The photo shoot took place on Sunday (February 16th) and you’re already getting to see it today (February 21st) despite the chain of people involved.  Truly, I have an amazing team.  This was definitely not a one person operation, but rather something far more complex!

So now onto my explanation for the design on this cover…

It should be kept in mind that it portrays Melena at the start of the series.  She’d had some rough experiences in her past that gave her an edge, but the things she was about to encounter in Alaska were unlike anything she’d faced before.  It’s the beginning of a journey that has continued to test her at every turn.  At this time, she was still innocent in a lot of ways when it came to the supernatural world.  Over the course of the books she’s had to learn to toughen up a whole lot more if she wants to survive (as you’ve seen).  This cover and the one you’ll soon see for Darkness Divides provide a stark contrast from how she appeared at the beginning and how she’s looking at the start of book 3.

Hope you all like the new and improved look.   I’m truly excited to be revealing it!  For those wondering, I am working to get a new paperback version available soon.  I’ll post an update once it’s ready 🙂

 

UPDATE!!!

The photographer, Teresa, was kind enough to share some behind the scenes photos of them getting Haley (the model) ready.  You can see Nadia, the stylist, working on Haley’s hair.  Nadia’s husband was even nice enough to jump in and help.  He was also the one to rig up the holster and knife sheath you see Haley wearing on the Darkness Haunts cover.  I couldn’t have asked for a better team of people for this shoot!

Behind the Scenes-1 Behind the Scenes-2 Behind the Scenes-3