Happy belated Valentine's Day, all! Much love to all of you!

​We're halfway through February already, which means halfway through JeRoWriMo, NJ Romance Writers' writing challenge month in which we all try to write 30k words in February. I've been trying to use it as a way to jumpstart my writing, which has been slow for far too long. Um, I'm not sure how well it's working since I had to juggle a set of edits for A Harmony of Fire and Earth in there. But edits are done now, and Harmony is off to the proofreader. And I can try to buckle down and get some words written on my contemporary royalty romance (demisexual prince and eventual heir to the throne dodges attempts to push him into a suitable marriage and ends up falling for his sister's old college friend, but an American artist is not who anyone envisioned for him) and on Tournai 8 (Griffen's story! Plus, more dragons!).

A Harmony of Fire and Earth with be out next month. Yay! I should have more for you soon, including a final description and cover (it's so pretty). I've been sharing snippets of it during my weekend Rainbow Snippets here, so check those out.

And finally, I signed a contract with NineStar Press for the seventh Tournai book, The Spymaster's Secret. It's Alexander and Marcus's story, and I really love it. It should be out later this year, and I'll have more on that for you soon.

Back to writing now!

It's my first writing up date of the new year (and does anyone else still have a hard time remembering to date things 2019?). I haven't gotten as much writing done as I'd hoped in the first couple of weeks of the month. I submitted the next Tournai book to NineStar before the holidays and then took a little time to clean and catch up and prepare for the holidays. And I admit that after it's been slow getting back into it. I've made a bunch of notes on the main characters for the two books I'm going to work on (in my pretty notebooks!). Now I need to buckle down and get some more words on the page. Next month should help, since I'm participating in New Jersey Romance Writers' JeRoWriMo challenge to write at least 30k in February.

I'm trying something a little different than usual, and I'm going to see if I can write the contemporary royalty romance that's been in my head and Tournai 8 (Griffen's book) at the same time. I don't usually write two books at once, but I'm hoping it might help me if I can switch between them, since writing contemporary is a little out of my comfort zone. I'll let you know how it goes. I've spent a little time this week working on the blurbs for A Harmony of Fire and Earth, which will be out in March (so soon!). More on that soon too, I hope.

Finally, I have a couple of sales to share with you. The Prince's Consort is 35% off right now at Dreamspinner, and all paperbacks are 30% off through the 23rd, also at Dreamspinner. 

I promised I would have the next Tournai book submitted to NineStar by the time I wrote this month's update, and I do! (We'll ignore that this month's update is a little later than usual, okay? Okay.) Tournai 7, tentatively titled The Spymaster's Secret, is with my editor. I'll update you when I have more news on it, but I'm hoping it will be accepted and put on the schedule for sometime in 2019—fingers crossed. There were times that writing this book frustrated me, more because writing went so slowly this year than anything to do with the actual book. It's Alexander and Marcus's story, a mischievous young royal falls for an older, serious widower with secrets and also there are spies. More news on that when I have it.

A Harmony of Fire and Earth is on its way to the copy editor. At some point, I'll get those edits back and then it will be on to the proofreader. We're still looking at March for a release date as far as I know. Yay!

I haven't started writing anything new yet, which is always an odd feeling when it happens. I write or revise or edit (sometimes all three) ever day, so I never know what to do with myself when I'm not. This time, I'm filling my days with catching up on Christmas preparations, which I'm so behind on, and the usual cleaning, since I let a lot slide in the mad dash to work on edits and write/revise on the last month. Soon, I'll start working on the next project. I want to start a contemporary royalty romance, planned as book one of a trilogy, and I also have some ideas I want to work out for Tournai 8, which is Griffin's story. I'm not sure how far I'll get working on both at the same time—and I'm sure once I get another set of edits, I'll have to scale back a little, but I'll have more news for you on that next time.

Hope you're all enjoying the holiday season!

Just a quick update this month: A Dance of Water and Air has been out for a month and a half now, and I wanted to say thanks again to everyone who's bought, read, reviewed, shared about the book. I appreciate it more than I can say. If you haven't reviewed, please consider leaving even a short one on Amazon or wherever you purchased. Reviews help authors so much. And if you haven't read it yet, you can find out all about it here.

I just turned in the first edit on A Harmony of Fire and Earth, the second book in the Elemental Magicae duology, which concludes the story that starts in Dance. Everything seems to still be on track for a March release—which seems far away but really isn't considering that it's already November (still can't believe it's mid-November!). I'll share more information as I have it, and I'll start sharing some snippets on the blog and social media soon too, so watch for that. I'll do my best to keep them spoiler free for now!

I'm still writing Tournai 7. I've been working on Alexander and Marcus's book for six months now, and I'd hoped to be finished ages ago, but writing has gone much slower than I anticipated—this year has just been bad for writing happy, hopeful books! However, I'm almost finished. Finally. I've been writing much closer to my normal pace this week as I get toward the end of the book. Then I have to go back and revise and fill in all the gaps I left, but let's not think about that quite yet. I'm hoping to have it turned in to NineStar in the next few weeks—fingers crossed that I'll be able to tell you it's been submitted in next month's post.

A Dance of Water and Air has been out for a little more than two weeks, and I want to thank everyone who has shared about it, bought it, read it, reviewed it. I appreciate your taking the time to do those things more than you know. And if you've read but haven't reviewed yet, would you consider leaving even a short review? They help authors so much. If you haven't read it yet, you can find more info and buy links here.

The second book in the Elemental Magicae duology, A Harmony of Fire and Earth, is still scheduled to be out in March, so you don't have too long to wait for the conclusion of the story that began in Dance. I can't say too much because I don't want to spoil either book, but I'm very excited to share them both with you. (And for anyone who's worried, Edmund and Arden have a happily ever after at the end of Dance, but some plot points haven't been resolved. They'll be tied up in Harmony, and you'll see more of Edmund and Arden while also getting to know a new couple.)

I'm still working on Tournai 7, Alexander and Marcus's book. Writing has been slower than I'd like, which has been frustrating me, but I'm getting closer to the end. I'm trying to push through, get it finished and revised and submitted in the next month. Hopefully I'll have more progress to share with you in next month's update post.

This weekend, I'm attending the New Jersey Romance Writers conference. If you're going to be there, come say hi. If you're not attending the conference but you're in the NJ area, you can still come to the book fair on Saturday from 4:30 to 5:30. I'll have copies of all my books, and there will be lots of other authors signing too. I hope to see you there!

We're all going to ignore the fact that it's August as I write this because I'm not ready to acknowledge how quickly the summer is passing. That said, here's what's going on with me: A Dance of Water and Air is with the copy editor, still on track for an October 1st release. I'm excited (and nervous, as always) to share this story with you. I gave a little glimpse of it for Rainbow Snippets this past weekend, which you can find here if you missed it. I also saw the draft cover art for the book, and it is so pretty. Natasha Snow did wonderful work again, and I'm so lucky in my cover and cover designer. I'll share it with you as soon as I have the final version.

I'm continuing to write Tournai 7, which is Alexander and Marcus's story. I'm nearly at 50k words. It took me much longer than I'd hoped to get this far, but I'm pushing along with it and building up some momentum finally (fingers crossed it continues).

Finally, my Dreamspinner books are 30% now for National Book Lovers Day. If you haven't read them, now it a great time to catch up.

This year keeps flying by, and somehow, it's nearly the middle of July already! I have a quite update for you today. I've just turned in the second round of edits on A Dance of Water and Air, and it will be on its way to the copy editor next. I'm also working on the cover form and blurb. The blurb is never fun to write (understatement), but I'm always excited to fill out cover forms because they mean that soon I'll have beautiful cover art to squee over.

I'm also still writing the next Tournai book, which is Alexander and Marcus's story. Writing has been slow, which is frustrating, but I'm continuing to push. I'll get there. I love these two guys, and sooner or later, they'll stop being stubborn. 

In other news, The Dragon's Devotion and The Merchant's Love are 50% off at Smashwords during July, which means each book is only $3.50. (Lots of other NSP books are 50% off too.) Don't miss out on this great deal!

Somehow, it's the middle of June, so it seems like time for an update post. First (and most exciting!), The Merchant's Love will be out on Monday. Yay! I can't wait for you to read Faelen and Maxen's story (I'm also nervous, as usual...). I really do love these two and this book, and I hope you will too. I've been sharing snippets here and on social media, so look out for those. You can find more info, including an excerpt and preorder links, over here.

I'm currently working on two things: Tournai 7 and edits for A Dance of Water and Air. Tournai 7 is Alexander and Marcus's story. If you've read some of the previous books, you may have met these two (you don't have to read the books in order, though, since they all stand alone, so no worries about that). They're being difficult right now, and writing is a bit slow, but hopefully, it will pick up soon as I get to know them better. I'm also in the middle of the first round of edits for Dance. You may remember me mentioning this story before. It's a completely separate world from Tournai, which has been fun, and will be the first book in a duology. I just signed the contract for the second (still untitled) book with NineStar Press. Dance will be out October 1st, and the second book should be out early next year, so you won't have too much time between them. While the first book brings the romance to a happy place, there are some plot points that don't get tied up. Book two resolves them, along with having some more time with Arden and Edmund from Dance (no really angsty bad stuff, just deepening of their relationship) and a romance for another couple that I can't really talk about because spoilers.

Lastly, a couple of sales for you. The Prince's Consort is 99 cents across retailers for all of June in celebration of Pride Month. It's a great time to pick it up if you haven't yet. Additionally, my other Dreamspinner books are 40% at DSP through June 18th. Lots of other books are on sale too, so check it out.

I have lots to report this month! I submitted the second book in the duology that begins with A Dance of Water and Air to my editor at NineStar (yay!). No title yet, of course. I'll keep you posted on that. Dance comes out October 1, and if this second book is accepted, it should be out in March 2019.

With Dance #2 turned in, I've started on Tournai 7, which is Alexander and Marcus's story (in a brand new, pretty notebook, of course). This is an age gap, opposites attract romance with lots of spies and intrigue, or it will be, since I'm at the very beginning with not much to show for it. I'm looking forward to where these characters will lead me, and it's fun to be writing Tournai again.

Speaking of Tournai, Tournai 6 had a title: The Merchant's Love. I've also seen a draft cover, which is beautiful. Natasha Snow did amazing work again, and I can't wait to share it with you! The Merchant's Love will be out on June 18th (only a little over a month! how did that happen?) from NineStar, so watch for more about it and pre-order links soon.

I've added a coming soon/in progress section to the website to let you know what I'm working on. I'll try to keep current between these update posts, so you can check there to see what's going on with various projects.

​Finally, my Dreamspinner titles are currently 35% off at DSP. If you haven't read the early Tournai books, it's a great time to check them out.

How is it April already? Is anyone else completely surprised how fast time is passing? I'm still stuck back in February or March. Partly because I've been so busy with writing and editing that I've lost track of time. And partly because it's been so cold! I'm really ready for spring!

As for updates, Tournai 6 is through initial edits and off to the copy editor. Yay! I'm still playing with titles, which is bad even for me, but I think I've narrowed it down. I shared a couple of snippets from it recently for Rainbow Snippets here and here in case you missed them. I'm currently writing the sequel to A Dance of Water and Air (which I've talked about a bit before and is scheduled to be out in the fall from NineStar), and the plan is to have the sequel done and in to my editor by the end of the month. Then I'll start on something new—Tournai 7.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the Liberty States Fiction Writers conference. The workshops were interesting and informative, and I got a chance to meet and chat with readers at the book fair. I also had a great time hanging out with my conference buddies and friends, Kimberley Ash and Michelle Joyce Bond. I also wore my book dress for the first time, and I've decided it's the most appropriate dress I own for writing conferences—I may have to wear it to all of them. I posted a few pictures on twitter during the conference, but I'll leave you with a few here too in case you missed them.