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.

February was a busy month! As I've done over the past several years, I participated in New Jersey Romance Writers JeRoWriMo. This year I continued working on my current project, the sequel to a book that you'll see in September (and I can't tell you too much about what I'm working on yet because of spoilers!). It's usually a really productive month for me, and I add a bunch of words to my current work in progress during the month. I did this month, just not as many as I usually do, but I met the challenge, so yay! My word count wasn't as high as I'd hoped because of a nasty cold at the beginning of the month and then getting Tournai 6 edits middle of the month. The first Tournai 6 edit is finished and turned in to my editor as of yesterday, so I'm back to writing and hoping to get lots of words down before the next edit hits my inbox (fingers crossed, all!).

In other news, I found last month that The Sorcerer's Guardian is going to be published in French, which is so exciting! It will be out in ebook and paperback, and as soon as I have information about release dates, I'll let you know.

Finally, I'll be at the Liberty States Fiction Writers conference in Iselin, NJ this month (how is it March already? where did time go?). If you're at the conference, come say hi! And if you're not attending the conference, you can still come to the book fair on Saturday March 24th. I'm signing, and I'd love to see you!

This is an incredibly delayed update post, for which I apologize. January has been ridiculously busy. I've had so many deadlines that I mostly kept my head down and tried to get through it. The first thing I worked on were revisions for Tournai 6. The release date for that book was moved up to June 4th, so it's coming to you a little sooner than I originally thought (yay!). If you missed it, I shared a snippet before Christmas. I'll share some more soon as I get into edits.

I also had revisions on the first book in the new series, which I also shared a snippet of a little while back, if you missed it. This one will be in your hands on September 3rd. I've also been writing its sequel, which will hopefully reach you not too long after that (because I left some plot points unresolved, though not the romance—Arden and Edmund end the book in a very happy place). A synopsis and the first five chapters just went out to my editors, so fingers crossed that she likes it as I keep writing. 

February is NJRW's Jersey Romance Writer's Month, and I'm participating again. The goal is 30k words in February, but I'm hoping for more than that. I need to get this sequel written! Once I do, Tournai 7 is next up on the writing schedule, though that's a little ways out yet. I usually try to start JeRoWriMo well rested and with a clean apartment...with the way January went, none of that is true this year, but I'm pushing on anyway! I'll keep you posted.

In other news, I will be at this years Liberty States Conference this year in Iselin, NJ in March. If you're there, please say hi, and even if you're not attending, you can come to the book fair on Saturday March 24th. I'll have copies of all my books with.

Finally, Dreamspinner is having a paperback sale now. If you're a paperback fan, you can get 30% off my DSP books for the next couple days.

I realized that it's been far too long since I did one of these posts. Sorry! I've been buried under writing and revising the next Tournai book, and I've let a lot slip. I have exciting news to share, though. I've signed two new contracts with NineStar Press this month! One is for the next book in the Tournai series. No title yet (I'm working on one!), but this is Faelen and Maxen's story. If you've read the other Tournai books, you've met these characters. Faelen is one of the twins that first appeared in The Dragon's Devotion, and Maxen is Tristan's brother. You first met him in The Scholar's Heart, when he was giving Tristan some sensible advice. (And if you haven't read the previous books, that's all right too because they all stand alone and you can start anywhere!) The other book is a fantasy romance that I mentioned here as I was writing it. It's my story of a prince who must marry a queen in an arranged marriage but falls in love with her brother instead. There's lots of political intrigue, an assassination attempt, and a flight for their lives, as they try to keep two kingdoms out of war and find a way to be together. One main character is trans and bisexual, the other cis and demisexual (which makes two recent books I've written with demisexual main characters, since Faelen is as well). It's tentatively titled A Dance of Water and Air. Both books should be out Fall 2018.

Other than that, I don't have too much to report. I've been working on writing/revising the next Tournai book. After that, I'll be moving on to the sequel to Dance. I'd planned to finish up a contemporary I've been working on next, but plans had to change a bit and I need to concentrate on the sequel and Tournai 7 after that. If everything goes well, I'll try to work on the contemporary a bit while I'm writing my main projects. I need to write faster! I have so many ideas...

​Finally, Dreamspinner Press has a coupon code for $3 off a $10 order, good through the 21st, and they'll be running pop-up sales too. Don't miss it!

That's all for now, I think. I'll be better about keeping you updated again, but I better get back to work now!

First off, I wanted to say thank you. The Dragon's Devotion has been out for almost a month, and I need to express my gratitude to everyone who has bought the book and read and reviewed and to everyone who gave me such love on release day and shared about the book on social media. You all are wonderful! Thank you so much! If you have or are going to read The Dragon's Devotion, I hope you enjoy Bastien and Corentin's story. I love this book and these characters. I've been waiting and waiting to write the dragons in this world, and now I'm excited to write more of them as the series goes on. If you haven't read yet, the book had bisexual main characters, romance, magic, political intrigue, family drama, and a dragon shifter. If you've read other Tournai books, you'll catch up with some familiar faces. If you haven't visited Tournai yet, this book stands on its own and is a great introduction. I hope you'll give it a try.

On to updates, I'm still working away on Tournai 6 (no title, of course, because I'm horrible at titles and leave them to the very end). This is Maxen and Faelen's story, and I'm having fun getting to know them better. It's in a million pieces right now because I never write in linear order, but I can see that it's going to come together well (I think so...I hope so. They always do...). I want to have it written and edited and ready to send to the NineStar by the end of October, so fingers crossed for me, everyone. It's later than I meant to have it finished already, but this year has not been good for writing quickly.

In other news, the NJ Romance Writers conference is in a couple of weeks. I'll be attending, and my books will be on sale at the NJRW table during the trade show. If you're there and want me to sign one, I'll be around so just grab me and I'll be happy to. I'm also attending NJRW's Hearts & Sparks reader/blogger appreciation brunch on Sunday October 15th. There's still time to register if you want to have brunch with me and a bunch of other great authors. Join us! It's going to be so much fun!

I have some news and updates for you. First off, The Dragon's Devotion will be out on September 4th! A little over a week, oh my gosh! As always, I am so excited and so anxious to see this book out in the world. It has romance and magic and political intrigue and family drama and, of course, dragons, and I hope you'll enjoy (but, really, dragons!). You can find preorder links and an excerpt over here, if you'd like to take a look. I just finished writing my posts for the blog tour which will begin on release day. I'll put the schedule up for you next week.

Other than preparing for release day, I'm still working on the next Tournai book. Maxen and Faelen haven't been as cooperative as I'd like (or perhaps it's my own brain that hasn't been cooperative), but I'm working to get back on track. I also got bitten by another contemporary plot bunny while out for my walk this morning that I absolutely cannot work on until I've finished Faelen and Maxen's story at least. I need to write faster!

In other news, registration for the NJ Romance Writers conference is open. If you're a writer in the area and looking for a great writers conference, this is definitely one. I've been going every year since 2011, and I've learned a lot and met wonderful people. And if you're a reader or a blogger, registration for the Hearts & Sparks brunch is also open. Come have brunch with me and lots of other romance authors in New Jersey in October. I'd love to see you there!

Finally, I need to announce my birthday giveaway winner. I'm sorry I'm so late in doing this! I put all the names in a hat and pulled out...Rian! I'll email you shortly about your prize. Thank you to everyone who entered! Your birthday wishes were so sweet, and I loved hearing about all the books you've been reading.

How are we so far into July already? I'm not sure where time is going! I have made some progress, though. The Dragon's Devotion has been edited and proofread and on track for publication at the beginning of September. Yay! We're just waiting for a cover now, which is always exciting. I can't wait to see what the cover will look like. I shared a bit of The Dragon's Devotion on last weekend's Rainbow Snippet, if you missed it and want a glimpse. I'm so excited about this book. It has romance, political intrigue, mystery, family drama, magic, and dragons, of course. I can't wait for it to be out in the world and in your hands.

I'm also working on the next Tournai book. Writing has been a bit slower than I wanted, but I'm continuing to push. I should hit 30k in the next day or so, and hopefully I'll pick up some momentum from there and get myself back on track. I never end up writing in order, and I've started jumping around on this one too, writing scenes that I see clearly and getting to know my character better...and seeing where they want to take me!

In other news, you can still register to attend the New Jersey Romance Writers Hearts & Sparks reader/blogger appreciation brunch. Have lunch with me and lots of other area authors. Find more information here. 

Finally, I'm attending the RWA National Conference in Orlando next week (and road tripping down to Florida for it!). I won't be signing, but if you're there, please say hello. I would love to see you. I'll try to post lots of pictures on social media too.

This update is a little late this month—sorry! But I do have lots to share. The next Tournai book, The Dragon's Devotion, was sent off to the copy editor at the beginning of June after I worked through the rest of the edits last month. It's still on track to be published in September. Yay! I'm excited for you to read it. I think you'll enjoy Bastien and Corentin's story (If you've read the previous books in the series, you've met both of them, but if not, you can always start here or catch up before September). It has romance, magic, political intrigue, family drama, mystery, and a dragon, of course. I'll keep you updated as I have more information.

I've also been working on another project about Edmund and Arden, my two princes (one transgender, one cis and demisexual) who fall in love even though they really shouldn't. There's an arranged marriage, an assassination attempt and a plot to frame Edmund, an escape from a dungeon, and all sorts of other good stuff, along with the romance. I've finished revisions based on reader feedback and written the (dreaded) synopsis. Now it's time to start submitting. I love these character and this story so much, and I'm really hoping to see it as a book. Fingers crossed, everyone! 

I've also started writing the Tournai book that will follow The Dragon's Devotion. Returning to Tournai is like coming home after working on something else for the last several months. I'm only about 10k in so I can't tell you too much, because I figure out a lot as I go along, but I'm enjoying spending time with so many favorite characters again, and getting to know my new main characters better. If you've read The Scholar's Heart, you've met one of them: Maxen, Tristan's younger brother. You'll meet the other in The Dragon's Devotion. As with any new story, I have a new notebook to write in, and there's a picture of it for you below.

Now, for the news. First, the Tournai books are 30% off at Dreamspinner through June 24th, along with the rest of the store, so you can stock up on all your summer reading. Second, I'll be attending the NJ Romance Writers Hearts & Sparks Reader/Blogger Appreciation brunch in October. Registration is open now, and if you're in the area, I would love to see you there. Find out more information over here. Finally, if you're an unpublished romance writer, the NJ Romance Writers annual Put Your Heart in a Book contest is open for entries. It's a great way to get feedback on your writing and get your work in front of editors and agents. Winners are announced at the NJRW conference in October. More information about entering is here.

​I think that's all for this month. Back to writing for me!