a little of this and that

Just a few things I want to say today.

First off, thanks to all the hostesses on my blog tour. I couldn’t have done this without you. Today I’m at Shelf Confessions. Stop on by for a little background on writing CRYSTAL TOMB.

That leads me to my second point–CT is now available at Amazon (and smashwords) and hit the floor running. Thank you to all the fans for making this a wonderful release week. It will take another day or two for Barnes and Noble to list the book, and longer for the other major retailers, but eventually, it will be everywhere the other books are.

Third, all the paperbacks in the STARFIRE ANGELS series have had their covers updated. While Crystal Tomb was processed, the first two books also were updated to match the covers of the ebooks, which were updated earlier this month. The giveaway currently on Goodreads will be a signed copy with the old cover, but all orders on Amazon from today forward will have the new cover style. It will take a while for it to reach the other retailers, however. There is a delay there with Ingrams distributing, which needs to process the update also.

Fourth, I’m looking forward to the Skype chat on Thursday. I have a cold sore, so we’ll see if I feel like being seen, but I’m looking forward to talking with readers. Please put down the book long enough to join me. The book will be there later, I won’t. I have a real life that makes rescheduling difficult. There will be another chat sometime in the future, but that might be some months down the road. I want to hear what you think of the books and talk about the world of the Starfire and the Inari.

Fifth, it’s summer. That means my oldest child is home from school to drive me insane. Not really, but sometimes it feels that way. I dread rainy days now, when she’s stuck indoors while I’m trying to write. She’s a pest to me and her younger sister.

Sixth, my state has flooding issues along the Missouri River. It’s unreal. Never in my lifetime have I seen it here, but my current city is working hard to protect homes. I should say that this has never happened since the dam was built. Those who manage Garrison Dam are doing all they can to protect homes down river while not risking the dam going. It’s a scary time to live here, but as long as the dam holds, our house is safe from the flood waters.

Seventh, now that CRYSTAL TOMB is done and published, I can go back to focusing on Origins of Dark Angel. It’ll be a different book in the series, but it’s more of a special treat for fans and myself that I really want to do. Because of my focus on it and my schedule being pushed back by rewriting it, I will be pushing back a couple other projects.

The new publishing schedule looks like this:

Origins of Dark Angel (book 3.5 of Dark Angel Chronicles) — winter 2011 (not sure it’ll be ready before Christmas)

New fantasy title of a new adult series under my pen name of M.A. Nilles — March 2012

Book Four of Dark Angel Chronicles — August/September 2012

Second book of new fantasy series — summer 2013

First book of new Starfire Angels subseries — fall/winter 2013

I’m a slow writer, but things may pick up speed once my youngest child starts kindergarten in fall of 2012, so these dates could shift, or I could add a completely new series. One never knows. This is just a basic plan of what I have in mind at this time, but the half-blood fantasy book and the two DAC books coming up are my biggest concerns for the moment.

I’m still writing Origins and, with all luck, I’ll have the first draft done by the end of summer and put it aside while I start a new project. I don’t like releasing books as soon as they’re written. I’d prefer to give them more time between finishing and editing, but I’ll do what I can. I won’t put it out if I think there are problems, though, which is why I’ve pushed it back as it is. I hope no one skins me alive if it ends up being pushed back further for the sake of quality. I’ll do what I can, but with family and mother nature disturbing me, one never knows.

Last of all, my horse has soundness issues and that has disrupted our lives. I’m doing all I can to keep him comfortable, but I do want to get back in the saddle. It’s hard being grounded, but his health is a major concern on my mind. We went from schooling second level dressage to halting all training and will have to start over. Please pray that he makes a full recovery. The allergies we can handle. The lameness not so much. He’s such a sweetheart too, that I won’t put him down unless nothing else works…It’s that bad.

That’s all I had to say for today, but it’s enough. Now you know what to expect, especially on the writing front.

Oops. Forgot one thing…Total Kindle sales of STARFIRE ANGELS is just over 33,000 as of today. It still needs 67,000 sales before July 24th if you want me to give away a Nook or Kindle.