It’s been a while since I posted (and a while is seriously understating my lack of presence) but I had hoped to have something concrete to announce before now. So, if that’s the case, you may be asking yourself, why post now? Because I finally have what I’d been waiting for: something concrete to announce.
On Monday morning I sent in the contract that officially makes me an author! A short story I wrote last year titled Sing, Sweet Nightingale will be part of an young adult paranormal anthology. The anthology (title is still under debate) is about to start the editing and formatting process and is set for publication in Spring of 2012. It will include authors like my fabulous friend Lani Woodland whose second book released this week (Indelible is amazing! Buy it, read it, love it, then buy more for your friends!), Melanie Marks, Rita Webb and Wendy Swore (who are co-editors of the book), as well as a couple of other authors who are making their debut with me. I’ve had a chance to read some of the stories already and I am very excited to be working with such a wonderful group of talented people! I will post updates and progress reports every so often, so be on the lookout!
In related news, I posted last year that I had scrapped my then-current project Safety Net (previously titled Fallen, for those of you who have been following my slow progress for the last couple years). What I didn’t say much about was the novel I then turned my attention toward. It has been on the back burner for a couple of years, something I worked on when I needed a break from my main story, but I’ve always felt the pull to finish it. I’m hoping that the first draft will be complete by the first of the year. I don’t want to say too much about it now (you never know what may change in the editing process), but I will give you a little bit of information. It is told by a seventeen year old girl named Tabitha who lives in my hometown of Ft Lauderdale and it is NOT paranormal. I know. Shocking, huh? No ghosts, no vampires, no angels, no faeries. Just people and all the good and bad things they’re capable of. It’s tentatively titled My Own Prince Charming and I have high hopes for it.
In other tangentially related news, I got a job in publishing! I now work for a magazine as something of a factotum. I answer phones, source photos and videos, help develop the digital side of the magazine, run their newsletter campaign, and copyedit, among other things. Also, I have a full-length article in the upcoming issue and I am very excited to see my name in a internationally distributed publication! It’s not fiction, but it’s really darned cool. And, this job is an actual, viable step toward my ultimate career goal: becoming either a novelist or a fiction editor. In fact, I’ve managed to take steps toward both possibilities this year. I am gaining experience in the publishing field and have actually sold a piece of fiction. I had a feeling that 2011 would be a good year.
Better late than never, right? 😉
Hi, Kamille!
Well, Fallen turned into Safety Net and then died a long (but quiet and painless) death. I discovered after a while that I had written myself into a corner and I couldn't find my way out. That doesn't mean that Fallen will never ever see the light of day, though. It's possible I'll go back to the premise and start from scratch (I started on something that I kind of liked, but wasn't sure where to go with it), it's possible I'll go back to the original when a brilliant idea strikes like lightning (which is possible, if not probable), and it's possible that I will end up posting parts or all of it online at some point in the far future for free because I don't know what else to do with it…
So there is hope, but it's sort of vague.
In the meantime, I'm hoping that everyone who has been waiting for years to see something in print from me will enjoy Sing, Sweet Nightingale. I already have some follow-up ideas for the story, but what I do with those depends on what happens with the anthology…
I'm not sure that overlong answer really gives you the information you were looking for, but I hope it helps!
No problem! And I definitely still love Fallen. It was the first full-length novel I ever wrote, so it will always have a special place in my heart. I love the characters and there are certain scenes that I have to hold myself back from stealing and using somewhere else because they're that much fun. Maybe after I publish my first novel and have access to a really talented editor I might go back to it. I still want to see it in print one day.
As for the anthology, I believe so, but I'm not sure. I will ask the editor and see if she has any info on international publication. I know that it will definitely be available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble in both paperback and ebook formats, but I don't know how those sites work overseas. If she doesn't know now, she definitely will closer to the release date. Which is not for a few months yet.
According to my editor, we WILL be able to make the book available in the UK and Germany through Amazon. 😀
OMG! Congratulations on the job and getting published in an anthology!
Are you still writing Fallen?
Thanks for explaining. I was just confused because I didn't understand where Fallen had gone. I hope you don't fall out of love with Fallen. I've always been interested in it since I came across your website. it sounds really interesting and it would be a shame for it to be lost.
I'll happily wait for the anthology! Will it be released in the UK?
Thanks! I don't have an e-book reader so I'll probably buy it in print. I doubt I'll be buying an e-book in the near future anyway.
Good luck with Fallen/Safety Net!