Friday 30 December 2016

Another year over... (well, almost...)

Yeah, it's that time of year, when we reflect on what's happened, and consider making New Year's resolutions...
Hmm. That got me thinking. What have I accomplished this year?
The biggest event for me was the end of the Collars & Cuffs series. Parker Williams and I were sad to bring it to a close, but in the end we were pleased with Endings & Beginnings, the final chapter.
Only, it wasn't really the end. We left room for the start of a new series, Secrets, and you don't have all that long to wait to see what we've been up to - Before You Break is out in late May. We're waiting with bated breath to see what you think of it.

I started off 2016 with See Me, the third in the Lightning Tales series. This was allll about the drag queens, gurl! I loved writing it.Later on I released the fourth tale, Love Me, which was very different. This was important to me, because the main character, Aaron, was based on a real person.



2016 was also the year of Debt, a tale of a teacher who finds himself in a NYC exclusive brothel, where he meets Nikko, who is definitely not what he appears to be.
I got to go to Italy for the first time! Verona was amazing, but meeting all those readers who knew who I was? That was mindblowing. I'm looking forward to the release of Debt in Italian next month. This will be my second translation with Dreamspinner Press - A Bond of Three was released in April, produced by Sidh Press.
2016 was definitely the year of the translation! All the Personal series are now available in French, German and Italian, and I'm so proud of this. I'm going to be sending my team of wonderful translators a new manuscript at the start of 2017 - the final book in the Personal series, Personal Challenges. Two of the Lightning Tales are now in German, and the first book in the series is going to be released very soon in Italian. Waiting for a Prince and September's Tide, books #1 and #2 of the Island Tales series, are now in Italian, and the third tale, Submitting to the Darkness, is being translated as I type.
September brought my very first Dreamspun Desires story! I had so much fun writing The Senator's Secret, and I think that comes across in the writing. I have two more planned, and I'll be starting the next one in a matter of days.
2016 was also the year I took my first steps into the audiobook world. I released Teach Me (Lightning Tales #1) in October, and just before Christmas, I released Making it Personal, #1 in the Personal series. This is an exciting move for me, and I'm hoping to release more in 2017.
The end of the year has been mixed. My Christmas story, Saving Jason, did really well with readers who wanted a low-angst, romantic, warm story about two men falling in love. I really enjoyed writing it, and the vast majority of people who reviewed it have been extremely positive.
December also brought the release of the sequel to my first ménage, A Bond of Three. I was really pleased with the way A Bond of Truth came out. Strong characters, a twist near the end... The reviews so far have been really good, but... yeah, it's not doing so well. In fact, that's an understatement. All I can do is try not to look at Amazon, keep my head down and keep on writing.
So, what's coming from me in 2017?
Well, apart from the aforementioned Il Debito, I have two releases planned so far from Dreamspinner. Step by Step will be out in March. Sorry for all you lovers of angst - this one probably won't be to your liking. It's a tale of men falling in love, and if it came out with little in the way of obstacles for them? All I can say is, that's the way it is. *grins* And in May it's the turn of Before You Break.
Before the year ends there will be one more Dreamspun Desires, and maybe another book.
Right now I'm working on Personal Challenges, but this is the year I finally get to write my first thriller, Fatal Design. I came up with the idea for this one back in the summer of 2014, and the cover was produced then. It's time to get the damn thing written!
So what with all the writing, translations and audiobooks, it's going to be a busy year!
In March I'm going to be attending the Salon du Livre book fair in Paris. Looking forward to that!
Phew! 2017 is going to be exciting! I hope to see your comments and reviews throughout the year - I love getting feedback.
Have a great start to 2017. May it be a good year for you and all those you love.
Peace, Joy, Hope - and most of all, LOVE for 2017.