Happy (belated) New Year! I normally do this in December or January (yeah, yeah, I skipped last year), but I’ve been a little busy…

Good busy, I promise!

First off, I’m delighted to share that my very first book baby, the book of my heart, Waking the Dead, will be published next month by the wonderful folks at City Owl Press!

I’m thrilled beyond words and thank my agents (Victoria Lea and Natalia Aponte of Aponte Literary), my editor (Amanda Roberts), City Owl Press Gurus (Yelena Casale and Tina Moss), and everyone who has encouraged me over the years (especially critique partner Sophia Jones and author pals Jeff Lee and Debbie Herbert).

I can’t wait to share this story with the world!

Second, I spent the holidays cranking out River Spell (Southern Elemental Guardians Book 4)! Rhinemaiden Gwen (a.k.a. the bad twin) was a tough heroine to tackle, but I fell in love with her along with her hero, paranormal PI Kwame Johnson, as I wrote her story. They’ll be unleashed on the world May 4. Cover reveal below, and here’s a working blurb and teaser!

She’s out for vengeance. He’s seeking justice.

Exiled and alone in a strange land, Rhinemaiden Gwen is still traumatized from her capture and torture by mortal monster hunters. To exorcise her demons, she doles out vigilante justice on mortal criminals—until former cop turned private investigator, Kwame Johnson, stops her in her tracks.

Captivating and enigmatic, Kwame is more than another mere mortal, and he’s just beginning to understand the nature of the special sense that helps him track down missing persons. Gwen can help him reach his full potential, but can she trust a man who was hired by the monster hunters to track her down?

Okay, since I skipped 2016—how did THAT happen??—I’ll pick up from my 2015 goals.

1. Finish and Edit Works in Progress

Well, since it has been two years, I’ve really rocked this goal! Waking the Dead and Nixies in Dixie (which became Lorelei’s Lyric) are soon-to-be-published and published, respectively. Not only that, I’ve published 3 novels and 2 novellas in the Southern Elemental Guardians series. I’m counting this as a total win!

That leaves Going Dutch, the contemporary romantic comedy I’ve put on the back burner. Guess what’s going to be my new goal for 2017? Oh, and I’ll be working on Soul Broker Book 2, Southern Elemental Guardians Book 5, and some Southern Elemental Guardians stand alone/spin off novels. I’ll be busy, but good busy!

2. Learn All I Can About Marketing and Promotions

This is an ongoing process for all authors, I think, since the market is so dynamic, but I’ve reached some pretty amazing milestones over the past two years. First off, my Romance Devoured sponsored giveaway garnered over 1,000 newsletter subscribers. I definitely recommend them—worth the money in terms of results. InD’Tale Magazine had become my absolute favorite review source, especially since I’ve received some amazing reviews from them on Southern Elemental Guardians—not to mention the 2016 RONE Award for Best Paranormal Novel (Lorelei’s Lyric)! The InD’Scribe conference was amazing and fun. I definitely want to go back and hang out with new author pals Mary B. Rose and M. Pepper Langlinais!

3. Give Back

Probably one of the most rewarding parts of this journey has been encouraging other authors and watching them begin and/or continue their own journeys.

I’ve had the great fortune to beta read for some of my MCRW sisters, and let me tell you, these ladies have some fantastic stories to tell: from Kat Khatsilovich’s red hot contemporary romance to Victoria Raschke’s haunting Urban Fantasy, Who by Water, set in Slovenia, to Savannah Kade’s Contemporary Romance Wilder Series and Paranormal Romance Touch of Magick books, I’ve been thrilled to beta and promo some amazing work! Debbie Herbert’s New Adult Appalachian Magic Series is enchanting, not to mention her Dark Seas Trilogy and Bayou Magic Paranormal Romance Series—she’s definitely the kind of author I aspire to be when I grow up. Oh, and author pal Jeff Lee’s Hurricane Kretschman, aptly billed as Get Shorty meets Sons of Anarchy, is in the running for Kindle Scout. Fingers and toes crossed! It’s an amazing book.

Oh, and lest I forget, Lulu M. Sylvian has some awesomely hot, sexy, and hilarious Paranormal Romance reads coming out soon! She’d better them to me for a beta read or else!  And my buddy Mark Steinwachs needs to write more zombie goodness and release a compilation of his Ravishi the Asshole Unicorn stories that have kept me in stitches for the past two years.

In addition to being a kick ass editor, Jody Wallace has captivated me with her snarky, sexy reads and I hope I’ll be seeing more Mari Shu and other great stories over the next year.

So for 2017? More, more, more! I can’t wait to help the authors in my network and to add to that network!

Summary

I’m counting 2015-16 as uber successful! Seriously, 3 novels, 2 novellas, and 2 novels scheduled for publication? Wowzers!

And here’s my requisite fangirl moment—meeting Sherrylin Kenyon at the MCRW September workshop was DEFINITELY one of the highlights of my year! She’s amazing, engaging, funny, and exceedingly generous with her time and advice. Inspiration flows from her like a river and I was honored to have the chance to soak it up.

Hoping for more amazing moments like this in the year to come!