One of the things keeping me busy lately has been the
challenge of re-releasing twenty books. That’s just this year’s total, by the
way. Which, coming on the heels of last year’s ten titles, has meant an
overhaul of my entire backlist—less one.
It’s been an interesting experience. I’m basically
re-inventing myself as an author; and I’ve been learning a lot in the process.
One of the lessons I learned from last year’s bulk
re-release was that rushing books back into print en masse, isn’t always a good idea. Book birthdays should be
celebrated—and that’s hard to do when you’re releasing several at once. In
fact, having tried it that way has kind of made me appreciate what parents of
quintuplets (and other multiples) must go through. So this year I’ve been
taking things more slowly. I’ll be releasing books individually and with
(hopefully) a little more attention than last year’s books received.
With that in mind, I’d like to show off my new cover for
IRON.
IRON (which I plan to re-release next month) is the story of
a mortal man—a blacksmith, by the name of Gavin O’Malley—who reluctantly comes
to the aid of a faery princess. I remember the exact moment the story presented
itself to me. I was taking part in an online chat and someone posed the
question: “What unlikely pairing would you like to write about?”
Given that the
Fae are well known to have an aversion to iron, and blacksmiths make their
living with the stuff, I thought crafting a Happy Ever After for the two of
them was pretty damned unlikely. And, in
fact, some people have argued that what I gave them didn’t count as an HEA at
all. I disagree, of course, but everyone’s entitled to their opinion.
In any case, I have
always loved this book. It was the first truly stand alone book I wrote.
However, I think I must really hate the idea of my books being lonely, or
something, because I immediately had to invent a series for it to belong to.
The four books in the so-called Celtic Legends series are all standalone
stories that have nothing to do with one another other than having a vaguely
similar setting: Ireland in the late 1800s; and sub-genre: somewhere along the
fantasy/paranormal spectrum.
Book two in the series, OAK, which was previously released
as The Oak King, is the story of a mortal woman who falls in love with both the
Oak King and the Holly King—two Celtic deities that I’ve re-imagined as tree
spirits. That will also probably be
re-released this year.
The other two books I have yet to write, but I hope to have
at least one of them out by early next year. Selkie features a reclusive fisherman
who rescues a wounded seal shifter; while Flight involves two childhood friends
who are finally forced to confront their feelings for each other when they
become involved with an owl shifter.
Covers for the other three books are also in the works—which
is very exciting. One of the best parts of re-branding is the need for yummy
new covers. Such a hardship!
Nineteenth century Ireland. Blacksmith Gavin O'Malley is a
bitter man, with a heart as hard as the iron he forges. He wants his life back—the
one that was stolen from him the day his wife died in childbirth—taking their
firstborn son with her.
When Aislinn Deirbhile, an immortal, shape-shifting fae,
arrives on his doorstep, he knows he's in luck. For Aislinn can give Gavin
everything he's been missing: A devoted-seeming wife in the image of his
beloved Mairead, and children who are sure to outlive their father. Now, all he
has to do is find a way to keep her—without losing his immortal soul in the process.
But Aislinn has an agenda of her own. On the run from a
vengeful fae lord who's vowed to either make her his or end her existence, she
knows the iron that allows Gavin to take her captive will also keep her
pursuers at bay. In order to put herself permanently beyond her enemy's reach,
however, Aislinn will need something more. She'll need to win Gavin's heart and
convince him to willingly part with a piece of the very soul he's trying to
save.
Iron was selected as a Finalist for the EPIC 2011 ebook
Awards in the Paranormal Erotic Romance category.
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