Probable Delay for Heretic Doms Club, Book 2

My original plan was to release book 2 of the Heretic Doms Club series (working title, Terms of Service) in early February 2018. Unfortunately, it looks like I’ll probably have to delay that release date.

After taking most of 2016 off, I was hesitant to commit to a four-book series. For better or worse, I talked myself into it. It seemed like a no-brainer, really. I had small starts already on books two and three. I had a rough outline for each of them. My only real concern was book four, which I hadn’t much thought about yet.

At this point, book four is the least of my worries!

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” 

Book 1 of the Heretic Doms Club, One Man’s Trash, comes out in just two weeks. My original plan was to have the other books in the series released every three months. Seeing as how I finished the first draft of One Man’s Trash back in June or July, I figured that gave me plenty of time to wrap up Terms of Service time for February, and even get a good start on book 3 (Gray’s book, so far untitled) before the end of the year.

Seemed logical at the time.

What Went Wrong?

Unfortunately, there were several factors I failed to take into account when I decided on this release schedule. First, my October was much busier than usual. October is normally a really productive month for me, but this year, not so much. Granted, I wrote over 18k words last week at a writing retreat, but it couldn’t make up for the fact that the rest of the month was a bust.

Second, I didn’t account for the fact that these books are longer than my usual contemporaries. I usually publish three or four books per year, but most of those books fall below the 60k mark. My contemporaries especially tend to be short (with Between Sinners and Saints being the one exception.) (My genre mash-ups, on the other hand, always seem to come out long! Song of Oestend, Release, and their sequels are all over 100k.)

But, the Heretic Doms Club books seem to be exceptions to my norm in more ways than one. One Man’s Trash is around 110k. Terms of Service is currently sitting at about 56k, and it’s *maybe* halfway done. It’ll probably be well over 120k by the time it’s done.

It’s still possible, right?

Logic says I could bust my ass through November, NaNoWriMo style, and still get the first draft done by Dec 1. The problem is, for an early February release date, I’d basically have to start edits immediately, which I hate. I’d much rather take at least a month (maybe two) to find beta-readers and work on revisions. Now, *maybe* I could still make that work — revisions through December, into rushed edits by January, and then get that final version uploaded at the very last minute for an early February release — but man, that is really not how I like to work. At. All.

The current state of my WIP.

Besides, that all assumes the story is progressing nicely. And unfortunately, that brings us to the biggest thing of all I failed to consider: this story is a hot fucking mess. I’ve been wrestling with it for months now, and while I may have 56k words, I’m not sure they’re very good. I’ve been tempted more than once to ditch the entire thing and start over. The only reason I haven’t done it yet is that I still don’t know how to fix it.

In conclusion…

I hate being wishy-washy. I really do. I hate breaking promises I’ve made to readers, and I hate failing at goals I’ve set for myself. Even now, writing this post, there’s a little voice in the back of my mind telling me that if I stop fucking around and just buckle down, I can make that release date as promised. Part of me really wants to get these books OUT.

But I just don’t think that’s realistic. When I look at what my family has planned for the next two months (HOLIDAYS are coming, for fuck sake!), I have to accept that finishing this book is a long-shot at best. And even if I managed to get this one wrapped up in time, I’d already be behind schedule for book three.

So maybe it’s better to say now, up-front, before book one even comes out, that these books won’t be released every three months as originally planned. Every six months is probably a far more realistic goal. I just have to hope readers are still interested in meeting the rest of the members of the Heretic Doms Club six months from now. (And six months after that, and six months after that.) I’m not even going to give a new release date. Terms of Service will be finished when it’s finished. That’s all I know. Once that happens, trust me, I’ll be shouting about it from the rooftops.

As always, thank you for your ongoing support. If you haven’t yet preordered One Man’s Trash, you can do that here.

Cover Reveal: ONE MAN’S TRASH

I’m so excited to share the cover art for my upcoming novel, One Man’s Trash. Thanks so much to Garrett Leigh for her work on this. This is without a doubt the grittiest, most erotic contemporary story I’ve ever written. I think this cover captures that beautifully.

You can find the blurb and preorder link lower in this post.

 

After four tours in Afghanistan, Warren Groves couldn’t settle into civilian life. For the last twelve years, he’s survived by working odd and often illegal jobs for some of Denver’s less fortunate. His personal life is equally unsatisfactory. He can barely remember the last time he had sex, let alone the last time he got to use somebody hard and rough, the way he likes. Fate intervenes when a favor for a friend leads him to a pretty young rentboy named Taylor Reynolds.

Taylor’s spent the last few years on his own, working as a hustler, going home with anybody who’ll give him a warm meal and a place to sleep. He enjoys having a bit of force used against him, and he makes Warren an offer he can’t refuse — all the sex he wants, as rough and dirty as he likes, in exchange for room and board.

At first, Warren thinks he’s struck gold. Taylor’s the perfect roommate — he cooks, he cleans, and he’s dynamite in the sack. But Taylor has some dark demons in his head and some even darker cravings. Falling for somebody as volatile as Taylor is dangerous enough, but when Taylor’s urges turn truly self-destructive, it’ll be up to Warren to decide just how far to let things go.

PREORDER IT HERE

For more information on One Man’s Trash and the rest of the Heretic Doms Series, go here.

ONE MAN’S TRASH Available for Preorder

I don’t have a cover yet, but I do have a preorder link! One Man’s Trash is dark and angsty, very raw, and easily my most erotic contemporary novel to date. 

After four tours in Afghanistan, Warren Groves couldn’t settle into civilian life. For the last twelve years, he’s survived by working odd and often illegal jobs for some of Denver’s less fortunate. His personal life is equally unsatisfactory. He can barely remember the last time he had sex, let alone the last time he got to use somebody hard and rough, the way he likes. Fate intervenes when a favor for a friend leads him to a pretty young rentboy named Taylor Reynolds.

Taylor’s spent the last few years on his own, working as a hustler, going home with anybody who’ll give him a warm meal and a place to sleep. He enjoys having a bit of force used against him, and he makes Warren an offer he can’t refuse — all the sex he wants, as rough and dirty as he likes, in exchange for room and board.

At first, Warren thinks he’s struck gold. Taylor’s the perfect roommate — he cooks, he cleans, and he’s dynamite in the sack. But Taylor has some dark demons in his head and some even darker cravings. Falling for somebody as volatile as Taylor is dangerous enough, but when Taylor’s urges turn truly self-destructive, it’ll be up to Warren to decide just how far to let things go.

PREORDER IT HERE

For more information on One Man’s Trash and the rest of the Heretic Doms Series, go here.

Now Available in Audio: The Well

Twenty years after prom queen Cassie Kennedy is brutally murdered, six teenagers break into the house where she was killed to hold a séance. Haven knows his cousin Elise only wants to scare the crap out of him and his friends, but he’s willing to put up with one of her pranks if it means a chance to spend a few hours with the new kid in town, Pierce Hunter.

But when morning comes, Elise has disappeared without a trace.

Twelve years later, Pierce and his twin brother Jordan are professional paranormal investigators, starring in their own ghost-hunting TV show. When Pierce calls Haven, insisting they return to the supposedly haunted building one last time, Haven reluctantly agrees. He’s nervous about seeing Pierce again, but he’s determined to get some answers. Did they really speak to Cassie’s ghost that night? What happened to Elise? And the biggest mystery of all – how did she know the secret of the well?

BUY IT HERE

Available for Preorder: FAMILY MAN

At forty, Vincent “Vinnie” Fierro is still afraid to admit he might be gay—even to himself. It’ll be a problem for his big, fat Italian family. Still, after three failed marriages, it’s getting harder to ignore what he really wants.

Vinnie attempts some self-exploration in Chicago’s Boystown bars, far from anyone who knows him. Naturally, he runs smack into someone from the neighborhood.

Between working two jobs, going to school, taking care of his grandmother, and dealing with his mother’s ongoing substance abuse, Trey Giles has little time for fun, let alone dating someone who swears he’s straight. Yet after one night of dancing cheek-to-cheek, Trey agrees to let Vinnie court him and see if he truly belongs on this side of the fence—though Trey intends to keep his virginity intact.

It seems like a solid plan, but nothing is simple when family is involved. When Vinnie’s family finds out about their relationship, the situation is sticky enough, but when Trey’s mother goes critical, Vinnie and Trey must decide whose happiness is most important—their families’ or their own.

Coming September 11 from Dreamspinner Press.

BUY IT HERE

(The book has been re-edited, but there are no significant changes from the first edition.)

Available Now: THE WELL (Includes an Excerpt)

Finally, it’s release day!! I’m so excited about this new book. The Well is a novel of paranormal suspense featuring professional ghost hunters, a haunted house, and the mystery of a missing girl. Scroll down, down, down (past the blurb) for an excerpt.

Twenty years after prom queen Cassie Kennedy is brutally murdered, six teenagers break into the house where she was killed to hold a séance. Haven knows his cousin Elise only wants to scare the crap out of him and his friends, but he’s willing to put up with one of her pranks if it means a chance to spend a few hours with the new kid in town, Pierce Hunter.

But when morning comes, Elise has disappeared without a trace.

Twelve years later, Pierce and his twin brother Jordan are professional paranormal investigators, starring in their own ghost-hunting TV show. When Pierce calls Haven, insisting they return to the supposedly haunted building one last time, Haven reluctantly agrees. He’s nervous about seeing Pierce again, but he’s determined to get some answers. Did they really speak to Cassie’s ghost that night? What happened to Elise? And the biggest mystery of all – how did she know the secret of the well?

BUY IT HERE:

Paperback and audio coming soon.

Continue reading… →

My Plans for 2017 (including upcoming releases)

I think I’m way overdue for a blog post. If you happen to be one of my sponsors on Patreon, none of this will be news, but for everybody else, I thought I’d let you know what’s going on, and share my plans for 2017.

Coming May 22

The Well

First of all, in case you missed it, my novel The Well will be released in just ten days! This book does have a romantic subplot, but it’s less romance, and more paranormal suspense.

It’s funny, because it seems like every single time I write a book that isn’t a traditional contemporary romance, some review site always says, “This is Marie’s first departure from contemporary romance.”

Seriously?

Just for the record, my first “departure” from contemporary romance was all the way back in 2010 when I published One More Soldier, which was set during the Vietnam War. My first “departure” into scifi/fantasy was Song of Oestend, in 2011, which was sort of like steampunk set in a paranormal AU Old West. So I’m a bit confounded when I see “professional” review sites claiming Winter Oranges or Release were my first “departure” from contemporary. They weren’t. Fully one-third of my backlist consists of “departures” from my supposed “norm.”

But, I digress. Let’s just say, The Well is yet ANOTHER departure from my “normal” contemporaries. It’s a contemporary setting, but it also involves a haunted house, a team of professional paranormal investigators, and an unsolved missing person case.

Don’t worry. It’s also a story of reunited first loves.  🙂

It’s available for preorder now. You can find all of those details here.

Sequels?

It’s possible (although not definite) that three other authors will be writing follow-up stories set in the same town as The Well. If that happens, you will undoubtedly see Haven, Pierce, and Jordan again. But… I can’t really say for sure yet whether that will happen or not.

Other WsIP

(Read on for news on what else I’ve been working on.)

Continue reading… →