Sorry for not posting in a long time, but I’ve been polishing my sixth novel, ONE BLOOD. I sent it to my publisher, and got word this week that it has been accepted for publication this September. (Ah, the joy of a small publishing house and POD–no waiting a year or more to see the book in print!)
Each books that comes out feels like a different type of “success” for me, and this one is no exception. ONE BLOOD is a much-updated version of the very first novel I wrote after I graduated from college…and that was a lo-o-o-ong time ago, believe me! Over the years it’s also gone by the name NO SUCH THING and BLOOD OF MY BLOOD. As you can probably tell, it’s a vampire novel–sort of vampire/romantic suspense. It’s also a prequel to the first novel I had published with Amber Quill Press, DANCE WITH THE DRAGON.
Here’s the saga: I first came up with two characters as near-opposites, destined to have major, life-and-death conflicts from the beginning. What could bring them together? For one thing, a common need to be accepted for themselves, without hiding their true natures. For another, a common enemy.
As with many of my books, the setting also plays a big role. My cousin Phil McCabe, a year older and in some ways like a brother to me, attended Princeton University. When I visited the campus, I was knocked out by its Gothic character. This was at the end of my college years, when I was already starting to write paranormal fiction, and Princeton seemed like an irresistible setting. Also a good one for a couple of brilliant, well-traveled and sophisticated characters!
As I said, I wrote a couple of versions of this novel, each time sending it to agents and publishers. But back then, nobody was writing contemporary vampire romances, and even I started to feel it lacked something. So I tabled it and used the same hero and heroine in DANCE WITH THE DRAGON. This was a straight-ahead thriller, but their relationship still intrigued readers. I had one reviewer and a couple of readers tell me they wished the knew more about the two main characters, and one said, “It almost seems like there should be an earlier book.”
My initial reaction? “Been there, done that, no way!” Ah, but then I noticed the vast number of contemporary vamp romances proliferating. Mine fell into that general category, but was also different in many key ways. So I decided to give it another shot.
I thought reworking the old novel would be a breeze. I never realized how hard it would be to get these two characters together, in a way that synced up with DD, and in a way readers would believe! Since writing DD, I’d learned a lot more about them, and they were both very strong personalities. This time around they had MAJOR issues, and I had to play “couples counselor” in a big way!
But it’s done now, and I think I’ve succeeded. And I’m so happy it’s coming out before October, because this story is tailor-made for Halloween. It even has a pivotal scene at a campus Halloween party and a bloody demise on Halloween night!
Watch this space for future developments…
