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!) <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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! <\/p>\n
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.” <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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! <\/p>\n
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! <\/p>\n
Watch this space for future developments…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 … Continue reading