Why I’ve Been So Quiet

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I’ve approached this post from every possible angle, then backed away without writing anything. But this way will have to be the one.

Last year was a tough, often scary year. You didn’t hear from me much, but I still popped in when I could on Twitter and Facebook, and I did manage to write a new book, which comes out in a few days. (We’ll talk about that later.) But a few months ago, the tough, often scary year took a turn that knocked the wind out of me and kept me from even popping in to say hi to you all on Facebook.

My husband passed away.

That single sentence is so very hard to write, and I don’t really want to go too much into what happened quite yet. Rehashing it is super exhausting in a lot of ways. But I want to reassure you that I’m okay. Some days I’m less okay than others, but I’m more okay than I thought I could be. I’m also surrounded by people who love me and are watching out for me. I am not alone on this journey.

And Kevin loved me so much in the time we had together, his love is sustaining me still.

So. Yeah. I’m trying to get back into the swing of things. As I ease out of my hermit cave, I find I have a lot more time on my hands to create new stories for you. I will have lots of announcements in the coming weeks and months, and my activities in Socialmedialand should increase gradually. In fact, there will probably be a huge increase in blog posts, especially posts unrelated to my books. And quite possibly a weird little YouTube project.

Because what doesn’t kill us makes us hilarious.

Anyway. There it is. The terrible thing happened. In a day or so, I’ll tell you about the book that comes out next week, but poor Kam shouldn’t have to share her release with a post like this.

Thank you all for being so patient while I disappeared. I missed you.

 

See you real soon,

Rachel

The Gift of a Fresh Year

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I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s resolutions. We make ourselves promises, we go way overboard in an effort to change everything at once, exhaust ourselves, then give up, all before the end of the first week.

Okay. By “we” I mean me.

My last post here was nearly two years ago. I was struggling with the loss of my dad, and one by one, I dropped things. I still managed to put out a few books each year, but the last few years the things I had the energy to do became fewer and fewer until posting on Facebook a couple days a week and a newsletter the night before a book was released was about all I’d been doing other than writing.

The longer I went without getting back to talking to you here, saying hi on Twitter, working on my book-related Pintrerest boards, posting pictures on Instagram, and spending more time on Facebook, the harder it was to begin again. I used to lose touch with long-distance friends that way. The longer I went without answering a letter, the longer the apology got in my head. Years would go by before I could bring myself to explain in a letter that ended up longer than some of my short stories.

Which is to say, I’m kind of an idiot.

So, I’m not making any resolutions, here. I’m just getting back to work. I love what I do, and I miss talking to all of you. This year is going to be epic. I’m working on the next Mt. Olympus trilogy, which follows Wynter’s friend Jilly in the Furies department. I’m also outlining the last contracted Djinn Haven novel, which should finally get Kam and Tahm where they need to be. I’ve left Patrice hanging with several more stories to tell in the Undercover Gorgon serial, so I’ll be trying to finish her up. And I have a short story coming out for you later that involves a certain baby whose parents are an Aegis and a Reaper. And most exciting of all, I’m working on a brand new series for next year. Two words: Closet. Monster. It’s going to be ah-mazing.

I’m having a hell of a time not jumping straight into that last one, but it’s going to take a lot of time to set it up behind the scenes before I can begin. It’s a big deal, and I want to do it right. I owe it to Maurice and Sara, and I owe it to you.

I have the most wonderful, supportive readers. You waited patiently for the next book, and you didn’t forget me just because I slipped off of social media. You’re still here. For that, I am truly touched and extremely grateful. And I missed talking to you, so much.

Time for me to go write you another book.

See you real soon!

Rachel

 

RT Booklover Convention 2016

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bubbleswag

Transmutational Thought Transference Bubbles and fancy new bookmarks.

Ah, Vegas. The City of Lights. No, wait. The City of Brotherly Love. No, no. That’s not it either. The Windy City? Nope. The City That Never Sleeps? Probably true, but not the title.

Whatever it is, I’m going. I leave tomorrow morning, and I couldn’t leave without saying hello (Hello!) and telling you to get out there and have fun with me. (Get out there and have fun with me!) There will be many shenanigans to be had, and I plan to partake in at least a few. Plus, I have presents for you!

See that picture? Those are tiny bottles of Transmutational Thought Transference Bubbles, just like the ones they use in the Muse department at the Mt. Olympus Employment Agency. I will be carrying some with me all over the convention, so if you’re there and you see me, wave your arms at me or something. I want to give you stuff. Also, those are my new bookmarks behind the bubbles in the picture. I have those for you, too.

If a scavenger hunt to find me wandering around the Rio hotel isn’t your style, you can always send me a message on Facebook and I’ll try to catch up with you. OR…come see me where I can’t get away.

On Friday, April 15, from 2:45-3:45, I’ll be speaking on a panel called What Lies Beneath: Themes in Urban Fantasy. I’ll bring swag, and there’s been talk of a raffle, so we might be giving away books, too.

On Saturday, April 16, from 10:30-2:00, I’ll be sitting in the Giant Book Fair signing books, and of course, giving away bubbles, bookmarks, and some cool postcards with all the Monster Haven covers on them. My publisher sent them to me.

There will be copies of Unfinished Muse and Unamused Muse available for purchase. However, the bookseller purchased a limited number of each, so if you show up at my table and want to buy a book but they’re all gone, I’ll have copies of my own. I can’t take them in the ballroom during the signing, but we can always meet later. I don’t want anybody to go away empty handed.

So. Bubbles. Bookmarks. Books. And Vegas! If you’re there, I want to see you!

Let the shenanigans begin! (After I finish packing.)

 

A Reason to Celebrate

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monster valentineValentine’s Day is this weekend, and we’ve got big plans for adventure. But that shouldn’t surprise you. If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know I usually have something up my sleeve.

But my plans aren’t what I’m here to talk about today.

Over the course of the last several weeks, at least three people have told me they don’t do Valentine’s Day. These were all people in committed relationships, not angry singles who recently went through a bad break up.

I get it. It’s a terribly commercial, totally made up holiday designed to pressure folks into buying expensive gifts and prop up the greeting card industry. Single people are left out. People in early relationships are forced into awkward situations. And married people feel like they have to do certain things and buy certain things or risk looking like they don’t love their spouses.

That’s a lot of pressure.

So, I totally understand the general resistance I’ve encountered this year. But it still startled me each time it came up.

I resist this resistance!

In our house, we embrace every opportunity to celebrate. Our wedding anniversary is a day (or week sometimes) of celebration, of course, but we also make a big deal out of our half-iversary. We joined our lives kind of late in the game, so we feel like we owe ourselves twice the anniversaries to make up for it. But we also celebrate Groundhog Day by watching the Bill Murray movie of the same name. We celebrate Cinco De Mayo — or in the case of one year when nobody was home — Ocho De Mayo. We wear tiaras and eat fancy hors douevres for Oscar night. We watch fireworks at the drive-in on the Fourth of July, and we watch the Rose Parade from a hotel while eating a room-service breakfast on New Year’s Day.

And this Valentine’s Day we’ll stay at a hotel, spend the weekend in museums, will likely buy each other gifts in the LEGO store, have brunch in a train depot, and visit a planetarium.

The point here is, screw what you think you should do on Valentine’s Day. Do what you want to do. With or without a partner. It’s a made up holiday anyway. Make up something to do that you love.

Every day is a cause for celebration. Don’t believe me? Here’s a small sample. Personally, I’m looking forward to February 20th so we can celebrate Hoodie Hoo Day. Tomorrow, apparently, is Get a Different Name Day. I may insist on being called Lumiria Cobblepot all day long.

Do something fun. Find an adventure to go on. Celebrate something — anything. And do it your way.

Super Sekrit Project!

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***Normally, newsletter followers get exclusive access to news before it goes up anywhere else, but this time I made an exception to get the word out quickly. This is a duplicate of the newsletter, so if you’ve read that, ignore this!***

Undercover GorgonSo, I’ve been hinting for some time about a secret project. It’s time to finally tell you about it. But here’s the catch: I don’t want you to buy it.

I know. That sounds even crazier than the usual crazy I give you. But I have a couple of good reasons. Before I explain, let me tell you what I’m making!

If you’ve read Unfinished Muse or Transmonstrified, you will have seen the related Mt. Olympus short story “Undercover Gorgon.” It’s about the gorgon receptionist, Patrice, how she finds out she’s a gorgon, and what she does after hours when the lights go out at Mt. Olympus.

Patrice has many more adventures to share with you after that one.

So. Today we’ve released the first episode of Patrice’s story. See how pretty the cover is? I love this cover so much. Clarissa from Yocla Designs spoils me with her work. Notice on the bottom, it says “Episode #0 — Becoming.” Each Patrice episode that comes out will have the same cover, but that line will change.

Now, why don’t I want you to buy this one? For two reasons.

First, Episode #0 is a repackaging of the original “Undercover Gorgon” story available in two other books. I’d hate for you to spend money on it, expecting it to be something new.

Second, I’ve posted it free everywhere but Amazon. I can’t price things permanently free on Amazon. In another week or so, though, Amazon should price match the other folks, so eventually it’ll be free there, too. If you really don’t have this story yet but want to read it, either wait until Amazon has it free, get it somewhere else, or send me an email so I can send it to you. If you want to take a look you can find them right now on Amazon and Smashwords. All the other places will have it in the next week or so.

I absolutely don’t want my friends unnecessarily paying for Episode #0, okay? 

In December, “Episode #1 — Witches War” will be out. That one will be brand new. If you want to buy it, I certainly won’t try to talk you out of it.

My goal is to try and have something new for you, whether it’s a new novel, collection, miniseries, or short story every month from here on out. So, a new Undercover Gorgon episode will generally be out every month or two. And at the end of next year, we should have enough episodes to put them all together in a single book, which will also be available in paperback.

But first, Book 2, Unamused Muse! I ran into a snag, but it’ll be out at the end of next month. Yay!
Thanks for looking!

See you real soon!

 

Rachel