The Plan

I might have a lot going on right now, but all this crazy publishing activity has only made me determined to have a lot MORE going on.  So, I thought I'd sit down and figure out MY PLAN.



By the end of this month, I will hopefully be done with the zero-draft of FORGOTTEN ANGEL.  What's FORGOTTEN ANGEL?  It's a novella for Samhain's Superhero open-call, but more than that, it's the start of a five-book series called EARTH ANGELS.  So far I'm loving the myth-building that's going on -- it makes sense to me to the point that it feels REAL.  That's a fabulous thing when you're dealing with a paranormal world.


By August 1, I hope to set aside FORGOTTEN ANGEL to marinate, and focus on my next submission to Carina Press.  This one is a biggie -- MOST LIKELY is already written but needs cuts and polishing, and it too is the start of a series, tentatively entitled BITTERTHORN ROOTS.  Bitterthorn, a fictional town 30 miles from San Antonio, Texas is such a real place to me, full of simple, solid values and a warm southern touch that is as welcoming as a hug.  Every time I enter into a Bitterthorn story, I feel like I'm coming home.


By September 1, both FORGOTTEN ANGEL and MOST LIKELY are destined to be submitted.  I'm also hopeful of completing a free-read connected to BEST MAN, WORST MAN, tentatively entitled GROOM AND DOOM.  Once I get all three of these projects off the launching pad, it's time to dip my oar into new waters.  Avon Impulse is asking for submissions, and I believe I have just the thing for them.


MONOPOLY MAN is a short story I wrote for eHarlequin's Nocturne Bites line well over a year ago.  Since I've never heard anything back from them, I'm assuming the Slushpile Monster gobbled it up, and I'm now free to submit it elsewhere.  I need to add several scenes I wasn't able to do in the original, due to word count restrictions.  By mid-October, though, it should be ready.  Though I'm nervous about dipping my oar into the uncharted waters over at Avon, I won't know what they're looking for until I reach out to them.  One way or another, I'm determined to put on my big-girl pants and give them a try!


But I won't be satisfied with just that.  The second book in the BITTERTHORN ROOTS series is BURIED SECRETS, a fabulously fun contemporary I've loved for ages.  I don't know why I've never let anyone see this book; it's one of my all-time favorites. :)  If I can get that polished up and off to Carina Press by November, I'll be happy.


But I STILL won't be satisfied (because that's how it is when you're determined to take over the world).

If I'm lucky enough to somehow land FORGOTTEN ANGEL at Samhain (or anywhere else, for that matter), I would love to get the next full-length book, WARRIOR ANGEL out before the New Year.  This idea came to me fully-formed, and its impatience to get itself written is almost painful.  But it has to wait its turn.  I have a plan, and I'm determined to stick with it.


So, just to keep myself straight, here's how I see things:


1. Finish FORGOTTEN ANGEL (July)
2. Polish MOST LIKELY, FORGOTTEN ANGEL (August)
3. Submit FORGOTTEN ANGEL (Samhain) and MOST LIKELY (Carina Press) (Sept 1)
4. Complete free read, GROOM AND DOOM (Sept)
5. Rewrite MONOPOLY MAN (October) and submit to Avon Impulse
6. Polish and submit BURIED SECRETS to Carina Press (November)
7. If possible, Finish and submit WARRIOR ANGEL for Samhain by New Year's (maybe)


And if you think this is ambitious, you should see what I have planned for next year.