I’m talking about two different series today, and two rather different books. I finished the first draft of the first book in the Eternal Mates series on Saturday, and the completed book is around 94500 words. I wrote this first draft in a record 11 days, which is quite impressive, even if I do say so myself. I haven’t decided what I’m doing with it yet. I’ve been debating the future of the series and whether it will be another one I indie publish. The more I read about NYC and book contracts and publishers at the moment, the more reluctant I am to hand over this book. I’m not sure why I want an NYC deal now. Five years ago, when indie books were few and far between and ebooks were going nowhere slowly, NYC seemed fantastic and an amazing place to be. Now, I’m not so sure. I make a living as an indie writer, I have fantastic readers who are all amazingly supportive and always seem to be chomping at the bit for my next book. I’m not sure what NYC can offer me that I can’t do or achieve for myself. Do you guys care that I’m not a big NYC published author?
There are so many variables when it comes to NYC, and every chance that a book contract with them right now might limit what I can do as an indie, or may mean this series doesn’t end up as I envisaged it, or might end up never seeing the light of day for years, or ever.
It’s a tough decision, and one I’ll be thinking about while I work on the book. It may turn out that I decide to write the first three books of this series and the Guardians of Hades series, and release them in 2014, all 2 months apart or something crazy. Would you like that?
I haven’t worked on this next book this week really… but wanted to update everyone on it…
This week, I’ve been mainly focused on marketing work because I’ve been meaning to tackle it for some time now but never found the time, and I don’t want to go through this whole year without getting a better plan in place for my books and my career.
On Monday, I printed out Unleash (Vampire Erotic Theatre romance series book 6) and I’ll be beginning the second draft of the book next week, after reading this book at the weekend. I can’t wait to delve back into it and I’m really excited to see how it turned out. Hopefully, it won’t require too much work to get it into shape, but I know there are things I need to address in the book. Small things, but they’ll take time to fix up. Mainly description and detail stuff.
The reason I’m mentioning Unleash at all today is because I made a solemn vow on my Facebook fan page to consider posting a sneak peek of the book and since everyone has been so good, and so many of you are desperate for a tease of this book, I decided to post a snippet from the opening chapter…
As with all my sneak peeks, this is first draft, and yes… this is the opening of the whole book. Prepare for a cuteness overload though, as you’ll be seeing Snow in a whole new light.
Unleash – Sneak Peek
“Snow.”
The gentle feminine voice curled around him, warming him in spite of the frigid cold that bit at his fingers and nose. A sense of joy spread through him as he tried to run through the deep snow, his small legs and arms pumping hard, his focus locked with determination on his prey. The owl’s wings were bright even though no moon shone tonight. The crisp white blanket spread across the landscape highlighted everything as though his night vision was already as acute as it would be when he matured.
“Snow.” The voice called to him again, tender with affection and laced with amusement, but also a note of concern.
Mama.
Snow ran harder, giggling and arms reaching, stretching towards the bird in flight above him. Colours danced across the inky starlit sky beyond, ribbons fluttering on an unknown breeze in the heavens. He had never seen anything as beautiful as this night.
The snow began to shallow, the incline leading him deep into the valley basin. Mountains rose around him, pure white ragged canvases that reflected the luminescent turquoise, pink and blue shimmering above them. Breathing hard, he slowed to a walk and scanned his surroundings, searching for the owl. His hearing sharpened and he caught the quiet flutter of wings and the whisper of a branch shifting as the owl landed in a nearby copse of trees.
His mother’s voice was distant as she called to him. He knew he should return now before he made her frantic again, but he wanted to capture the owl and show his papa that he had grown since last winter and was able to hunt now. Papa would be proud if he killed the owl.
Snow hunkered low, his pale furs and white hair allowing him to blend into his stark environment. He stalked towards the trees, his eyes fixed on the owl, keeping as close to the ground as he could and moving silently through the icy snow that reached his knees.
Mama called again.
He stilled and slowly looked back over his shoulder, following the trail of his footprints through the snow, torn between returning to her and continuing.
“Snow!” The usual softness in her voice was gone, replaced by fear.
Snow stood swiftly and frowned.
His hands were warm.
Wet.
He looked down at his hands and stumbled backwards, eyes wide and heart thumping wildly. Blood.
His eyes darted from his drenched arms to the snow around him. Blood slashed across the snow too, stark crimson against pristine white.
Snow panicked and bolted for the trail that would take him back to his mother, his heart thundering hard against his chest and limbs shaking so badly he could barely keep himself from falling to the ground.
“Snow.” His mother’s voice was frantic now, terrified.
Mama.
Hot tears burned his eyes and he ran harder. His foot snagged on a tree limb hidden beneath the snow and he slammed into the cold embrace of the earth. His arms shook as he pushed himself up and his heart missed several beats when he saw that the landscape around him had changed. The mountains were different. He looked back over his shoulder. The moon was full and a lake nestled amongst the mountains, glittering under its silvery light.
His mother called again, and he found the strength to shove to his feet and run, faster this time, using all of his speed and his limited senses to scour the strange land for her.
A beautiful chateau loomed ahead, warm golden light glowing in several of the windows of the grand stone building. Conical towers speared the dark sky in places, the deep brown tiles obscured by snow, giving the place a gothic appearance suited to this nightmare unfolding before him.
A bloody trail led towards it, cutting across the snow, black in the moonlight.
Snow followed the wretched trail, knowing it would lead him to his mother, fearful that he was already too late to save her.
Did you enjoy that sneak peek?
Do you care that I’m not an NYC author and what do you think of having 3 books from the Guardians of Hades Series next year, and maybe 2-3 from the Eternal Mates Series?
