2015 Year in Review

2015 Year in Review

This past year has been an exciting one for me and my family in many ways. My son is officially an adult and also a licensed driver, which opens up many, many opportunities for both of us, not least of which is that on our random road trips, he can drive while I work. My sister won her 200th game as head coach, a huge milestone we all celebrated. And life is pretty good all the way around, in spite of the loss of a beloved great aunt and the terminal illness of Richard’s mother.

Work wise, things are rolling right along. In 2015, I officially became a full-time writer, income-wise, thanks to the success of The Choosing (A Novel of the Pruxnae). Tempered (Daughters of the People, Book 3.5) landed in the finals of the first writing contest I entered. I was also invited to be a part of two multi-author box sets, including Alien Kisses & Holiday Wishes, for which I wrote A Warrior’s Touch(A Novella of the Pruxnae).

My writing and publication schedule went off course in the middle of the year. In spite of that, I still managed to publish a full load, including:

  • Unfurled Shadows, the fifth and final installment in The New Vampire Series, which in March, I bundled and published as The New Vampire, officially the third installment in The Vampyr Series;
  • Three stories in the Pruxnae Series, Thief of Hearts, The Choosing, and A Warrior’s Touch;
  • Say Yes, the first novel in the Sons of the People Series;
  • Two installments in the Daughters of the People Series, In All Things, Balance and Sanctuary, plus new editions of The Prophecyand Light’s Bane;
  • And a novelette-length spin-off of In All Things, Balance and bonus scenes for it and Say Yes.

All in all, it’s been a very good writing year. I know readers are waiting for more stories in these series, so I want to take just a moment to confirm that, yes, more are on the way. The first draft of The Vampire’s Favorite (The Vampyr, Book 2) is nearly finished and will be available to readers shortly. It’s a humdinger of a story. I can’t wait to share it with you.

And because the ideas have been percolating for a while, I’ve already made tentative inroads into the first draft of The Master Vampire, the final book of the Vampyr. TMV returns to Eric Logan’s point of view. I really can’t wait to have him in my head again as the main character. A lot of this series’ readers have contacted me and told me that he’s one of their favorite characters. What’s not to love? Our shy geek has slowly come into his own over the course of the series, and I promise, you’ll love the man he becomes by the end of this last book.

Readers of the Pruxnae Series have been clamoring for more. To that end, 2016 will bring at least one and possibly two additional stories, closing out the series. Alien Mine will be the first story out. It’s officially the third entry in the series, although they can very nearly be read in any order, as long as readers start with The Choosing. AM follows Dyuvad ab Mhij to Earth, where he must protect the youngest daughter of Rachel Hunter.

The final planned book in the series is Sweet Surrender, in which spitfire Tyelu af Alna meets her equal. No spoilers, but this one will include more on the mysterious Q, from the viewpoint of Jos Q’Mhel.

Sweet Surrender isn’t the end of the story, however. There’s much more to the Sweepers’ resurgence, and that will be explained in a forthcoming series, to be announced at a later date. While SS is the last planned story in the Pruxnae Series, I have two other stories in mind, though whether or not I’ll write them remains to be seen.

The coming year may see the completion of the Daughters of the People Series in the final three books:

  • The Gathering Storm, in which Sigrid Glyvynsdatter attempts to decipher clues she finds within the Bones of the Just, and tries to decide what to do with handsome bartender Will Corbin;
  • Redemption, which sees a return of staunch Eternal Order member India Furia;
  • And War’s Last Refuge, the final book in the series.

If you’re wondering what happened to the extras on the Lucy Varna website, I’m hoping to gather them into a short story collection along with new, never-before-published tales and offer them in an official short story collection. When that will happen is a matter of when I can squeeze writing said stories into my schedule. I already have a cover, in anticipation of publishing the collection in 2016, but please don’t hold your breath. It really is a matter of finding the time to do it.

Speaking of, there are so many more stories rambling around in my head, including extensions of the Vampyr Series (or possibly a different series altogether for V.R. Cumming readers), the second installment in the Sons of the People Series (these were always intended to be released very far apart, by the way), a very special follow up to the Daughters of the People Series, plus much, much more. I always have more ideas than I can develop and write, not a bad thing at all!

Right now, I’m focusing on getting my writing schedule back on track and continuing to build a relationship with readers. The coming year promises to be as stellar as the previous one.

Happy New Year!

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