Publishing news and the future of my books . . .

 If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed that I've been holed up in my deadline cave for the last few weeks, working on book 3 of my Into The Dark series. The first draft was supposed to be due on February 1st, and Wednesday morning I was riding high on having written 4300 words the day before and was just settling into my writing routine . . . when my phone rang. I jumped to answer it as I do any time a call comes in from New York, just in case it's my editor or agent is calling. This time it was my editor, but what she had to say was wholly unexpected.

Egmont USA, my publisher, will be closing its doors on January 30th.

The word heartbroken doesn't even seem to cover how I am feeling right now. I sold my very first book to Egmont USA in January 2009, and I was working on my sixth book for them when I got the news. It feels like I am losing part of family. I have so much respect and gratitude for the wonderful staff who will all be out of jobs at the end of the month. I am grief struck for all of the authors who have had books canceled (including myself), utterly upset over what this means for my characters and their stories, and disappointed on behalf of my readers who have so graciously invested themselves in my writing.

I find myself rotating through the stages of grief, but most of all, I feel determined to make sure this is not the end of the road for me or my books. I am also immensely grate for all the calls, texts, emails, messages, flowers, and offers of support and help. The best thing about bad news is the outpouring of love that comes afterwards.

So what exactly does this all mean? I don't know a lot at this point, but here is what I do know:

1. The paperback edition of THE SHADOW PRINCE and the hardcover of THE ETERNITY KEY will still be published within the next few months.  They were originally scheduled to be released in April and May respectively, but those dates may move up. (So hurray, you may get to read THE ETERNITY KEY even sooner than originally planned!) However, with my publisher leaving, that means most of my marketing and publicity will go with it. I will be brainstorming ways to spread the word on my own.

2. My backlist books (THE DARK DIVINE, THE LOST SAINT, THE SAVAGE GRACE, ant THE SHADOW PRINCE hardcover) will continue be available through one of Egmont UK's distributors. However, I don't know exactly for how long. (So if you ever wanted to buy one of my books but haven't yet, now is the time to do it.) I'll keep you posted if anything changes with my books' availability. The same goes for THE ETERNITY KEY--it will be available, but I don't know for how long.

3. As far as the future of Into The Dark Book 3, that's all up in the air right now. I have 2/3rds of a first draft written of the book so far--and I have to admit, I really love how the story is going so far. I love Haden and Daphne, and I will be absolutely devastated if I don't get to finish their story. Right now, I am exploring options for getting Book 3 into the hands of my readers. 

4. A lot of people have been asking how they can help and I am so incredibly grateful for this. So here is how people can help: pre-order, post, tell a friend, spread the word of mouth about THE SHADOW PRINCE and THE ETERNITY KEY.  I have gotten so many sweet messages from friends telling me that Book 3 will certainly find a new home with a new publisher--but the reality of this is unlikely. Most traditional publishers won't be interested in picking up a third book in a series. However, the better THE ETERNITY KEY sells, the better those slim chances get. And on the other hand, if I decide to self publish Book 3, the better THE ETERNITY KEY sells, the more likely I will be able to afford the expenses of going it alone. So yeah, if you've ever had the inclination to buy either THE SHADOW PRINCE or THE ETERNITY KEY, now is the time to do it. I hate asking people to buy my books, but if you can spare a pre-order, please do so. If buying a book isn't something you can do, that's totally cool. Requesting the books from your local library is also very helpful. Tweeting, reviewing, Facebooking and Goodreads-ing (is that a word? it should be) makes a big difference. Word of mouth is vital in this business, and right now I could use every word I can get.

5. I'll probably be looking to set up a blog tour and reviews for THE ETERNITY KEY soon. If you're interested, please let me know either through the comments or by clicking that contact button in my header.

Thank you so much to everyone who has ever bought, read, or shared one of my books. My stories exist because of YOU.