Launch Party prep and other moments of insanity

I have totally ignored my blog, but I swear it was for many good reasons! Well . . . most of the time. That whole incident when I stole my daughter’s jumbo bag of Mega M&Ms and inhaled the whole thing may not have been wise, but I was writing for Kian at the time. I mean – it’s KIAN. He’s like his own chocolate high for any female on the planet.

But, anyway, I have been prepping for the launch party of STORMFRONT! Yup – ’tis true! That book you have nagged me for since last fall is finally waiting in the wings, ready to make its debut! I’ve been sending out invitations, ordering swag (and the swag is OMG!), and tweaking last minute changes to the cover.

DONE! It’s DONE! Which is a total miracle I might add, because I was A NUT about the storyline in this massive sucker (452 pages . . . at this rate, the last book will weigh five pounds).

I am truly excited to hand this off to readers because of the twists in the story and those ridiculous, five characters that hijack my mind. The sucker is up on Goodreads, so make sure you add it to your “shelves” to read!

UNDERTOW‘s journey was a shock for me.

I was left awed at how it climbed the ranks, gained such ardent fans, and landed on Must Read lists. It was like an out-of-body experience, truly. I’d see reviews and conversations coming up online and I was like, “Seriously? You’re obsessing about MY book? Fighting over characters? Screaming for the next one? Are your SERIOUS? Am I being PUNK’D? But . . . but . . . REALLY!!??”

Once the initial shock started to feel more normal (note – it NEVER wears off, I swear), I realized I was screwed. I needed to keep going – keep writing Eila’s story, but I also worked FULL TIME. I admit that I did have a momentary break-down and full-on panic attack because I knew I had to write like Steven King on Crack to get the next book out.

Even more terrifying was the fact that I now had fans going into STORMFRONT.

I had real people, across the country (and overseas) that were COUNTING ON ME not to choke. To not make a literary face-plant into second-book-hate-syndrome. I needed to top UNDERTOW, the story that sparked their obsession. I needed to leave them so breathless and fully addicted that they would scream the characters’ names from the rooftops (or their blogs – that would work too).

So, yeah. If you think it is scary to release your first book to the critical eye of the world, just wait until you send out the second one.

I have no fingernails left. None.

On the plus side, the money I save from not having to buy nail polish can go into my hair-dye fund, since I’m sure the grey suckers are about to attack . . .