Another contest! And some thoughts regarding the Sinners and Saints series.

Come and visit me at LASR today for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card. I've contributed a guest piece on character chemistry, what makes it work, and all that other stuff that hopefully makes me sound smart. I'd love to see you there, so please drop on by. Flip Side of Sin has just crawled past 80k, which makes it the longest book in the series to date with a chapter and a half plus an epilogue left to write. What happens next, though, is anyone's guess. I'm exploring some different options regarding the series, and haven't yet arrived at any conclusions. It's no secret I love writing the series, and for the most part, even with its controversial religious themes, it has been well-received insofar as most reviewers and has garnered a few fans. Yet for as much as I love writing it, as much as I love the characters and the plot-line, the series overall hasn't done as well as I would have liked. This doesn't mean I'll stop writing it, and I won't hold any of the upcoming books hostage. I'm just reevaluating where the series stands as of right now, and what I can do, as the author, that I might not be doing already.

Admittedly, when Sinfully Scandalous debuted, I didn't have nearly the time nor the means to promote the book as I had the first one. I was three months out from my wedding, so all of my resources were dedicated to getting me to the church on time. And, I will confess, I was also a little disillusioned with how much I had spent in promoting Wages versus the earnings. Yes, this is part of the job, and I want to be clear: I don't write for money. I write for me. But the reasons why I write and the reasons why I publish are very different.

I do believe most of this is my own doing. In the two and a half since my first publication came out, my accessibility to readers has been very scattered. When I started publishing, I had no idea how important social networking was, and though it has come to my attention, I haven't been a very good blogger. My time on Twitter has likewise been scattered (in part due to the aforementioned wedding) and I barely touch my Facebook. These are things I want to improve upon in the coming months.

Writing is more than a hobby for me, and if I intend to build a career out of it, I really need to get my ass in gear. As I said--for those who are awaiting the third book--I'm exploring some options, and I'll do my best to keep you informed. I also think I'm starting another paranormal series--this one dealing with weres, shifters, and vamps--though it won't be as long or involved, and I'm going to do my best to write them in such a way the order in which they are read won't matter. I'm also trying to gear myself up for an urban fantasy idea I've spent the past year or so tossing around.

All right, I think that's it for now. Thanks to all who read, and don't forget to visit me at LASR!