It’s been a while…

I can’t believe I haven’t published an L.K. Rigel title since Goblin Ball – that was January 2015, sheesh!

I have to admit I was a bit crushed by the rousing lack of interest in the book. I have always been a terrible marketer. I began to wonder if I was also a terrible writer. So I went off to play in the more author-friendly fields of JAFF.

For those who don’t know what that is, JAFF stands for Jane Austen Fan Fiction. There is a world of people who adore Pride and Prejudice and want spinoffs featuring their favorite couple. I love 19th century novels – even studied them in grad school. I had thought I’d come up with the idea of rewriting one myself with My Mr. Rochester ha!

So that’s where I’ve been, playing in the JAFF pool under the pen name Kate Bedlow. It’s actually been a lot of fun. I’ve written some stories I love a lot, especially Mrs. Hurst and the Huntsman and my latest, Darcy and Elizabeth: Fair Trade. Poor Mrs. Hurst has only two reviews, one of them a 1-star because it isn’t about Darcy and Elizabeth (and it’s also got steamy bdsm-lite sex in it, which the JAFF readers don’t tend to like). Fair Trade, on the other hand has had better sales than any other book I have ever written – and it only came out for pre-order on June 30 of this year.

It’s all about the reader expectations. I almost hit them perfectly with Fair Trade, except for the WORST. ENDING. EVER according to one review. You know I have to be contrary somewhere. Fortunately, the other readers either loved the ending or tolerated it.

I should write another Fair Trade.

I miss writing fantasy.

I haven’t been able to not. I’ve been working on a new paranormal romance series. I’ve taken all I’ve learned in the past few years and mixed it with my particular quirks. In keeping with My Mr. Rochester and my JAFF adventure, the new series was inspired by the classic R.D. Blackmore novel, Lorna DooneBut that has turned out to be a point of departure.

This will be the first series I’ve written that I intend from the beginning to be a series. It’s hard to remember, but Give Me was originally just supposed to be a one-off! I’ve already planned five books in this new series. They will all be full-length novels. The first book will be out in the fall. There are witches and shapeshifters and vampires.

Oh my.

When I get closer to being finished, I’ll reveal the series name, the title of the first book, post a sneak peek at the first chapter – all that fun stuff.