I have to say that February was very enjoyable. Weather and writing have both been kind to me.  “The Chosen” (tentative title) was accepted by Ellora’s Cave publishers and I am quite excited to see what will happen with it! I am still working on completing another book, but am bopping about again from story to story. Nothing grabbing at me just yet. With two books on the go, I can get back to writing for the love of it since the pressure I give myself is lessened. Still nothing on Aelida’s release date. SIGH. I also posted a short story under “Tidbits”, titled “The Darkest Hour.” It was an idea that keep nagging at me, so I wrote a short bit to get it out of my mind. I don’t know if it merits a longer story or not. We will have to see. : )

Take Care

J.C.

I have added a short story to my “Tidbits” page, entitled “Darkest Hour”. : )

Wow! This has been a surprising and very happy month! First of all, “Wishes”, an older story that has been reworked, was accepted by Etopia. I had actually given up on the story itself, but I read it after two years and thought it might have some potential. I just assumed that Etopia would tell me what had to be changed, but no, they accepted it! Shows you that I am the worst judge of my own work. : ) If I did not have others to give me opinions, none of my stories would ever be published! I am just so picky…  The second surprise was that I finished “The Chosen” in a week. The words just came to me and I was writing 4000 words a day, sometimes even more than that. Believe me, that is amazing! So it is finished and I have sent it off. Chewing my nails now, wondering if it is good enough. We will just have to see! I still have no concrete date for the Aelida books. They just said “spring”, so your guess is as good as mine. As soon as I know more, I will post it. Thank you for all the support you give and the e-mails that keep me working, even when I have no faith in my work. Sometimes I succeed in spite of myself! Typical writer… : )

Take Care

J.C.

Hope everyone survived Christmas relatively intact! May the New Year bring peace and prosperity to all. : )
Still plodding along in the writing. I keep hoping for a flash of inspiration that will see me through to finishing a book. Currently, The Chosen, Out of the Darkness, and a rewrite of an older manuscript are my main focus. With a little luck, any of them could be finished in January. I sure hope so. It has never taken me this long to have another book completed!
Take Care
J.C.

Still plugging along. Not a great month for writing, but am keeping at it, hoping for inspiration so that I can finish a book, any book, by the end of this year. Not holding my breath though, the way things have been going! Finally got word about Aelida. After hanging in the wind since May, now the word is that the last three books to finish the story will now be released in the spring. So sorry to all those who have asked what is happening, but I only got word today myself. : ( Not very happy about the wait, but…
Still working mainly on “The Chosen”, formerly titled “Desert Wind”, and “Out of the Darkness”. Hopefully either one will be near completion by the time the New Year rolls around! Thanks to all of you who have written to me, keeping my spirits up and my nose to the grindstone!!
Take Care
J.C.

Wow! Just got this message!!

“Draconian Measures has been nominated by TRR reviewers for Best GLBT Paranormal Romance – Magic/Fantasy (2011) at The Romance Reviews (“TRR”).

Voting takes place here! http://www.theromancereviews.com/bookvote.php

Voting officially starts today, November 16, until November 30. Results would be announced on December 1.”

Bit of a shock here!! I personally love the story, but it is very different from anything else I have written, so I have received very mixed reviews on it. For it to be nominated for this is rather jaw dropping and completely amazing. Thank you to those of you who believed in it!! Just wanted to share this. : ) Kind of a happy moment…
Take Care
J.C.

This month was completely void of writing. Not good when I had hoped to finish another book by November!! Hopefully my muse will get on track now that the colder weather has set in. Focusing on Desert Wind and Out of Darkness for the moment. The response to the release of Wings 2 has been overwhelming and I cannot thank my readers enough for their support. This book had originally been refused by a publisher, and I had given up on it, but thanks to a wonderful editor who took the time to give me pointers to change the few things that held it back, the book could be released. It is due to her that this story saw the light of day and I thank you immensely, Georgia! Because an author is so close to their own work, they often lose perspective, and I myself often lose confidence in the story, no longer able to see its potential, and feeling it is not worthy. I worry a lot about my readers and want to give quality to them, not just a rushed, make money sort of project. I am my own worst critic to the point that I will stop writing entirely for periods of time because I feel my work is not good enough. I have to fight past that barrier time and again, and my readers have often been the tipping point between a story stalling and being completed. A single e-mail has often given me the impetus to finish a book. Many, many thanks to those who have taken the time to support me. Believe me when I say it is completely appreciated. : )
That was a lot of rambling…as to news, I will be back working on Aelida again soon, so I will let everyone know what is happening there. Will try very hard to complete a story, any story, by the end of the year.
Take Care
J.C.

Does anyone know where summer went??? I think I missed it. : ) It went by so damned fast I can hardly believe it. Now it is the end of September and I am so not ready for winter… Mind you, my writing always benefits from cold weather, so I will buckle down and get back to the grindstone! Nothing much to post. Wings 2 is still coming out October 7th from Etopia Press. Aelida is still on hold with no news of dates from Etopia. Working on “Desert Wind” which is giving me fits. For some reason, I can write up to thirty thousand words with absolute ease, but the moment I hit that thirty thousand, I lose faith in the book and quit. I always have to force myself to finish. I am not sure what mental twist this indicates, but I wish I could cure it!!! Still, I have fans who keep me writing with their wonderful encouragement, so I will get back at it!
Take Care
J.C.

This summer has been unique, to say the least. Either rain or mosquitoes has made it less than enjoyable, but as it comes to fall, it has become more beautiful and I cannot bear to be inside for this last little bit of freedom! So, as you can guess, I have gotten very little writing done. “Desert Wind” is not flowing at all, so I am working on several other titles in the meantime. Still no news on when the rest of “Aelida” will come out. A little frustrating. : ) “Wings 2” is still on for Oct. 7th at Etopia, so that is good at least. Hope all of you enjoyed your summer and let’s hope for a long, mellow fall!
Take Care
J.C.

Wow! Just got word today that Wings 2: Dominion of the Eth has a tentative release date of Oct. 7 at Etopia Press. Way earlier than I had expected! Yay!
Take Care
J.C.