Dear Readers,
A few months ago I announced that I was going to take some time away from writing. Last September, I crashed and burned during negotiations with Penguin/NAL for a third series. The offer they made wasn’t a good one and I turned it down. At the time I was frustrated, angry and felt my career wasn’t making any headway, and the decision to leave the business seemed to be the right one. I thought it would be easy to walk away.
I was wrong.
Since that time I’ve been conflicted and struggling with the decision. I love to write. It’s all I know how to do. And I felt terrible that I left so many series unfinished and so many books unwritten. The thought of never writing again has bothered me. A lot. It hasn’t been easy to shut the door and throw away the key on something that has consumed almost 25 years of my life.
So, I’m going to write again. And since I’m no longer tied to any particular publisher, it means I no longer have to write within any given sets of parameters as expected by any particular editor. Simply put, I’m going to write what I want to, the way I want to. And I’ll release it the way I want, in the formats my readers have come to expect. Writing is a lonely job. It should be fun since so much time and effort goes into putting out something readers will enjoy. I’m not saying publishing in New York prevented me from doing my best write a good book. But the pressures of deadlines, editor red-lines and apathetic publishers giving the books zero support seriously drained away all my creative energy. The thrill of losing myself in myself in my characters had vanished. However, those same characters are refusing to be put aside. They live on in my mind, demanding release. The only way to free them is to put their stories down on paper.
What does this mean for future releases? Well, I’ll probably be going independent to finish the series’ that were left in limbo. This will mean a return to the Kynn books (Sins of the Flesh, Sins of the Night) as well as the Eternity books (Echoes of Angels, Descent of Demons), as well as other single titles that were shopped around but never sold. Given time –and a good editor– I will begin releasing new material by the end of 2012. If all works out, new books and novellas will (hopefully) appear several times a year on a regular release schedule. I am planning to explore options in both eBook and print, so no one will miss out on the books they want.
It isn’t going to happen overnight. But I am currently working to put the old gears back into motion and see if I can’t return to doing what I’ve always felt I was born to do. We all have a calling in life. I’ve always felt mine was, and is, to write.
To close this note, I want to thank all the people who wrote to request more books. Your kind words and support means so much! I’m touched and deeply grateful for every single one of my readers. I hope that you’ll be sharing in my new adventure for many years to come!
Warmest wishes to all~
Devyn