State of Michele's Union aka what's going on.

Here’s the million dollar question… When is (insert title) going to be done?

I wish I had the answer you want to hear, but I don’t. I’m not even close to having an answer for you. For any of my anticipated books. None. Let me explain several reasons why I am where I am.

Let’s go all the way back to May 2013 when my debut novel, Never Let You Fall, was published. *applause* I was so excited with my accomplishment - I finished a book! - but I had no idea what I was doing.  So, instead of jumping into book two, I followed up on an idea of mine that turned into Last Call. I loved this story and these characters and as soon as I typed ‘The End’ I knew I wanted to tell more. Last Call stands alone but my Aussie bartender wasn’t done talking and therefore I told readers (at the end of the book) I would write His Call in 2014, AFTER I wrote the next Tyalbrook. Next, we fast forward to Never Let You Go which released in January 2014.  

{Let me recap for you - that is THREE 80k plus books in less than a year. Once upon a time that was considered super fast in the publishing industry.}

Back to our story… I finished my third book and BAM. My brain froze. I wrote some for His Call. I wrote some for Tyalbrook. I did several book events that spring and I played around, waiting for the mojo to kick in so I could finish one of those two projects. 

*cue evil laughter* Life never happens how we plan and by March I had a SHINY NEW IDEA and From The Wreckage was born. This series consumed me and in a matter of a few months I wrote and released From The Wreckage, Out of Ruins and All That Remains.

And my life changed. Those books took off in a way I never expected. Readers loved them and I was so grateful. And this is when my dilemma began to grow. You see, my other books did well. I was more than happy with where I was before From The Wreckage. But, I sink thousands of dollars into covers, editing, PR and marketing and I have to think of my writing as a business.

With that in mind, I did what seemed best and I wrote Into The Fire because the story was screaming to be told. It's the book I am proudest of - sales or not. 
While working on Into The Fire I did something else HUGE. I signed with my agent. *applause* After I released Into The Fire back in March, I debated my next step. Tyalbrook #3? His Call? Another Wrecked booked? I wasn't sure so I decided to call my agent, Italia, and we talked for two hours about my career and where I saw myself going. Can you say television, movies, bookstores??

The end result? A secret project was born that is so amazing and has so much potential my heart raced for days after our call. It’s still racing. Since the beginning of April I’ve researched this new project all while attempting to work on the stories I know readers are waiting on. I wrote myself into a hard place, I know this. I told you you would get Tyalbrook #3, His Call and more stories with Jules and West in them. And you will. It’s the when that's in limbo and I’m sorry for that, I truly am. My brain is working on four projects on any given day. My focus has been so split over the last two months that I have, at times, thought I was going to have a breakdown. The pressure is real. I want to make everyone happy and yet, I can’t.

I ask that you know I have not abandoned these stories. I will not rush them if I don’t feel them though. Writing isn’t simply sitting at a computer and typing words. My stories are more than that. My characters talk to me and tell me what they want and I have to wait for them. Sometimes they are stubborn - Xander! - and they don’t talk when I need them too.

To ease my stress I plan on being less forthcoming with projected release dates. I don’t want to set expectations I can’t make, and I don’t want to disappoint readers. I will continue to offer you teases as I write and I’m always happy to answer your questions about my writing.

So there you go… My state of the union. As always, thank you for supporting me. It means a great deal to be doing what I love. I never dreamed others would read something I wrote and love it too. My readers rock my world.

One tiny bit of amazing news for Prophecy of Tyalbrook fans - I’ll be sharing the brand new covers on June 8th. They are amazing and I can’t wait for you to see them. 

Note below one of the inspirations for my secret project... yes, this is bribery to make up for the news above!