Clockwork Orange

Good morning!! We are just coming off an incredibly busy weekend. So Monday is a little hard for this family today.

In fact, I've declared it Higginson-National-Sweatpants-Day. In which we ALL are in sweats. Even the baby.

Ok, not my husband, but Zach looks down his nose at wearing sweats in public and today he's off to do lots of errands.

I however, have absolutely NO problems wearing sweats. Trust me. In public, at home, in foreign countries, when they bury me, for days at a time...

You get the picture. Feel to join us and celebrate by wearing your favorite pair of sweats. It's liberating I promise. In fact, I even plan on wearing them to Solo's doctor appointment today. Sometimes my children's doctor remarks on how great I look for having four kids. I'm thinking today is not one of those days.

Usually, I try to give my children a better life though and don't let them wear sweats out in public. Especially not to school.... I even make them DRESS UP on Tuesdays and Thursdays and boycott jeans on those days.

But Stella was so exhausted this morning I used them to bribe her into going.. How terrible is that????

But we had our first Dance Competition weekend and it was intense.

First of all, let me answer your question. Yes, I am a Dance Mom. JUST like the reality show!!!

Only, I'm not that crazy. I don't really belong in this world.... And my daughters have WONDERFUL teachers. Nothing like Abby Lee!!!!

But anyway, I will blog more about that tomorrow. Because it does deserves it's very own blog. Both in way of explanation. AND because let's be honest, a weekend full of Stage Parents, expensive, but tiny costumes, spray tans, smuggled alcohol and trophies to be won makes a fantastic story!!

Ok. But today I'm sticking to Book Stuff ONLY. Ignore the previous rambles and focus completely on what's ahead. :)

I've been getting a lot of questions about a release date for The Rush and The Relentless Warrior and Sunburst. So along with a Timeline for those releases I'm also going to be making an announcement that might frustrate some of you. But I hope not.

First. And. Foremost.

The Rush has a release date. And it's this month. Are you excited yet????

March 22nd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah! I'm so excited. So I hope you are too!!!!!

That's literally like just two and a half weeks away!!!!! Oh man, I kind of can't wait. I'm always surprised when I have a release date. Which means I will be releasing another book. Which in turn means I've actually written another book. Which always makes me look back and go "How did this even happen???? Am I sure I was the one that did the writing????"

But March 22nd it will happen all over again!!!

So that's the exciting news.

The good news.

Now... here's the bad news.

Well, it's not really bad news, but it's um.... Well, it's news.

After The Rush, which is a series by the way, I will be taking a little bit of a break from my current projects.

I'm currently writing three different paranormal series AND a podcast.

I definitely didn't plan to take on so much. In fact, when I wrote and released Starbright in September, that was initially going to be my ONLY project until I was finished with the series. But then I couldn't let go of The Star-Crossed series. I really felt this absolute need to continue on with the storyline and give some of my favorite characters better endings. That's how the Reluctant King happened. And then The Rush was born out of a story that just refused to stay silent in my head. It started as a writing exercise whenever I needed a break from The Reluctant King I would just write little bits and pieces of it and then once I started, I couldn't stop and now I have a release date.

So now I'm in the middle of THREE series. I feel like I have severe ADHD. And ok, maybe... probably I do.

It wouldn't be so bad except that they are all SERIES. Right?? I mean, I only have like twenty books ahead of me, no big deal... :) Just kidding.

If you know anything about me, know that I am obsessed and addicted to series. Like, I'm almost positive I can't write anything but a series. Especially in the paranormal realm.

And this is why. I prefer to take my time with a story. And by that I don't mean that I want to drag it out as long as I can. But I write from experience. And I don't think Love just happens. I believe life is messy and hard and relationships are worse. All of us have unavoidable flaws, all of us have hangups and issues and baggage and it takes a long time to get to the End-All-Life-Changing-Loves that I write about.

Just ask my husband.

I dated the poor guy for four years before I married him. Granted half the time we were in high school.... But still.

The length of a series gives me room to let every single thing I believe should happen in a relationship happen and still get the Happily Ever After. Think Eden and Kiran... right???

Yes, they fell in love in Reckless. But that wasn't the right kind of love they needed to survive everything they had to face. They both had a lot of growing up to do. Which is why it took four books.

And probably every book I write will be like that. Well, almost every book.

Unless I change my strategy and start writing like J. R. R. Tolkien length books....

Just kidding. I would never do that to you!!! Well. Probably I would never do that to you....

But while I am emotionally invested into each of these series, I need a for real break from the Supernatural World.

Don't get me wrong. It's where my heart lives. I have this innate need to take real life and make it more. That's a great story to me. Blending the two worlds until we have relatable, real life characters that face unrealistic, exaggerated obstacles.

But I also need to step away for a minute. I think it's just a little bit of paranormal-overload. I think that's even where the ADD has come from. I mean, right now, I can't even READ a paranormal book. I can't even face one. And that's all I used to read.

I can't even make myself go see Beautiful Creatures. How sad is that???

So I've decided to do a little experiment just to see if it can help me get out of this funk.

After The Rush I am going to write a........ Contemporary Romance.

This is my new version of therapy. When in need, just change up the genre.

I have faith this will work. :)

Plus, I'm really excited about the idea of writing something new.

I would call this NA, but it's not. It's still YA. Although the characters are older than I typically write about.

I'm still working on the title, and will announce that probably when I release The Rush.

And even though I just gave a ridiculously long speech about my love for series, this, as of now, will be a stand alone.

Although... I just might reach Lord of the Rings proportions in length to accomplish that! :)

I'm already excited about the story and I hope it turns out like it's supposed to. We shall see.

So for now this is the Timeline I am looking at.

March 22nd- The Rush.

May 2013- Untitled Contemporary Romance

July 2013- Sunburst

September 2013- The Relentless Warrior

November 2013- The Fall (The Rush book two)

Good grief, that is a lot of books, right?? And maybe don't hold a Bible up to the release dates, but that is at least the order I'm going to go in. I am hoping to stick with those dates though. I am a full time writer, I stay home and write all day every day, but what has been inhibiting me from getting work done has mainly been this little baby. Which is fine with me since he is my last and I am cherishing my time with him. But he takes up a LOT of time. However he's not staying as little as I want him to and he's already seven months. So because we will be introducing real food and he will grow more independent I will have more time to devote to writing. Yay!!!!

Don't mind me crying over here in the corner because I'm not going to have a baby anymore. Just ignore the hysterical sobbing completely.

More announcements. Starbright is getting a complete makeover. I had some SERIOUS technical issues with that book. In fact, if you ever need a What's The Worst That Can Happen book... you should talk to me. I have some stories. Just a few.

Or a million.

But whatever.

I just haven't had the time to work Starbright out yet. But it's the very next thing on my To Do List. And Sunburst is going to be a great story. Much darker than the first book, and you get to know the characters so much better. Plus there's plenty more chocolate chip pancakes.

And then The Relentless Warrior IS a continuation of The Star-Crossed Series. It is book 6 and goes deeper into the conflict with Terletov. It will pick up write after where The Reluctant King left off. However, this book is no longer Avalon's story. His finished at the end of The Reluctant King. The Relentless Warrior belongs to Jericho!

So for those of you who wanted more Jericho in the last book, fear not you will get plenty in this one!!!

And then The Star-Crossed Series will finish off with The Redeemable Prince which will be Sebastian's story. Same story arch... But I will give Sebastian the spotlight he deserves. :) And that will be out sometime in 2014. What?? I never plan this far ahead. Not for anything...

So that is all you have to look forward to from me! It feels like a lot. Geesh.. is anyone else overwhelmed???

I'm starting to sweat over here....

Just kidding.

Anyway, I hope that clears up some questions!!!











Rachel

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5 comments:

  1. Awesome! I can't wait for all of these books:) Just don't burn yourself out.

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  2. Keep up the good work Rachel!I don't think i can find another series to top STAR CROSSED series.They are my favorite!I love Eden and Kiran's story.

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  3. Only a couple weeks? I think I can wait that long...possible...well, probably in a blog stalking, I'm dying to read it kind of way but only because I adore your books. Let the countdown begin :)

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  4. WOW! I am totally excited for The Rush! Seriously, I think about it every day.

    But I also can't believe how much you've got going on! Just four kids sounds like plenty of work to keep a woman busy and yet you are writing all of these books! It sounds beyond crazy to me, but I'm not complaining here - I adore your books so I am TOTALLY okay with you writing all these books for me to read.

    Just don't burn yourself out...or die, which is what would happen to me. Heart attack from an impossible workload.

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