The Trouble with Release Dates

There's a book coming. It's awesome.

Problem is, I still can't pin down exactly when it's coming for those who are asking.

The answer as of right now is "soon." Immortal Soulless: Covenant is back from my brand spankin' new editor (who is amazing, so big thanks to my lovely former editor for putting me in touch with her). Everything looks great, it's with beta readers now who are checking it over for typos and whoopsies and other adorable-sounding errors. Cover art is in progress as we speak.

But here's the thing.

I'm drafting book five now (working title: Temptation), and it's great. It's exciting. So much is happening, and there are going to be a lot of surprises for readers.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how generous I'm being with my muse at any given moment), there have been a lot of surprises for the author, as well.

The first came at the end of Covenant. There was an event that happened (and that's as close as we're going to get to a spoiler). It seemed inevitable when I was writing it, though I hadn't planned it and didn't see it coming until I was elbows-deep in the scene. It's a solid event, and I was excited about it. But the thing is that any event in a story should have consequences. If it doesn't, what's the point of keeping it in there?

And this one changes my ideas about certain aspects of the story moving forward.

See where I'm going with this?

I have powers as an author. PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS, if you will. I can change things. I can go back and fix set-ups so the payoff makes sense. And right now I'm trying to use those powers to make sure that the story that ends up in your hands, all the way to the seventh and final book, is as smooth and thrilling a ride as I can offer you.

So while Covenant is in phenomenal shape right now, I still might need to make some changes so that the series climax goes off like dynamite instead of it looking like me scrambling to make up for my own previous blind spots. There's no way I'm ever going to offer my readers less than my best, and my best will be worth waiting for.

What does that mean in practical terms? It means that I need to haul ass to finish this draft of Temptation and nail down my plan for books 6 and 7 before I make final changes to then end of Covenant and send it for proofreading. It means an extra layer of work for me to make sure everything is polished and shiny for you. It means that the book as-is would have been ready to go by the end of May, but it will likely be the end of June or early July before it's ready to knock your socks off.

Not a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. And the final books in the series should come a lot more quickly once this is all sorted out*. And I'll have a cover reveal (and maaaybe pre-orders) ready for you soon.

Thank you to everyone who has been purchasing, reading, reviewing, and recommending the series. I'm excited to share the rest of Aviva's story with you!

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*For anyone wondering about the gap between Atonement and Covenant: I was working on a project under my other name. I have regrets. Let's not talk about it.