Getting My Groove Back

Teardrops by Bring Me the Horizon:

We hurt ourselves for fun

Force-feed our fear until our hearts go numb

Addicted to a lonely kind of love

What I wanna know

Is how we got this stressed out, paranoid

Everything is going dark

Nothing makes me sadder than my head

Here we are ten months since my last blog post, and I'm writing again. Yes, it's been a barren ten months in this writer's life. Why? Well, I won't bore you with all the life things that have been happening. Lots of change, not necessarily bad, just A LOT. But one of the biggest things is that I've (finally!) completed the fourth book in my Archangels series. I gotta tell ya, I was getting sick of hearing myself promise this book to readers too. I felt like a huge fraud. The biggest liar in the literary world, for sure. I've been saying it will be done by the end of the year for YEARS. So, what took so damn long?

For those of you new to me and/or the series, it was originally published as a trilogy by Entangled Publishing way back in 2013. Well, that's when I signed the contract. The first three books were released 2014-2016. By the time the third one came out I was already lagging mentally, but didn't realize it. Within that timeframe both Ellora's Cave and Samhain Publishing closed. I had fifteen published books between the two of them. It was a huge blow to my mental health, but I didn't grasp how big until I suddenly...couldn't write. I just couldn't even open a Word doc to get started.

Lots of changes happened in my life after that. We moved from Houston where I'd lived for forty-seven years to the San Antonio area. My kids all became adults. My stepfather and one of my aunts died. Author friends I've met along the way have also died, and the Romancelandia landscape has changed drastically. My Facebook page got hacked and it blocked my FB profile that used the same email. I had to reinvent myself for that purpose and try to refriend everyone I lost. I'm still working on that. Lots of people left Twitter and FB for Bluer Skies and TikToks, but I just couldn't find the energy to invest time in a new platform. I also, obviously, forgot I have a blog.

The past few months I've decided I'm done with this shit. I started working on my archangels again with a vengeance. Sorry, I had to put my gargoyles on hold. For some reason, they speak to me more easily and I had to shut them up to coax out the angels. I joined a couple of writer's organizations so I can keep tabs on what everyone else is doing for inspiration. And it's worked. I want to be an active writer again. I slowed down attending events and will still be very selective next year. But I'm hoping to venture further in 2027. And miracle of miracles, I've finished Loving a Demon: Archangels Book 4.

I plan to release the ebook in the next week or so and have the print book available in December at the East TX Book Bash. I might host a book release party locally as well if I can convince a bookstore to host me. I'll let y'all know. Sorry again that it took so long. As a bonus, I'm including a short story at the end with Sel and Lily's HEA. I hope y'all think it was worth the wait. 

Blurb:

One look and he knew he’d fight any demon to save her. One taste and he’d fight every obstacle to be with her.

Iris and her sister Lily were raised in a cult by a father that cared more for himself than his daughters. His death helped them find a path to freedom, but not without the loss of Iris’s innocence. Now they’re being watched over by men straight from heaven, but the brothers don’t know about the evil the women had to endure.

Once the sisters reveal the full depth of all they endured Uriel must decide if he can get past the obstacles to remain with Iris, or he’ll have to let her go. Demons are still trying to attract the sisters back into their midst and the newborn child has a calling none of them expected. If Uriel is willing to fall for her, will Iris have to choose between him and her child? 

Bonus short story Captivating a Human:

Protecting her is in his nature, loving her is his new calling.

Selaphiel, archangel of heaven, has been protecting humans their entire existence. Now one woman is pushing back on his efforts when she needs him most. Something about Lily calls to him on a primal level, and he can’t resist the pull.

Lily’s entire life has been about protecting her twin sister, so what is her purpose now that Iris no longer needs her protection? Ignoring Sel’s attention is easier said than done, but she tries by moving away. Then the cult she thought she’d left behind finds her and wants her back. Now, she might need Sel more than ever. Her heart has decided; hopefully it isn’t too late to let him in.

The ebook for book 1, Trusting and Angel, is on sale for the month of October at $1.99. Buy it here.

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Find all my other links here.

Hello 2025

 

Happy New Year! Today is day two of 2025 and I've added about 900 words to Loving a Demon: Archangels Book 4. It's not much, but my writing days have been very slow-going lately. I'm hoping for some inspiration as I, a verified pantser, try to figure out what these characters are doing. I'm sure Iris and Uri want their story written as badly as I do. I know Sel and Lily are waiting impatiently in the wings. I already wrote the first scene for their book. Gabe and Mike have also started rumbling in the back of my mind. So, in short, these Archangels want to be DONE.

I haven't begun another Gargoyle Masters book yet, but Sakhr is ready to be up and about. I'm hopeful you'll get to read his story by the end of the year. 

Anyone who sees me in person will have the chance to purchase a print copy of Erotic Arts Book 1. This book includes both of my Erotic Arts novellas: Erotic Images and Erotic Influence. I've started writing a third book and plan a fourth, so there will be a second print book in the future.

On the personal side, back in the summer of 2022 we made a BIG move from Houston to the San Antonio area. I gotta admit, it hit me pretty hard to leave my beloved Houston. I'd lived there my entire 47 years and hadn't planned to ever leave. But circumstances with my family dictated that moving closer to my mom would be wise. At the beginning of 2024 she moved into the house we shared with three of our adult children. Needing more room, hubby and I moved into an apartment. Two of the kids decided to flee the nest (again) so hubby and I will be moving back into the house in a couple of weeks. LOTS of chaos and change in my life right now.

Back to my books: Another release this year will be my first published book They Call Me Death. It was originally released in 2009, then re-edited, re-covered, and re-released in 2016. I had briefly toyed with the idea of completely rewriting it in third-person POV. However, book two is already done in first-person, as well as the first half of book three. It didn't make sense to me to have book one as a different POV and I don't think I have it in me to rewrite all three books right now...or ever probably. Writing is more than a hobby but less than a job for me. I don't write to make money, and sometimes the characters go quiet. So, I've learned not to force it.

   2009 cover

  

  2016 cover

  

  

  2025 cover

I plan to reread it and make sure I'm still happy with it overall before letting it out into the world again. But, that will be after I finish Loving a Demon. Since book two is also finished, I might have that one out in 2025 as well.

I will also be traveling a bit in 2025. There will be two events in February (Houston and Kansas City), one in May (Las Vegas), a virtual one in July, and my usual visit to Canton in December. I'm waiting to hear back from two events in Denton in the Spring as well. If there's an event in your area you would like me to attend, please feel free to put in the comments, or email me at missyjane01@gmail.com.

Happy 2025! I hope you have all you hope to have, accomplish all you hope to accomplish, and feel loved and appreciated all year long.