Slight Change in Plans

First off, don't let the title scare you. It has nothing to do with LDTD's release, though I will admit that the print copy may be a little bit late due to my computer being incredibly annoying last night and not wanting to give me a PDF for the final copy. I finally got it to behave this morning, and have uploaded the PDF, and am currently doing a file review, but I'm not sure how long CreateSpace will take on its file review, and then I'll have do a final review before I can hit publish. It should be done in time, but I don't feel confident enough to make any promises.

The Kindle edition will be releasing on time, and if you have it preordered, it should be appearing on your kindle tomorrow evening (or, at least, that's how it has worked every time I've preordered a book.)

Also, Rizkaland was featured as part of Annie Douglass Lima's Realm Explorer's blog series, so you can go check that out.

Now onto the change in plans.

Via Pinterest

As some of you might remember, I have been writing a book with Miss Jack Lewis Baillot, called Worth of a King, about a set of twins whose father, the king, was killed the day they were born, she was raised a princess, he as the son of a printer.

Some of you may have noticed that neither of us has really talked about it, outside of my mentioning that it is a story connected to the Rizkaland Legends, and that in it you'll meet a younger Granite and Amber.

Why? Because been on an unofficial hiatus for the last year and a half. I'm not authorized to give details, but Jack had a tragedy in her life about a year and a half ago which sent her into a very deep writing slump. Books with twins in them have been especially hard for her.

She told me about this upfront, and I told her that she could deal with her pain however she felt she needed, and that, truthfully, I was focused on WPFP at that moment, and really didn't have time to work on Worth at that moment.

I checked in with her every few months, and earlier this year she told me that if she didn't find her inspiration soon, she might pull out of the project. Well, about a week ago, I sent her one last email telling her that I needed to know if she ever planned to send me the next chapter, or if she wanted to drop out. I didn't want to give her the ultimatum, but as I've been examining my writing projects, I've come to the conclusion that Worth would be the most natural starting point for Rizkaland's companion series (which still needs a name). It contains obvious connections to the Rizkaland series, and, as it's backstory for Amber and Granite, is a story that you guys will REALLY want to read. And it's very well plotted, since I had a full summary written at the end of the document we sent back and forth.

Jack decided that she would let me take the project over completely. I don't think she wanted to, but as it'd been a year and a half and she still hadn't found inspiration, she agreed that it would probably be best for the story.

However, I'm not simply continuing the story from where she left it, though it was tempting. Jack and I have different writing styles, and while that was okay for the co-write and it allowed the characters to have different voices, I don't feel confident taking over her parts. I'm starting the story over from the beginning in a notebook (because I bought a TON of notebooks during the back to school sales). I'm on the second chapter, and so far, it's been coming pretty well. I also added a prologue, because I'm kinda addicted to those things.

On another note, I have begun another co-write with another author friend of mine, and I feel quite confident that we should be able to pull this one off. Won't say much about it, but it also involves separated twins (this time it was my coauthor's idea), is also part of the Rizkaland companion series, and involves Laura as a major character. And I'm still working on my co-writes with my sister ... slowly.

I almost decided to do Worth for NaNo, but I already had everyone's vote in favor of ROCKS in at that point. ALTHOUGH, I probably would have made the switch if Dragon Song had won, since Worth really needs to come before DS.

So ... that's what's happening. And I need to come up with a title for the series, which currently contains the following.

Worth of a King - Lintooalintae
Dragon Song - Wienta
Fire and Song - Wienta
Saffron's Master Plan - Wienta
(Another book set in Wienta, but doesn't have a title yet)
Trilogy of Secrets - The Land of Magic
Chosen Story - Working title for my new cowrite. Dadj
The New Division - Coluna
The Eternal Queen - Solar/Luna
Infiltration - Though this one can be technically marketed as part of the Mikida Chronicles, though it doesn't really have the sci-fi feel of that series. - The Rowa
(Possibly another book set in the Rowa.)