It’s away! THE HIVE has been picked over, prodded, and restitched enough. It’s now in the hands of my fabulous editor, Jackie, at Parker Publishing. Yayyyyyy! Also, if I can get my head wrapped around it, I might be doing a paranormal YA for them, too. Not sure yet because I’m still bouncing ideas around.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately. Perhaps too much, which is always my downfall. One thing that’s been on my mind is book three of my werecheetah series. I found the heroine for book three and she’s an amazing shapeshifter. But will the books stop at book three? I don’t know. I’ve had several people ask if Rio and Sinclair will have another book and I’m seriously thinking about making it book four, if I can come up with something good. Of course, it won’t be a paranormal romance at that point. More like an urban fantasy or a paranormal suspense.
Now that Samhain has contracted STRIPPED, I’m thinking about what to do for “book two” in my half-werewolf, sniper series. You see, Half Breed takes place four years after STRIPPED. Which means there’s plenty of room to do things with Matt and Alexa. Hower, it’s also limiting because Alexa and Matt don’t start talking kids until they get to Atlanta. I have a partial synopsis written involving a pregnant Alexa, her playing bodyguard, hunting rogue wolves, and both of her overprotective wolf packs. However, I have nothing for Alexa and Matt between STRIPPED and Half Breed. Don’t get me wrong. It’s easy enough to come up with something because I made sure to put in a lot of world building with infinite possibilities. 
So in an effort to keep readers from getting confused, my plan is to keep my urban fantasies with Samhain and my paranormal romances (and a possible YA) with Parker. Of course, NY trumps everything. If I write outside of any of those genres, then that means I’ll be reevaluting my plans. That possibility always exists, especially since I LOVE sci-fi and horror.
Strangely enough, writing for more than one publisher has always been a scary prospect for me. I just didn’t expect it to happen, even though I had set myself up for it. Now that it’s real, I have a feeling it won’t be so bad–fingers crossed.
What do you think is your biggest fear once your dreams are realized?
22 comments
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December 1, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Erica Orloff
When I sold Spanish Disco, I didn’t sleep–not one wink–all night. Not from excitement. But fear I would never come up with another book again. Ever.
E
December 1, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Kath Calarco
Where to spend all the millions.
Seriously, I think I’d fear getting dropped by the publisher since I don’t write genre. In any event, I have to get there first, so no need to worry about fear.
December 1, 2008 at 1:29 pm
edie17
My biggest fear is promo, but I’m doing that for ATV. I should have it down pat by the time I sell.
YA is pretty big right now. Have you considered NY for your YAs?
December 1, 2008 at 2:44 pm
spyscribbler
Really? That’s a fascinating fear. I’ve always written for two pubs, and I guess I never considered fearing it. Which is strange, because I’m the sort to fear anything I can think of, LOL.
My one regret, though. I wish I had my one series with the other pub, because I’d be making TONS more in royalties. I can’t figure out why one makes so much more than the other. But, c’est la vie.
December 1, 2008 at 3:26 pm
zoewinters
Hey Marcia, that’s awesome, congrats!
My fear is always that the next thing I write will be worse somehow than the previous thing I wrote. That I’ll build up an expectation in the reader that I can’t pay off.
That my mouth will write checks that my ass can’t cash.
December 1, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Marcia
Oh man, Erica. I thought the same thing after publishing my first book. Now, I’m on my third. Thank goodness it was an unfounded fear.
December 1, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Marcia
Good point, Edie. When I comes to promo, I can honestly say that I don’t know of anyone in particular who’s a pro. What works for one person, doesn’t necessarily work for someone else. The fact that you’re doing it at all? Now, that is what counts.
And yes, Edie, I’ve thought about pitching my “potential” YA to New York, which is why it trumps everything.
At this point, I’m keeping all of my options wide open.
December 1, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Marcia
I know EXACTLY where you’re coming from, Spy. I thought about keeping my series with one publisher, too, but wanted to give it a better chance with a wider audience. I just hope the switch won’t bite me in the butt.
December 1, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Marcia
Crap, Kath. I skipped your comment. Sorry about that. *blush*
And yes, that’s definitely a REAL fear of mine, too. It’s a scary thing to have a book with a publisher and then find they don’t want your stuff anymore. While I believe there’s still a chance to find a new publisher, it doesn’t help that you’ll feel like you’re being put out to pasture.
December 1, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Marcia
Thanks, Zoe.
And I’m in that boat right now. I’m so worried that The Hive will be a huge let down to those who’ve read Unstable Environment and liked that book. In fact, it was my exact fear right before I sent it off to my editor yesterday.
December 1, 2008 at 10:48 pm
zoewinters
*hugs* I’m going to have to read UE.
December 1, 2008 at 10:50 pm
zoewinters
UE is in paperback? How did I not know this? I’m adding it to my Amazon cart. Can’t buy it for a few weeks but it’ll be in there.
December 1, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Abigail McKenley
Great news Marcia! I’m sure THE HIVE will be great! Parker is going to love it! Congrats on your new sale to Samhain and I can’t wait to hear more about your YA.
You are on a roll Chica!
December 1, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Marcia
Zoe, girl, you’re a trip. I’d smack you with a huge kiss, but be thankful I can’t remember how to do it in cyberland right now.
Thank you bunches, hon!
December 1, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Marcia
Thanks, Abigail!! Girlfriend, you’re gonna be on a roll yourself in a few months with your fabulous debut.
Fingers crossed Jackie falls in love with THE HIVE because I had sooooo much fun writing it. I know she’s probably shaking her head at the length and thinking, “What am I gonna do with this chile?”
December 2, 2008 at 2:15 am
zoewinters
I’m trying to get it together and read the stuff from all my blogging friends. It’s cool to read stuff by people you know.
December 2, 2008 at 9:50 am
Marcia Colette
I LOVE reading stuff from my friends. Like when LaDonna’s book came out, I could picture her sitting there with her fingers working like a mad woman on the computer. It’s almost surreal once you’ve met them, befriended them, and now you’re seeing what makes them tick.
Uh oh. Okay, like I wasn’t seeing anyone when I wrote Unstable Environment, so like, I was a little “anxious” and all. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
December 2, 2008 at 12:41 pm
zoewinters
Oh Crap! I need to put LaDonna’s book on my list too! I just need to go down the blog roll with a pen and paper.
December 2, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Caryn Caldwell
Congratulations on finishing The Hive! As for the YA, that sounds like fun, and YA novels are big right now.
December 2, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Marcia
Thanks, Caryn. That’s exactly why I want to give YA a try and see what happens. However, keeping the sex non-existent might be a little hard.
December 3, 2008 at 5:17 pm
LaDonna
Marica, if you find out what makes me tick, will ya let me know?
Couldn’t resist. Thanks for the shout-out too!
Hmmm, the fear thing. I’d have to say, the horror stories I heard and read about the dreaded second book. A good thing came out of it, though. I heard those stories years ago, and took care of the problem by writing a several novels out of the gate. I wasn’t about to get stuck in a corner, terrified by that second novel. “No one puts Baby in the corner,” comes to mind.
December 3, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Marcia
LaDonna, GF, I wouldn’t feel complete without shouting out my friend on this hazardous road to publication.
Same here about the second story. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my second book is as good, if not better than the first. The only thing is I had to write this book from scratch because I didn’t think I had a second werecheetah book in me. The funny thing is I already have an idea for book three.