My many (translation:  handful) fans have been asking questions. “When is the next book coming out?” “What have you been working on?” “Will there be more Brianna books?” I’m glad people want to know these things but answering the questions always make me uncomfortable.

My first two books were rolling around inside my skull for YEARS. The basic premise and rough characters already existed before fingers ever touched keyboard. Writing those books was just a matter of sequencing and filling in the blanks–plus endless editing, of course. The third book, Reprisal, foamed to the surface not too long after The Strong One was published. Though I think Reprisal is a good book I don’t feel it leaves as strong of a feeling upon conclusion. It is, in a way, a ‘bridge’ book that moves Brianna from her ‘awakening’ towards an entirely different kind of life. The third book in the series (untitled at present) is still percolating. I have some scenes and concepts in mind as well as a few new characters. There is self-inflicted pressure to continue giving readers what they have come to expect but also a voice of caution warning me not to be formulaic. Brianna is a character people like to cheer for and I feel a responsibility to provide her with the best story I can. Coming up with that takes time.

So while I have dabbled with a chapter or two of Brianna book #3 I really haven’t made much progress. I started work on Cottonwood, a completely different book with some great characters and what I think is a somewhat unusual story line. I was a couple of chapters in and was unhappy with how it ‘read’. It just didn’t feel right. Something was wrong. I took I hiatus from that to let it ferment.

Burning with a desire to write something…anything… I just started spewing forth a story I called Cassie’s Ride. I went way outside the norm for me by writing in the first person…for a female character. Risky, right? Remarkably, I found Cassie’s ‘voice’ pretty much right away. I understand who she is and why she acts as she does. A chapter or two in, however, I wasn’t sure what the heck Cassie was actually doing. Or going to do. I had some ideas but, to be honest, I’m unconvinced anyone may want to actually read about her. So, poor Cassie got parked until she can provide me with a stronger set of reasons to commit to her.

Cassie did show me something, however. Writing in first person allowed me to consider trying that with Cottonwood. My character of Vic promises to be a very interesting protagonist. The problem with Vic is he has an important past that needs to be revealed (slowly) for the story to not only make sense but really generate tension. Trying to relay all of this information without ‘dumping’ it while writing in third person was going to be difficult. Couple this with my necessity of ‘holding my cards close to my chest’ early in the story and Vic came across as bland. Vic is anything but bland, and it is my job to make him the interesting individual that readers will enjoy. So now he may tell his story to you instead of me.

These concerns, coupled with life’s normal intrusions, are what have kept me mostly silent. Fear not, Dear Reader. Writing is always taking place, just not necessarily in the written word.