What’s Up For 2021?

It’s 2021 – Hallelujah!

New year, new goals, new books – and I’ve got a lot of them planned! I keep a running file of a good two dozen book ideas at any given time, plus I buy up amazing book covers whenever I see an outstanding one that sparks a story. The net result is a bunch of seeds that will hopefully grow great stories that I can share with you.

2021 is going to kick off in a couple of weeks with the cover reveal for my next novel–oooooh I am so excited to share this amazing cover! Just wait ’til you see it–you’re going to be completely blown away. That will be followed by a box set announcement (complete with a bonus novella) at the end of the month. February will bring a new Free Reads short story, and then in April, you’ll get my next novel, THE SACRIFICE – a fantasy romance about a malevolent god, a girl with wings (and a tremendous gift) and a stubborn Prince who works with her to bring the god down and free their people.

Summer will start out sizzling hot with two novellas. We’ll hike the Alaskan wilderness and run with wolves in FORCE OF NATURE, a spin-off novella set in the universe of The Elemental Destinies. That will be followed by BLAZE, the next installment in my Seasons of Love novella series, and we’ll be falling in love in the South Pacific for that one. We’ll end the summer with the release of this year’s second novel, DREAM CROSSED, a story about lovers from different centuries who meet up with a little magical help.

We’ll move into Fall with another Free Reads short story, then I’ll end my Seasons of Love novella series with BLUSTER, a story of a young witch trying to master her powers, and then we’ll move into the holiday season with the release of my third novel in 2020, SNOWBOUND. This is a contemporary romance about two people thrown together into a survival situation at Christmastime.

And then I’ll fall down and not get up for a while.

So there’s the plan. We’ll see if I can actually keep to it. Here’s to an ambitious year!

2020 In Review

2020 was one hell of a year–and not necessarily in a good way. I am blessed to have a day job that shifted easily to a work from home environment, so financially, the pandemic impacted me by giving me two extra hours a day (I commute 82 miles round trip in moderately heavy traffic) and saving me a chunk of money that would have been spent on gas, tolls, and mediocre cafeteria lunch.

On the downside, I lost my college roommate–who was previously perfectly healthy–to COVID, and his wife and kids are without him, as well. I have friends and family members unemployed and struggling. I’m watching small businesses in my little town falter and go under.

During this tumultuous year, I managed to write and publish two fantasy romance novels, three romance novellas, one holiday romance novella collection, and two short stories. I also wrote and queried two Young Adult novels, and finished the first draft of another YA novel as my NaNoWriMo project. All-in-all, I’m pretty proud of what I managed to accomplish while the world went to hell all around us.

Your writing mileage may vary – and your accomplishments this year may have been limited to getting out of bed and remembering to brush your teeth. I had plenty of days like that in 2020. And that’s okay. Really. This year was unbelievable. Unreal. Unfathomable. If you’re here in the USA with me, it was capped off by a president and governmental leaders who are unconscionable. With all that devouring your energy, it’s enough just to tread water right now until the rescue boat arrives or land comes into view.

Here’s hoping we all get a better 2021.

Writing Goals? Uh . . . I Have Them Here Somewhere . . .

mug (2)

That’s pretty much it, folks. This year, I need to get shit done. With my YA books blowing my free time out of the water, I have been crazy behind on all my romance writing projects to the point of acute personal humiliation and embarrassment. Seriously.

I meant to have the Elemental Series entirely behind me by now, and publish a few more novellas, but wow. Just . . . wow. Being traditionally published is such an ordeal compared to self-pub, and it’s been a real learning process. A good one, believe me, but it’s been a slog. I think I have a handle on it all now, I’ve learned some critical time-management skills, and I’m ready to get back in the saddle again.

So this year, no crazy over-reaching goals. Here’s what I’m going for: Continue reading

Middle Of The Night Writing

Young woman addicted to social media

I’ve had a serious bout of insomnia for nearly two weeks now, and a few nights ago I decided I was done lying there staring at the wall and thinking about how I needed to go back to sleep, I’d get up and write.

It’s been very oddly productive. I’m getting tons done. I’m sleep-deprived as hell and nodding off at my desk around 3pm, but by God, I’m getting writing done. Continue reading

In The Breathe Time

young  bored female college student studying poorly at late even

The latest round of rewrites on my second YA book are in the editor’s hands, things at the day job have finally stopped spinning out of control, a certain court-related matter having to do with fighting a traffic citation that blossomed into mammoth proportions finally got dismissed completely (yay!) and life is leveling out (I say this with a good deal of trepidation because ya never know . . .).

I’m in the breathe time, and oh, how I needed it. I feel really crappy that I’ve let Earthsinger go for so long – like I’ve really let my readers down. I’ve also let myself down – and Earthsinger was a story I was so jazzed about telling! Matt and Manni are so electric in their chemistry and so much fun to write. I’ve delved back in non-stop again and it’s coming together at last. Look for this one soon, and then the one after that (Firesinger). Continue reading

Fell Off The Face Of The Planet

Exhausted

I know, I know. . .

For all intents and purposes, Britt DeLaney has left the planet. Believe me, Readers, the frustration is probably deeper on my side than yours. You’re only as good as your last book, and mine was damn near 8 months ago. I promised book 3 by September, and here I am, still not ready to release it into the wild. Continue reading

Resource Thursday: Check Out This Great Tip Series

resources

One of my favorite places to hang out on the internet is Reddit, and they have a thriving community of writers spread across numerous subreddits (specialized topic boards). On the r/writing subreddit, a professional “reader” for a publishing company has been publishing a series of terrific tips. This week’s installment has to do with character arcs, but you really should go back and read all of his posts. They’re full of substance and really, really useful!