October 24, 11 @ 10:35 pm
I’ve found that there are some readers who are a little confused about my book and series status and what I have ongoing right now.
Allow me to help!!
2011 marks the end of both my Nightshade and Living in Eden paranormal romance series at 2 and 3 books respectively. That’s okay. Short and sweet, right? I’m proud of both of these series, I enjoyed writing the books, and have been very grateful for the warm reception both have received from the readers who discovered them. I do think that Living in Eden is definitely done at the end of book 3, That Old Black Magic (out December 6th!), but I am open to returning to my Nightshade world someday if I ever have the opportunity.
2012 marks an exciting new start for three series… my current writing schedule will allow for new releases in each series every 8-9 months. I’m soooo excited about each one of these, I can’t even tell you….
NIGHTWATCHERS — New young adult urban fantasy series with Harlequin Teen.
Book #1 — DARK KISS — June 2012
In a nutshell, this is about a girl who gets a kiss from her ultimate crush but it’s, as the title suggests, a rather Dark Kiss. She then gets swept up into an world of angels and demons in a city at siege with an unseen evil that threatens everyone who lives there. It’s fun, it’s romantic, it’s thrilling. Currently, I’m contracted for two books in this series. The second book will be called WICKED KISS and it’ll be out in early 2013. I have seen an early cover for Dark Kiss and, I gotta say, it’s FREAKING GORGEOUS. Can’t wait to share the final version. 
IMMORTALITY BITES MYSTERIES — New paranormal mystery series with NAL Obsidian; a fresh continuation of my original Immortality Bites books. Think: “season two.”
Book #1 — BLOOD BATH & BEYOND — August 2012
Sarah Dearly just wouldn’t stay quiet after I gave her a happily ever after in Tall, Dark & Fangsome. Nearly three years later (in real life anyway, in “book life” it’s only about three months), she’ll be back in her first cozy mystery — with the same feel, same humor, same voice as the original books. Sarah has her man, and he has a new and dangerous job as traveling consultant with the Ring, the vampire council. She tags along. Chaos ensues. I think it will be very fun to explore the ongoing relationship of a funny optimistic fledgling vampire who trusts too easily and a pessimistic and secretive master vampire who rarely trusts anyone. I think I could very happily write about Sarah’s future adventures for the rest of my life. But for now, I’m contracted for two books in this new series and I hope readers connect to it in a big way!
FALLING KINGDOMS — New YA high fantasy series with Razorbill
Book #1 — REBEL SPRING — Date TBA
I’m dipping my toes in a different genre — high fantasy — and I couldn’t be happier for the opportunity! Since this is a different feel from my paranormal fare, I will be writing it under the pen name Morgan Rhodes. Two books are contracted in this fun and exciting series so far. Woo hoo!
Oh, and I certainly can’t forget……..
DEMON PRINCESS — the self-pubbed finale(s) to my YA paranormal series.
Book #3 — REIGN FALL — January 2012
I like closure. I just couldn’t let Reign Fall be the last Demon Princess book. After all, I already KNEW what was going to happen next. So I wrote it. I couldn’t finish up everything in book three, so book four is…um…coming. Eventually. I swear!!! I’m not TOTALLY sure when I’ll have time to write the last book, but I can promise you that it WILL be written. Ideally, I’d like to have the last book out in late 2012. I’m going to try my very best!! Promise!
And that, my friends, is pretty much it. I’m very lucky to call writing my full time job and I’m grateful to my awesome readers and my fabulous editors for giving me the chance to keep doing this. Life is good!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some writing to do….
October 20, 11 @ 3:12 pm
This has now gone up on Publisher’s Marketplace, so I can finally announce it on my website!
Michelle Rowen writing as Morgan Rhodes’s REBEL SPRING, the first novel in the high fantasy series FALLING KINGDOMS, in which an ensemble cast led by a princess-turned-queen see their fortunes tangle together in times of war, pitched as GAME OF THRONES for teens, to Laura Arnold at Razorbill, in a two-book deal, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.
I loved working with Razorbill on Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide and I’m both grateful and thrilled to get the chance to continue my relationship with them on this fun new series!
I’ll definitely talk more about REBEL SPRING when I get the book written and I receive the cover art. But in the meantime — Hooray! I’m a happy girl.
October 19, 11 @ 1:51 pm
*** Thank you so much to all the commenters. I enjoyed your comments very much! I have chosen at random my three winners and they are: comment #26 – Mo, #38 – Andrea H., and #52 – Vivien! Congrats to the winners who have all been contacted by email! ***
Okay, it’s simple…. I have three more signed That Old Black Magic advance reading copies up for grabs. I want to help celebrate Urban Fantasy Month (another great contest on Jaye Well’s blog here). TOBM isn’t really UF, it’s paranormal romance, but I think it’s close enough!
All you gotta do is leave a comment and say something nice and positive — about anything; the weather, a kitten, a favorite book. It’s been a crazy week. I could use some happy-happy-joy-joy!
Contest is open internationally and I will randomly choose 3 winners on Friday, October 21st, 2011 at 9:00 pm EST. Winners will be contacted by email to claim their prizes.
Good luck!
October 18, 11 @ 8:00 pm
There’s so much about this subject in the news lately, and it’s so utterly tragic when kids feel like they have no choice but to kill themselves over what a stupid bully says or does to them, I thought I’d tell my story of being bullied. It took me a while to realize that’s what happened to me back in elementary school. I wasn’t physically assaulted. It was a slow emotional and mental assault.
It’s not always true what they say – “sticks and stones can break your bones but names will never hurt you.” Names do hurt. Deeply. Wounds from sticks and stones will heal up and might leave a scar. The scars from being emotionally abused by peers can last a lifetime, but nobody else can see or feel them but you.
I actually don’t remember too much about elementary school from grades 4 – 6, which is when the bullying mostly took place. I haven’t blanked it out, I simply haven’t thought about it much.
What I do remember is that due to, I believe, some emotional turmoil in my life in grade three when a relative passed away, I gained some weight. There was already a “fat girl” in my class. She was the one picked on and I was mostly ignored. But then she moved away and I was the girl with a few extra pounds. The newly designated fat girl. Thinking back, and looking at photos, I wasn’t that big. I was, literally, maybe fifteen pounds heavier than the skinniest girl in class. But it was enough to notice. This is the same group of kids that called another girl “retard.” I didn’t realize until years later that she wasn’t mentally challenged. She had an English accent.
Nice kids, right?
My best friend at the time was the teacher’s favorite, so she got tagged with the nickname “goody goody.” Cute names can sound cute, but when delivered in a cruel way they’re just as mean as curse words.
I had a variety of names given to me by bullies. Cute names, if looked at out of context. I vividly remember two of them: Bubba and Buffalo Butt.
Being called these names for three years by the “cool kids” in class led to a couple of results:
1) I got funny. They say that most people with a keen sense of humor forged that sense of humor out of an unhappy childhood. You’re looking at the proof of that. My home life was great, I have no complaints about my wonderful parents, but school was hell. To combat these cruel words, I’d turn it into a joke, or I’d laugh, even when I was dying inside. One boy drew a picture for me, which I thought was really sweet until I realized it was a picture of me as a pig-creature. He was a good artist, actually. I told him so as I laughed it off and felt a piece of my soul wither away.
2) My self-confidence took a nose dive and, sadly, has yet to fully recover. For three years I felt ugly and fat and totally unworthy, even though when I look back at those pictures all I see is a cute blond kid.
The bullying stopped in grade seven when I moved on to middle school and left behind this group of kids. My weight fluctuated all through school and beyond and I’ve never gotten a handle on it or reached my goal weight no matter how many diets I try. I’ve recently realized that my weight problems have nothing whatsoever to do with food. I’m finally dealing with this and trying to find a solution for myself to lead to a healthy diet and lifestyle for the rest of my life. But until I get my head straight, it doesn’t matter what I look like on the outside, I will still hate what I see in the mirror as the ghosts of those kids continue to call out names at me and make me feel ugly.
As a “joke,” sometimes I’d bring up the subject years later and I’d be met with eye rolls as if dwelling and whining about something that happened so long ago shouldn’t have an impact on today.
Well, here’s a newsflash: IT DOES.
I think how I felt when I was 9-12 years old has affected everything in my life. So while I think that the recent bullying is a terrible thing, the fact that it’s so out in the open and covered by news and talk shows is a GOOD thing. Information is power and it can help others.
Bottom line, whether you’re bullied as a kid or an adult, you are soooo not alone. The bully who is saying cruel things to you is a sad and pathetic individual who very likely hates him or herself. Putting someone else down is a clear sign of jealousy and/or their own lacking self-confidence—whether or not they realize this.
Kindness is an asset and a gift. If you want to be beautiful, ACT beautiful from the inside out. Life is short and there is not enough time for us to feel bad about ourselves due to someone else’s dumbass opinion. Do not waste your life wading through the muck idiots leave behind. Rise above it and fly.
You are beautiful and amazing—every single damn one of you. EVEN ME. And don’t let anyone EVER EVER EVER let you believe otherwise.
What I can say for sure… nobody bullies me anymore. NOBODY. While I’m still healing the scars I have from being bullied in the past, IT IS NEVER going to happen again.
Be strong. And I promise to be strong, too.
Here are some links that might help you….
http://www.stopbullying.gov/
http://www.bullying.org/
http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/
Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories
