May
18, 2010
Free Bookmarks!
I
have two new sets of bookmarks ready, one for the three
suspense novels and one for the vamps. There’s a tiny
boo-boo on the vamp bookmark. It switched the covers
for Blue Twilight
and Twilight Hunger.
But it was too late to fix, so we’re using them anyway.
And you get to see the gorgeous new art, plus the full
list of Wings in the Night books is on the reverse, in
order.
Individuals who would
like an autographed bookmark may send a self-addressed,
stamped envelope to me at Maggie Shayne, PO Box 344,
Cincinnatus NY 13040.
Booksellers--Email
me for your supply.
Life and Fun!
Spring
is in full bloom here, though late April/Early May have
been as unusually cold as March was unusually warm. (We
had 70s in the former, 40s in the latter!) (Fahrenheit,
that is.) However, the weatherman is calling for temps
to return to normal (around 70) for the next several
days in a row, so I’m looking forward to that. We’ve
only had the kayaks out three times so far. We had to
try out our new kayak carts, which hitch behind our
bicycles, allowing us to pull the little boats behind.
So off we went, down our winding country road to Solon
Pond, about 3 miles away. Then we put the kayaks into
the water, and paddled around for awhile. The water is
so clear there that we could see the fish swimming
beneath us. Stunning. And so relaxing. It was a
blissful afternoon, that first time out. Afterward, of
course, we had to reload the kayaks, and pedal our way
back home. It was so much fun that I repeated the
journey solo one day after finishing my pages for the
day, and spent 2 and a half hours on the water. It was
a great workout, as the wind was blowing and I had to
paddle hard to keep on course. And of the course the
ride is a workout too, as it somehow manages to be
uphill both ways (I swear!) and I make it tugging a
forty pound kayak and cart behind me. Then the day
after that, we both went again, though this time we
fished. I caught a huge bass, but bass season hasn’t
yet begun, so I had to let him go. Next time I’ll bring
a waterproof camera and some mosquito spray.
The
carts (PD Flyers) did what they were supposed to do.
Although I have to say the tiny part that attaches the
cart to the bike is plastic, and it broke on one of the
carts as soon as we hooked it up. Well, as soon as we
hooked it up and Dozer put one big paw out and hit it.
Lance was able to make a metal part to replace it,
though, because he’s brilliant. He’s going to replace
the same part on the other cart asap, too. Aside from
that one design flaw, the carts worked very well. They
really do need to make that one little part out of
something stronger, though. If you tipped your bike
over with the cart attached, that part would certainly
break. The carts are PB Flyers, and I found them
cheapest on Ebay.
Upcoming Releases!
Anyway, here we are in
the middle of May, with the weather finally back to
spring-like, and my heart is in my throat as time races
forward toward my six months of nonstop releases.
First, the Secrets of Shadow Falls
romantic suspense trilogy begins:
Killing me Softly
(a July book) goes on in six weeks, and from then on
it’s book after book after book hitting the shelves one
after the other. Kill
Me Again (August) comes out a month later,
then Kiss Me, Kill Me
(September). I just got the Publisher’s Weekly
(PW) review of
Killing me Softly and it couldn’t have been
more lukewarm. They didn’t say it was bad, but the best
part of the review calls it a “Pleasant beach read.”
Could you get more lukewarm, PW? I swear they’re going
to rave about one of the three, though, so I guess I’ll
forgive them. And again, at least they didn’t say
anything negative. =) If anyone has seen any nice
reviews, please let me know! (Don’t tell me about any
bad ones. They just mess with my head and take me out
of my positive, happy place, and I really prefer to stay
there!)
I’ll
barely have time to catch my breath before the
spectacular reissues of my New York Times
Bestselling vampire novels:
Twilight Hunger
in October, Edge
of Twilight in November, and
Blue Twilight in
December.
And I’m not done even
then. Heart of Winter, an Anthology I’m
doing for Harlequin, comes out in January. And then
I’ll have a brief three month respite before the next
brand new vampire book, Twilight Prophecy,
will be released in May 2011. I’m exhausted just
thinking about it all.
Works-in-Progress!
All but the final one of
those upcoming releases are already written. The
current work involves two main projects. Today and for
the next week or two, I’ll be working on a vampire
novella for a Silhouette Nocturne anthology. The
collection’s working title is Vacation with a
Vampire, and my story’s working title is “Vampires
in Paradise” though both could change without
notice. And I don’t know the release date, but I
suspect it’ll be sometime next summer. I’m having a lot
of fun writing this novella, but then I really always
enjoy this form of story. It’s short, and intense and
usually I make them fairly lighthearted and often
funny. So it’s a good break, before I return to the
epic I’m writing next.
End of Wings in the
Night?
When the novella’s done,
I will return to working on the project of my lifetime
(so far,) Twilight Prophecy, which is the
first of the two books that might be the culmination and
wrap up of my vampire series. Wings in the Night
will, at that point, be 20 stories long. It’s getting
very difficult to manage the backstory with each new
book. There’s a fine line to be walked between too much
backstory, which confuses and confounds new readers, and
too little, which disappoints longtime loyal fans. I’ve
done both, erring on both sides of that line, and I must
say that finding the perfect balance is harder than
ever. And I’m eager to begin something new, as well.
That said, I’ll never say
never again, nor will I ever close the door on my vamps
too tightly. I will always leave myself a way to return
to them. Doing what I want is, after all, the way I
insist on living my life. So the series will never be
truly finished. Rather than an end, we’ll call it a
hiatus. I have no doubt I’ll return to it again after a
few other books. And in the meantime, there are three
more brand new stories, a novella, and two huge, epic
novels, to come. And who knows where my heart will be
by the time those hit the stands?
Travel Plans!
The Romance Writers of
America Convention this year, which I had already made
plans to attend, was supposed to be in Nashville, and I
was so looking forward to that, and to signing at
Sherlock’s Books in nearby Lebanon TN while there. But
then came the big floods, and our beautiful Gaylord
Opryland Hotel has been very heavily damaged. The
organization (RWA) had no choice by to scramble for a
new location. My heart is breaking for all the losses
suffered by the people of Tennessee, and I’m keeping the
candles burning and energy flowing for all of you.
A new conference site has
been found, in DisneyWorld, Orlando. So I’ll be
spending a gorgeous week there at the very end of July,
and I can hardly wait. I’m a kid at heart and I’ve
always loved Disney. I’d already decided to take my
youngest daughter to Nashville with me as an assistant
to help me with distributing bookmarks, keeping my
schedule straight and lugging books around the hotel,
and so the two of us will be “doing Disney” together as
well. We’re both very excited about that.
Interact!
I am probably one of the
most accessible authors you’ll find anywhere, so if you
want to interact with me, there’s no excuse not to. You
can follow my blogs,
Shayne’s Shenanigans and
Storybroads, find me on
Facebook or follow me on
Twitter. Wings in the Night has a newly
minted, official fan page on
Facebook! Pop in there for insider info, every
single cover, in order, and much more. You can also
join my
Fanclub or
Health and Fitness email discussion loops, or sign
up for my announce only “Newsletter” email list. And,
as always, you can
email me
directly. I look forward to hearing from you!
Until next
time, happy reading!
Maggie
Previous Newsletters
Maggie’s Feel-Good Websites:
www.hayhouseradio.com
www.abraham-hicks.com
www.effortlesshealing.com
