Words on Wednesday: They're different!

So as I mentioned on Monday, I have something a little different for my usual Wednesday post. I hope you'll indulge me. I hope you can stand taking a break from Tolya and the epic fantasy world for a little while. We'll come back to them, I promise.

But I am so excited about another project that I have to interrupt myself and share with you.

A little backstory: A lot of times, a story will come to me not with a story, but with a character speaking a line that, to me, pretty much sums up the character. It's usually loud, it's almost always undeniable, and it stops me in my tracks and makes me want to write that one right now.

For example (and one day you will know about this project too), I once heard: My name is Triumph. I wear a badge.

I still love that line. *self-indulgent swoon*

But for the project in question, I heard: Being a vampire isn't all it's cracked up to be. Anyone who tells you otherwise is prowling for a snack.


And lo, Tybalt Jones, the hero? Protagonist. Of my next book was born.


Sadly, I was a little behind the times when it came to vampire fiction. By the time I'd finished the book and started it out on the rounds, most agents and editors were saying dear God, send me no more vampires or I will stake you, the author, instead! So Tybalt and Violet (his faerie girlfriend) and Granny (the witch) and the werewolves and and and came home to me.

But there's life in this story, and I am not ready to give up on it. So New York may be tired of vampires. Readers are not. And when we, as writers hear 'Give me the same thing but different!', well...

Meet Tybalt Jones, the reluctant vampire.

This is a cover that I commissioned from the wonderfully talented Anne Cain. I am thrilled beyond all words with this cover, and more, with having a book that has a gorgeous cover with a multi-racial man front and not-exactly-center-but-close-enough. Thrilled. So thrilled. Can you hear me squeeing from there?

I am currently working on getting this formatted so I can release it in a number of electronic formats. Tybalt is going to lead my charge into the world of independent publishing.

And next week, I will have the first chapter available for you to read. I've got a lot of work to do to get everything ready, but that much I can promise.

New words! How exciting is that?