Saturday Update!

I haven't done a Saturday Update post in some time, but since I actually have some fun things to share this weekend, I figured I'd do one. =)

1. The Humane Zombie: I wrote a short story specifically for an anthology call about a month ago. I'm happy to announce it will be a part of that anthology! It'll be out in October. Once I have more information to share, I'll let you all know!
2. Arabella: I booked the cover designer for the Arabella cover! I'm really excited. I know Christa is going to do an awesome job on the cover. It'll be ready in early July, and the eBook should release towards the end of the month. It'll be a digital release only, there will not be a paperback copy. I haven't said much about Arabella just yet, and that's because I'm not finished with it. What I will say is that Arabella is a mix between Buffy and Black Widow. She's a superhero, she's deadly, and she's witty. It's dark at times, but it also has a campiness to it, which helps to even things out. It's probably my favorite thing I've written to date. You can add Arabella on Goodreads by going here.
3. Stouthearted: I posted the entire first [unedited] chapter on Wattpad. Unfortunately, Facebook hates me, and last I checked, the three posts I put up had been shown to zero people. So, if you want to read it, here you go. (Seriously, I hate Facebook and I'm probably going to start making use of my mailing list in the coming months.)
4. Decoding Evie: I tried the submission route with this one, but I gave up. For me, the story is the perfect length (it's around 15,000 words). It was never intended to be a novel or a long novella. I wrote it for fun, so instead of finding a home for it, I'm going to finally release it this summer! I'm thinking late August as I need time to do a few more rounds of editing first. And yes, it will have a new cover. Like Arabella, this will be a digital only release.
5. Collide: I stopped updating Collide on Wattpad. There's a good reason for this, I promise. There's a publisher that I've been wanting to query with Collide for some time now, but I had to wait until I knew that they were accepting unagented submissions. Now that I know they are, I've decided to submit it to them. I know that it is taking forever to bring you guys this book, and I apologize, but for me, this feels like the book that I need to keep trying with. I really do believe in Collide. If I self-publish it, I'll be giving up the first rights, and no publisher is going to want to come near it unless I have amazing sales numbers. (And well, I'm not a huge seller.)
6. Survival Instinct: I will be contacting a cover designer to make the cover for this book over the next couple of months. I need to finalize the synopsis first, as well as estimate the final word count. But expect a cover reveal in August.

Other things worth noting that aren't nearly as important:

I updated the cover for The Yearning. Don't worry, this one is going to stick. =)

I'm working on my 2015 release schedule. It's a bit bare at the moment, but I'm share that'll change. There is a lot that I want to write next year, but it's all going to come down to what you guys want from me. If you want more New Adult, I'll work on that for 2015. If you want more science fiction, I can do that. Feel free to let me know!

Here is what I have lined up for 2015 so far:

• Release (The Lunica City Duet, Book Two): The conclusion to Capture. This is a YA fantasy/science fiction read. Aiming for a May 2015 release.
• As We Rise (The Shaden Duet, Book Two): The conclusion to As We Fall. This is a YA science fiction novel. Aiming for an August 2015 release.
• Grow Up & Blow Away: This is a standalone new adult contemporary novel. Aiming for a February 2015 release.
• End It On This: This is a contemporary romance told in multiple formats. Free verse poetry. Journal entries. Prose. It's a standalone title, and it probably won't be ready until mid 2015.

So yeah, that's really nothing.
It feels kind of weird not to have a huge schedule. I mean, coming into 2014 I nearly passed out looking at what I had planned. (I'm still surprised I've managed to finish most of what was on my schedule.) But 2015 being light is a good thing. It means I don't have to worry about finishing a series. I can focus on giving my readers more of what they want. And that's always a good thing!

Also, I shared the first teaser from Arabella on Facebook awhile back. For those that missed it, here you go. This scene is actually from the prologue:

<3
Nicole