WIP changes
Today has been a busy day. I created a giveaway for Wicked Reads reaching a goal of 2000 fans. Scroll down a post and enter as of Midnight. I tweaked, fixed some formatting issues, and reworded the epilogue of KING. Those who already have a copy, it’s worded slightly different, but still the same, story-wise. KING has been uploaded to B&N and Amazon. Within the next 12-48 hours it will be available for purchase. I’ll give a shout out when it’s live, and update the purchase links in the M&M of Restraint tab. I’ve also rearranged some things on this website, updated info and such. Lastly, updated Goodreads.
Now to the meat of this blog posting. What’s Erica up to lately.
I’ve been on the fence over quite a few things- disquiet- twitchy. KING was completed weeks ago. I had fixed the beta edits and reread the thing 7 times over. But I still didn’t publish. I wanted to do a scene that was needed, but not from Daniel’s POV. I decided on a epilogue. Here is one of my biggest issues. Faithless was going to be an info-dump book. For those of you who don’t know what that means, you’re inundated with a shit-load of info. I hate that. So KING’s epilogue is a two-for-one. Ezra narrates the epilogue and he dumps a ton of information that will help while reading the future books. In fact, I let so much info out that it is confusing. But who better to confuse you then our insane Dr. Lunatic? I think I will include this epilogue in the future books it impacts. Part two of the two-for-one epilogue, who doesn’t want to see Ez get his groove on? Hmm… he was so lonely, too. š
Warning: KING’s sex scenes are 90% gay, with only 1 straight scene and 1 bi scene. But if you didn’t know Daniel Whittenhower II was gay by now….Ā & frankly, I hope I broaden your horizons. Love is love, sex is sex, it shouldn’t matter who you’re with.
Back to my disquiet twitchiness… Something was just off. Widow is calling to me. “Hey, we’re over here. Click us and write!” I’m not feeling particularly romancy right now. Faithless was screaming, “Deadline! Deadline! Deadline.” & I was muttering to myself, “I don’t want to write you right now, stfu! Cort and I need to mind-meld for awhile.” I mean, who the hell wouldn’t want to converse with Cort?
My issue, King isn’t a new beginning, just a turning point. Queen’s books and Dalton closed out a mindset of the series. Using the word story-arc isn’t correct. King is just an introduction, a buffer between Dalton/Checkmate and Faithless. Just as how the story progressed timeline-wise with Jaded, Queened, Restraint/Unleashed/Dexter/Dalton/Checkmate, King bridges the gap of Faithless/The Hunter/Silence.
I have to write those three books at the same time. None of them can be released before the first draft of the next is completed. The current time, there is only a two-day gap between books, backstory not included. Silence will be as KING is, a change.
I will explain without too much detail.
Faithless: Faith Simpson as a fifteen-year-old thru the present day Syn. We see how her life brought her to the here and now. Her friendship with the Ezes and her entanglement with Wil. Syn’s book ends an hour after KING does. Daniel goes looking for Syn after the last line of chapter thirty-seven of KING. Final Chapter of Faithless, and then KING’s epilogue begins. So yeah… this is a difficult puzzle I’ve created.
The Hunter: Cortez Abernathy. The prologue is of a twelve-year-old Cort running through the woods playing with Ez. Chapter One, he awakes from his memory, a seventeen-year-old young man thrust into a nightmare. We experience that time frame in graphic detail. The King epilogue flows to the ending of The Hunter. Ez has some explaining to do.
Silence: Grant Whittenhower. He wants to tell you why he did the things he’s done. Since he no longer has a voice to call his own, he’s going to write about it. The Epilogue brings hell down on him. I only have a small bit of his book outlined, seeing as it’s books away. But about a third into the story, we progress into the present. Meaning, what happens in the epilogue, the rest of the book is the aftermath.
After that: No clue. Truly toying between Niel and Wil. I can’t say how much life is left in the series. But I can tell you, Marcus or Ezra will be the final book. Whoever isn’t last, comes just before. We have many characters before that. Whether novellas, shorts, or full-length novels. I didn’t create these character for them to fade into the aether without telling their story.
What this means for the Playroom series: It’s on hold until Silence is complete. It could be fall or closer to 2014. I don’t know. I do know that I will not write M&M book 12 until book 4 of the Playroom is published. As I said, Silenced is a turning point for M&M. I don’t know where I want to go from there. However, I do know where I want to go with the Playroom. I don’t foresee more than 6 or so books in this series. No side characters willĀ be written about. I love the story. I just feel that the core group needs its due. This is how I see it. Obviously, I’ve been known to change my mind. *snickers* but in this case, it’s always been a solid vision. This is my HEA series. Good Girl ended as it did because Willow wasn’t ready yet…
*The names next to the title don’t denote a couple. Just narrators.*
Good Girl: Willow
Widow: Malcolm Mason, Clover Webster
Wayward: Isis Mason, Robin Prynne, Augustus Kline
4: Willow Prynne, Devon Mason, Kieren Mason
5: 1 of the Mason boys from book 4 & his sister Raven will share the narration of this book
6: Weston Mason, Seth Webster.
That’s all folks!
The completion of the Playroom will allow me to write anew. Either I will work on the two paranormal/fantasy series I’ve created or think of something fresh and original. I will only ever do 2 projects at a time. I already feel like Ezra most days. I can’t do 3 or 4 series at once.
When will what be done by when?
Guesstimates are highly tentative.
Faithless: May
The Hunter: July
Silence: August/September
Widow:Ā September (75% written already)
Wayward & book 4: December-ish
My 2014 willĀ be new,Ā because I haven’t nary a clue on what I’m going to write. And yes, I get that today is April 1st.Ā I might be creative, but my logical mind needs structure. So I’m all scheduled up for the next 8 months!
Off to ruin a trio of boys and a girl jogging along a wooded path. Told ya, not feeling romantic at the moment!
A look back…
A look back at the creation of Mistress and Master of Restraint series.Ā I began writing Restraint, exactly one year ago… Wow. Time feels as if it flies by, but in reality, itās burst of speed and moments where it slows to a crawl. When I remember my journey, some moments jump out at me, while other mute to the background.
Restraint was meant to be a novella at most. When it was completed, I thought it was over. Iād left it open to interpretation so that if I decided to enter that world again, I could. But I tied it up enough that readers would be satisfied.
Restraint was the first book that Iād completed.
It was the first book I had the nerve to publish.
It was totally unexpected. I was writing a fantasy novel. I remember waking up one morning with an idea. Huh? A book about a BDSM club? Really? Can I do that? Do I dare to even talk about it? I excitedly started writing. I wrote Restraint while my grandmother was staying with us. I wrote a dirty, sick and twisted book while sitting on the sofa next to my 93 yr old grandma. I shit you not!
Iād caught the writing bug after I published Restraint. Unleashed was written in a heartbeat. I was sad to see it end. So sad, in fact, that I couldnāt end it. Finally, inspiration struck. Who said I had to end it? I decided on a continual series narrated by different characters.
I published Unleashed and I still didnāt talk about it. It was like my books were some dirty secret I hid with the skeletons in my closet.
I started on Dexter. He was the obvious choice being that he was the nexus to several sets of characters. Midway through Dexter, Dalton was screaming at me. He was next, but he didnāt want to wait his turn. I wrote half of Dalton when Dexter was only a quarter finished. I wrote both books simultaneously. I published them both on my 34th birthday.
Still not talking about it. Still blushing when people ask what I do for a living. My mom was still smoothing it over, neglecting the fact that I write Dark Erotica.
Queen was next, but I knew Jack-shit about her. I knew her name, thatās it. On a long cross-country trip, I started Cortez (40 K that will hit the garbage when I butcher it) Suddenly, I knew who Queen was. One book turned into 3, with an omnibus edition.
Midway through book 3 of Queenās, M&M #7ā¦ Dead-end. Good Girl was born to help me relax and lighten the dark within me. I proceeded to rewrite, restructure, re-edit, reformate, and butcher all the books from the very beginning. 7 books. Some major changes occurred.
After Checkmate, I was lost. I set up for a huge beginning on KING and I didnāt know how to write itā¦ I didnāt want to let the readers down.
Good Girl againā¦ I published it and began Widow. I was so enthusiastic about Widow, that I outlined Wayward.
The day I scheduled to start writing on Widow again, after a two week break, lightning struck. The most amazing thing happened; my mind cleared enough to allow new information to filter in. You can become blind in your writing, where you see only one possible path, but itās not the right one. I knew the direction to take King.
KING is an important book and it was scaring me that I couldnāt do it. Iām not sure how I did it, or if the readers will enjoy it, but it flawlessly fused all the books together. What you thought you knew, you didnāt. KING has the foundation Restraint wasn’t. KING WILL hold the rest of the series without fail. Iām feeling closed-lipped about it. I want it to be a surprise.
One year since the conception of Restraint. Iām writing M&M #8- almost 40k (93 manuscript pages) in 4 days. I know the path that the next few books will take. The next books in the series will be: Faithless, M&M #9 (Syn). Untitled #10 (Cortez) and I believe #11 will be dedicated to Levi Wilson.
The series will maintain its dark edge, but itās darker now. Mystery and intrigue. Iām curious to see where this takes me. Weāll see.
Happy conception, Restraint!!! Your 1st birthday is quickly approaching- April 24th.
In case you were wondering, when someone asks what I write, I proudly tell them. If anyone calls my books smut, I let the bitch-monster out. Be forewarned.
Checkmate & Queen
Checkmate is available on Amazon, and is still processing on B&N and will be available shortly.
Queen, Mistress of Restraint- Omnibus Edition- Jaded-Queened-Checkmate is in review and processing on Amazon and B&N, and will be available within the next few days for purchase.
Please make sure you do not double purchase the installments of the series.
The links on this website will be updated as soon as both books go live, as well as the links on Goodreads.
Thanks for Reading
Checkmate Release Date & Bonus Scene
Within 10 days Checkmate will be available for purchase. Checkmate is with the betas. I finished the manuscript late last night. Here are the details…
170,000+ words in length
55 chapters and an epilogue
A 6,000 word bonus sceneĀ called Master Mash from the Point of View of the Master of the Universe, Marcus Zeitler.
A special sneak peek into Good Girl, Playroom #1- the entire 1st chapter.
Readers will get their money’s worth out of Checkmate. It is nearly the length of the 3 previous books. Regina had a lot of story to tell. All original plot threads have been tied up by book’s end and a few more were put into play. King will begin in the exact moment that Dalton and Checkmate concluded.
I murdered my laptop a week ago today and lost a lot of info, some I didn’t realize until I needed it. I started rewrites on Good Girl last night and all of my beta comments, edits, and reader questionnaires are *poof*. So I’m winging it. GG is already 65,000 words in length and I have a few more scenes to outline and write while Checkmate is with the betas.
I hope to have both books, Checkmate and Good Girl, released by Christmas and the Queen Omnibus before year’s end. *Fingers Crossed*
Here is a taste of the bonus scene.
Bonus Scene
Ā
As a thank you for riding this wild roller coaster with Regina Regal, I have a special bonus scene for you all. This scene was originally outlined to be included in Checkmate, but I felt it best not to include it. The following scene is not in any timeline, follows no rules, and may or may not occur in the future. It was simply an idea I had- a no holds barred idea of epic proportions.
~Thank you for reading Reginaās journey through her nightmarish fantasy to her reality~
*Master Mash*
Ā
-Marcus Zeitler- Master of our Universe-
Standing on the dais Iāve never felt so powerful. I gaze down to my people, the people Iāve trained. They gaze back at me with utter devotion and respect. If I say jump, they ask what bridge. Iāve twisted their will in my iron fist and pretzeled them into shapes theyāve never contemplated, and sometimes feared. I did it for their own good and they thanked me through moisture beaded eyes and tear stained cheeks. My God, I feel fucking powerful.
I smirk at the whole lot of them- they have no idea what Iām about to do. Some of them will want to kill be before this night is through and they have no choice. I snicker when they get that scared animal look when my eyes capture theirs. Every single one of them looks away- well, not her. Sheāll never look away. Sheās uneasy, but she trusts me and she knows the despicable lengths Iāll use to form us into unity.
I chuckle that deep laugh that makes Reginaās toes curl. Iāve perfected it just to see that glazed look in her eyes as it hits her ears and pools in her groin. Hmmā¦ Thatās right, lover, feel it resonate in your body. Ā
āWelcome, Masters of Restraint,ā I say proudly and a bit grandly as I spread my arms and turn in a circle on the dais. I may not be gay-gay, but I have some fabulousness that likes to come out and play- I call it charisma. Regina calls it cut the shit, you rat-bastard. I toss her a wink because it confuses the hell out of her and I like to keep her on her toes.
I pull my cell from my pocket with an evil grin on my face. I type ālockdownā and press send. Iāve captured everyoneās attention.
āIn light of recent events I thought we shouldā¦ bond,ā I draw the word out and grin. Every Master freezes when they catch the mischievousness in my shit-eating grin. I type a few more words on my cell and a beat of music interrupts the uncomfortable silence. Thumpā¦ thumpā¦ thumpā¦ –The thump of a heartbeat that wonāt be calm for long.
āAnyone ever play musical chairs?āĀ I rhetorically ask and I get a few shrugs and nervous titters in response. I can hear their thoughtsā¦ What chairs? The dungeon is empty of everything except the dais. The dungeon is completely devoid of anything but Mastersā¦ and not a chair in sightā¦
I narrow my eyes and grin. I tilt my chin down and raise my eyes through the fringe of my lashes. I know the impact this type of gaze has on them all- Cort and Regina practically melt to the floor, but the rest of them nervously shuffle from foot-to-foot. The gaze screams beware: shitās about to get real- really uncomfortable for all of you…
Queen’s Journey
I’m procrastinating or simply reminiscing. I don’t know which, it may be a combination of the two. My hands are freaking killing me today and my migraine is pounding. Don’t ever look at a writer and think them lazy. My mind and hands are tortured by my craft.
I am near the bottom of Checkmate’s outline. I can see the bottom. You have no idea how this thrills me. So let’s take a reminiscent journey of Queen, shall we…
I started Queen, Mistress of Restraint on June 28th. Dexter and Dalton were with the Betas. Yeah, I did two books at once. What an undertaking. (I’m being sarcastic. It was torture at the time and little did I know I’d one up myself) I knew Queen had to be next in the series. Wanna know why? A glimpse into the strange inner-working of Erica Chilson’s mind. It’s not as intriguing as I’m making it sound. I’m in a mood today. I was staring at the characters I’d written on a piece of paper. Katya was out, she had two books just for her- she’s so selfish, hogging the limelight like that. (I’m still in Queen’s head. so yeah…) It had to be a girl since I’d done two of Kat and two of D&D. It couldn’t be a gay because some ppl are sensitive to that and I didn’t want two gay books back-to-back. Obviously you’ve figured out that personally I have absolutely no orientation- Erica likes connection and chemistry. But it couldn’t be a guy or a gay. Queen is a girl, but… I’d written her as a lesbian. Syn was out because I thought she should do something else later on… So at the time I had no other girls that were Masters. Queen… Queen… I quickly slapped a band aid on Dalton to fix Queen’s lesbianism. (shotty bandage. Bad, Erica)
I typed Queen, Mistress of Restraint and groaned. “What the fuck was I going to write? Who is she?” I knew nothing of Queen. I knew a few details I’d given her in regards to other characters and that was it.Ā So I ignored her. We weren’t ready.
I did final edits on the July Release of Dexter & Dalton. We were driving cross-country from the PA/NY Border to New Mexico for a NRA national championship (Congrats to Brian Chilson on his 2012 National Champ title. GO DAD!) Cortez was crooning his naughty, charming words. I yanked out the laptop and by the end of our 5 day journey to NM, Cort was 40k in length. He’s a sweet talker. We had a blast.
July 10th, the day before my birthday. I still didn’t know anything about Queen, and Cort was being quiet (a first since he is ALWAYS with me.) I was uploading D&D to the sites for publication and my laptop died. It fucking died on me at 5am in a hotel room in rural NM. I mean rural. I live in a rural place but give me a half hour and it’s cities. I was a sad panda. I got the books to upload finally. I was a sad, sad panda as my dad practiced at the rifle range and I watched. I had no laptop, nothing to write or read since I couldn’t upload to the nook. The nook was dead because the charger was broke (again).
We got in the car and he started heading towards Colorado, land of stores. š Pueblo was the destination. Mom said happy birthday and pulled into Sam’s club. I left the parking lot with a new laptop pressed to my chest and a sad smile. I felt like a shit because that was tooooo much for a birthday, but my bank account was miniscule at best. Being a starving artist writer, who just separated with her husband that she’d been with since age 12 leaves you with little. They said suck it up, you need this for work. I still feel like a shit. So they went in to Home Depot looking for supplies. And I’m a techie. That box was torn open, the laptop booted up and plugged into the powerport in the car. I was installing updates off of HD’s wifi from the parking lot. The laptop was named, updated, and programs removed while they shopped. Half hour later I was downloading all the stuff I use.. Sugarsync, calibre, kindle, and nook when they came out.
Yeah… I’m a techie…Ā My family thinks I’m a member of Geek Squad and I have the propensity to tell the tech support ppl on the phone to suck it. The technician from our internet company came to fix my router and laughed when he told meĀ I was red-flagged. I’m a short, round chick, who’s quiet. He laughed at me when I told him how it took 5 calls to get him to visit…. and I was right all along. Told ya so, tech support- suck it! He was my first awed person who looked at me like I was a rockstar when he saw my books on my laptop. He thought I was getting a tattoo of a dudes name. (Dexter) He said, “No, don’t tattoo some dude’s name on your body.” HeĀ shook his head at me and scowled. So I got to laugh at him in return by telling him that those pictures were my creation. Good Times.
July 11th, birthday time!! I’m 34 *shrugs* I didn’t want to sit at the hot and dusty range so I sat on the bed at the hotel with three usb thumb drives taking info from the barely running laptop to the new one. It was a long wait for the pictures and book files. I started Queen.
I wrote, “Jaded” out of nowhere. I started typing a book about Queen, but she was an 18 yr-old Regina Regal. 12k later it was time for dinner and my parents and the doggie were back. I typed all through the night trying not to disturb my sleeping parents. Regina turned into a sad girl who hated handouts and was a techie… Heehee, wonder where that inspiration came from. The 12th I sat while they practiced and 10 pages later I realized that the book couldn’t be Queen, Mistress of Restraint,Ā but rather, Jaded, Queened, and Checkmate. I’d release them singularly and together as an omnibus edition. When I say 10 page outline, I should explain my way of outlining. Single line scenes, they could be half a chapter or three. Each line was a scene, ten pages of them. Queen was born because a broke, separated Erica had to take a handout from her loving parents.
Jaded was written quickly and Queened too! About 30k into Checkmate I found a problem. An epically huge fucking problem. I was paralleling Restraint, Unleashed, Dexter, and Dalton. I was dissatisfied and lost. So I went to bed. This is writer clarity of mind time. I woke up and Willow Pryne was born, my Good Girl. I wrote Good Girl in 10 days. I sent it off to the betas and a few readers. It’s not completed because I wrote more of the outline and have to do the final edits. 5 days tops and Willow will be ready to read.
I stared at Checkmate. What the fuck do I do? It’s not working and if I can’t fix it, the series is dead- total destruction! I did something I said I’d never do… I loaded Restraint and started butchering, re-editing, restructuring, rewriting, reformatting. If you can name it, I did it to my book! Everyone said Katya was cold. I warmed her up and lightened her up. I made Ezra more cryptic. I gave us more Cortez and I wrote Queen into the story. I knew her now and she needed in there.
I immediately started on Unleashed. The writing was so much better. I’d rewritten Restraint; it would have been easier from scratch. Unleashed flowed better, the English language wasn’t trashed, and the story made sense. I fixed minor errors and added some smexy scenes.
Dexter. I felt bad for my sadist. He didn’t really have a story. Dexter was the nexus to all the characters and the book was fucking fluff. I’m being hard on myself and I deserve it. I finally added the strife that was necessary for our game of Master of the Universe. Dexter was a different book from its original form. I did this to Dalton, too!
After a bunch of shit with uploading the new editions, plastering ‘get your updated copy here’ everywhere I could think, I went back to Jaded. I edited it and published it. It went through and I found a set of edits in the Queened folder that belonged to Jaded. I fixed it and upload it again to B&N and Amazon. It was BLOCKED from Amazon! JADED was dead in the water. I received no explanation. Phone calls got me nowhere, emails were auto-generated. So I said fuck you!!!! Really, I said it loud and a lot! I just republished it exactly how it was and waited. I cleared my mind and started on Queened. I edited it and no need for added scenes and rewrites. It was how I wanted it. I published it with no problem on both sites and it loaded within 5 hours.
Seven days later… waiting… waiting… waiting…. I started on Checkmate. I said FUCK YOU again when I saw it still said ‘in review’ for Jaded with the black-balled Jaded beneath it. I emailed them. 5 minutes later it was publishing. I almost pissed my pants. I didn’t want to cheer thinking that it would fuck it up somehow. So I yelled YAY a lot and knocked on my end table while my mom said, “I told you it’d work out alright.” And she was laughing at me… She may have even rolled her eyes a little bit too…
Checkmate… again…. I would get frustrated. I had this great outline. I knew the story in everyone’s point of view. But I would work so hard my mind would melt. 70k in 4 and a half days. I’d take a break and read or sleep. I get a few hours here and there since my mind wants to write to empty its contents. I’ve lost weight, a lot of weight because typing hands can’t put food to your mouth. My typing hands are taped up and my wrists are splinted. It hurts so bad that by age 35 I’m going to look like an old crone.
The weirdest thing happens… Restraint becomes popular in the beginning of November. It freaked me out. I was making money. Not a whole lot,Ā but enough that this really constitutes as paying profession. I could see a future of independence and it scared me. I’ve been with my parents and then my husband and back to my parents since birth. I could really get a life… One I want… I am scared shitless. So all 6 books are selling, selling well. *Knock on wood*
Out of fear and the daunting deadlines, I froze. I couldn’t write. I was blocked. I read 20 books in a week with no sleep. I’d write 70k in a few days and then do the the reading thing… This is my present. This is what my life has become.
I sit here finding a compromise of writing 10k or so many scenes a day. When I get frustrated I open the book I’m reading and go back in a few hours. I started this the day before yesterday because I need rules or I’ll go insane. Last night I read a few chapters and went to sleep. It’s the first time in a while. Today I feel like shit. Migraine, hands and wrists are killing me, dizzy with a cloudy mind, and eyes that randomly roll around in my head. My outline is almost completed. The finish line is in sight.
Checkmate should be finished by Sunday night or Monday, depending on if I freak the fuck out again and freeze or if I get into a book and can’t stop reading. Hell, I have 6 episodes ofĀ the Vampire Diaries, Arrow, and two Revenges that are screaming from the DVR. They must wait and I pray no one erases them. All hell will be had! While Checkmate is off to the betas (who have a fast job ahead of them) I’ll fix Good Girl.
This has been a long, torturous journey to breathe light into Queen. My two book release of D&D was child’s play compared to a 3 book Queen and the debut of Good Girl, and formatting an omnibus edition.
I hope the readers think it’s worth it.
Have you hugged a writer today? They need one!!!Ā {{Self-hugs}}
-Erica
Checkmate Update- December Releases.
Checkmate will be released sometime this month. The delay is simply because the story keeps evolving. For every scene on my outline I add another. A scene could be half a chapter or three… It’s really lengthened the book, already the combined length of Jaded & Queened and I’m about 1/2 completed.Ā I’m sorry for the delay, but the finished product will be even better.
While Checkmate is with the betas, who will have to do a speed-reading and editing, I will be working on Good Girl. I have all the beta comments from the questionnaire and the edits. Their comments helped me outline additional scenes and rewrites and I’m looking forward to working on Good Girl. I’ve missed my Willow Monster. It’s release will be later this month as well.
The Queen Omnibus: Jaded, Queened, Checkmate will be available shortly after the release of Checkmate and Good Girl. I have a lot of formatting to combine the book into a 3-in-1 edition. The finished product willĀ be around 400,000 words and priced at $9.99, which is a significant discount from buying 3 separate books.
WIP: Tentative release dates.
Chrysalis (Lilies #1- Urban Fantasy) First Quarter 2013
Clover’s book (Untitled) (Playroom #2) First Quarter 2013
King (M&M #8) First or Second Quarter 2013
I may start a new project or work on a manuscript I have in progress- Atticus Fox. I don’t know the direction I want to take the story, when it comes to me I will be voracious writing it. By the end of December I will have released 9 books in less than 8 months. I’m trying to slow my pacing to make sure the books are the best they can be. It’s why I’ve sat on Good Girl and let it marinate, same with Chrysalis and Atticus Fox. I actually have 40,000 words written in Cortez. I’ve grown from my past mistakes. The drafts will be completed and then left to sit while I write something else. I need time to know how to tweak the story for the betterment.Ā This is me we are talking about, when I say left to sit, I mean a month or two. No worries. I plan on a steady flow of stories: 6-10 within a year’s time frame. I wrote a novella that was a memoir of sorts called Empowerment and a few novellas in the works for M&M that I would love to release. M&M novellas are YA and involve the children at Hillbrook Prep and the writings of Cortez Abernathy and James Atwater. Cort’s books will be a surprise genre and James Atwater’s numeral books are hardcore BDSM. I’ve toyed with the idea of making our Cort a romance writer for shits and giggles. Just what I’ve been mulling over for the future. I’d love to know thoughts on whether or not these books would be of interest.
As always, I love hearing from readers, whether you love or loathe. Please comment on the posts, join me on my FB Fanpage or email me: thewickedwriter@yahoo.com
Happy Wicked Reading
-Erica
Jaded&Queened Released. & Erica’s musings
Jaded and Queened are available for purchase from Amazon and B&N for $3.99.Ā & not without great difficulty. Jaded was a week-long stress-fest. I can finally breathe and just do what I love- write my ass off!
I’m hard at work editing and writing Checkmate- the conclusion of Regina Regal’s (Queen) story arch. Judging by the length of my plot outline,Ā Checkmate will be near the 150K word mark. It parallels the first 4 books in the M&M of Restraint series. You will see events through the perspective of Queen- questions will be answered and motivations will be revealed. I project Checkmate’s release in early December, possibly earlier depending on how hard the muse pushes me to work. & my muse is a wicked Mistress. She flexes her wrist and whips me into compliance and uses lack of sleep as a fitting punishment. She also denies me food and fun. But my stressed-ass is tens of pounds lighter thanks to her.
Upon the release of Checkmate, I will format and release the three titles (Jaded, Queened, Checkmate) in an omnibus edition, Queen Mistress of Restraint. You may wish to wait and read the 3-in-1 edition, unless you’re like me- extremely impatient.
Next up after Queen’s titles is the Debut book in a new series, Good Girl- Playroom. Good Girl will be released mid-December (depending on Checkmate’s progress) I have a few added scenes and revisions to edit- 3 days to a week, tops.
After these books are completed I’m taking a break. By the end of December, I will have written and released 9 books. That is 700,000 published words in 8 months. I’ve almost written a million words in less than a year. That is a conservative estimate considering the amount of scenes I’ve deleted, rewritten, and the unfinished manuscripts of 4 books I have waiting in the wings. I am tuckered out. I’ve learned so much and that knowledge has strengthened me, not only as a storyteller, but as a writer. I’ve made errors in judgement and I’ve also released books too early before their stories commulated into what it was meant to be. Lessons learned, risks taken, and I’m smarter for the lot of it.
Break or no break… It’s doubtful I can go more than a week or two without working… So my list of works most likely will be completed as follows:
Chrysalis (Lilies #1) Urban Fantasy
Untitled (Playroom #2) Erotic Romance
or Shattered(tentative title) (Atticus Fox #1) Genre to be determined
King (M&M of Restraint #8) Dark Erotica
After that is anyone’s guess- it’s entirely up to my muse. She demanded I write a new book out of nowhere mid-Checkmate. That’s how Good Girl was created! So we’ll see what she comes up with next.
Readers: Make sure you’ve read the most up-to-date version of the 1st 4 books in the series. The top of the title page informs you whether or not you are. It will have the first publication date followed by the revision date. It is imperative that you read the revised editions if you’ve previously read the originals. The storyline drastically changes during Dexter and Dalton. This would be one of the harsh lessons I’ve learned over the past few months. My growth demanded that I change Restraint, Unleashed, Dexter, and Dalton. I apologize for the inconvenience and the reread, but it is for the readers benefit. It’s a much more enjoyable, informative, thrilling, and titillating read. I’ve Easter-egged the shit out of those books, so a reread will be filled with AH-HA! moments. Easter egg, for those who aren’t familiar with gamer-speak, is hints/clues/and awesomeness for those in the know and if you’re like me, it gives you a massive amount of foreshadowing!
If you don’t have the most recent edition and you purchased the book thru amazon or B&N an update is available for your downloading pleasure.
I am thankful that I’m fortunate enough to do what I love and earn a living off of it. November is the month of thanks. I am thankful to my parents for keeping me safe and secure, my friends for keeping me sane and happy, and my muse for allowing me to live my dream by creating a universe from the ether.Ā I live my passion and no matter the obstacles and roadblocks that are in my way, or the stress I put upon myself, I get to live my dream and if that isn’t happiness, I don’t know what is…
My muse is cracking her whip… back to working and listening to music and that’s just what she loves!
Unleashed News~ Covers Released~ Restraint .99
Ā 
Restraint is .99 cents on Amazon & B&NĀ as part of the Wicked Nights Sale until November 14th. Please pick up your Revised copy at this discounted rate! Please check out the other Authors who are participating in the sale.Ā I will do a post on the 30th with more information.
Ā The revised edition of Unleashed will be available soon. Mother Nature has a way of ruining plans, but I plan on uploading the revised Edition of Unleashed to B&N and Amazon Monday Night, power willing. It will be another 12-72 hours for the sites to post.
I added 8 additional scenes to Unleashed. It bypassed the 100k word mark. These scenes were pivotal to the series and the upcoming Queen books. I would recommend a reread of the series from the beginning, but if I were to select one book of the four currently in release of the M&M of Restraint series that is a must for a reread it would be Unleashed….
Also… The tabs have been updated on this blog this evening. Check them out. More information will be added when I write the Blurbs for the 5 books that will be released the last week of November.
As always, I love hearing from readers, please email me: thewickedwriter@yahoo.com
Happy Wicked Reading
& for those in the storm’s path- stay safe.
~Erica~
Restraint-Revised & Upcoming releases…
The Revised edition of Restraint is available on Amazon and within 24-hours on B&N. The original version of Restraint was 53,000 words. I butchered 10,000 words of poor writing and errors. I added scenes and expanded scenes. Restraintās length is now over 70,000 words.
Restraint wasnāt the first book Iāve ever written. It, however, was the first book of that genre and the first I ever published. My inexperience was evident. My growth was obvious as you read my works. I didnāt want the foundation of the M&M of Restraint series to be weak and written poorly.
I wasnāt a big fan of large internal monologues. In some books it has the feel of filler. I wanted to avoid this in Restraint and it was to the bookās detriment. I have since went back and changed this. Katya Watersā needed internal dialogue to explain her reasoning.
After a six-month hiatus and writing 7 books and 2 partial manuscripts, I went back to Restraint to re-edit it. I am so thankful of my decision. Ā Ā The revised edition flows smoother. Katyaās reasoning is evident. I was able to add more Easter eggs for the rereaders. It isnāt perfect because I am far from perfect. Iām sure there a ton of errors to be found. But it is light-years away from its original form.
I am currently doing the same restructuring to Unleashed- re-edit, revise, reformat, and edit, delete, and add scenes. I have 5 new scenes that Iāve outlined to go inside the book. Unleashed will surpass the 100,000 word mark.
I am doing this for all of my works. Dexter has 4 new scenes outlined. Iāve outline a few for Dalton, too.
This promises for a smoother read.
Errors throw the readers out of their imaginations and it stalls the story mid-scene. It reminds me of someone pressing pause on the TV during your favorites show, or it turns fuzzy and it ruins the experience. I am doing my best to alleviate this from my works.
My current projects: The Queen omnibus: Jaded, Queened, Checkmate. The books are written and receiving the same treatment as their predecessors. Jaded will be expanded greatly. Queened will not change much. Checkmate is being scrapped. The omnibus edition will be 300,000 words. The books will be available separately and in the omnibus edition at a discounted rate. I am pushing for a late November release. Donāt hit me if it doesnāt happen. I promise to release it as soon as itās ready.
My perfectionism is rearing its ugly head, but itās to the benefit of the readers. I took reviewers comments and changed things for them. More EZRA was screamed. Whereād Ezra go? Master Ez will have a greater role in Dexter and Dalton. Katya is cold in the beginning of Restraint. I fixed this issue by adding Katās internal dialogue. The reader will understand why she is doing as she is. Why she draws her Bitch Shield!!!
Exciting news!!!
A new series: Playroom. The first in the series is written and waiting in last place for its butchering and restructuring. I have 4 scenes to add to it. Itās a light, fun, sweet read. I believe that Erotic Romance is the best genre to place it within. Whereas M&M of Restraint is edgy and Dark, Playroom will be a fun, easy read without the stress that a Dark book gives the reader. Good Girl will be released with the Queen books. *fingers crossed*
Whatnots:
After all of this, I am returning to my first work, Chrysalis. I project its release for late January. The Lilies is an Urban Fantasy series of unknown origins (Psss.. Itās a secret ātil you read it) Following this is my second work, Shattered (tentative title) The Atticus Fox series. Atticus will be in the erotic genre, subgenre to be determined. I have a spin I may put on Olā Attie, but that is far off.
From now on, I will not do multi-releases, even if it means leaving readers with a cliffhanger. Iām sorry folks, but it is beyond stressful. I pump the books out fast as it is. Iāve learned that sometimes you need to allow them to marinate. I will write a book and switch to one of my other series and then comeback to it after itās marinated. I will write what my muse screams for me to write. No worries, though. Iām a fast writing bitch. I canāt stop. If Iām doing 1 book at a time, Iāll end up with a release at least every 2 months.
A word about Queen.:
I always know where my characters will lead me. Their lives play out in seconds within my imagination the moment I create them. Queen is the exception. As you can see from the first 4 books, she was elusive. She was elusive for me as well. I knew Queenās book was next in the M&M series and I had no idea how to write it. I didnāt want to force myself, so I wrote Cort. 40K into Cortez, Queen was born. In seconds I knew what I needed to do. The character that evaded me turned into the most pivotal character in the M&M world.
She received 3 books, 300K worth of story and she impacted how the story was written inside my head. She completely threw my outlines out the window & Cortās manuscript was scrapped. I am proud of what I wrote for her. Jaded is an exceptional book. I cried, bawled, and snotted all over myself as I typed the words. It was pure torture, but it made an exceptional read and Iām about to make it better when I get back to Jaded. See, books need to marinate.
My favorite character:
Cortez Abernathy is by far my favorite character in the M&M world and I believe that he is solidified in that position. My second favorites? Tied is Regina Regal & Marcus Zeitler. Youāll see why. But I love writing anything dealing with them. Cort is a blast when he is misbehaving and heās always misbehaving. Marc is the best when he is controlling his minions and refusing to give into temptation. & Regina is just a well-rounded character. You may ask why I donāt say Katyaā¦. Sheās too much like meā¦ Yes, she is.
Fable of Darkness- as told by Marcus
This Fable is told in the voice of Marcus. It is chapter 9 of Checkmate. It is the origins of the characters of M&M of Restraint. Mild spoilers and can be read without having read a single word of the series.
Chapter Nine
Ā
Once upon a time, nearly thirty years agoā¦ A pair of angelic twins lived in a huge castle known as ShadowHaven. These ethereal beings with their halos of white-blonde hair and eyes the color of mourning doves, were the polar-opposite of one another, as most identical twins often are. It was a delicate balance of the light and the darkness living within.
Upon entering the mythical place, Hillbrook, that eons ago was a huge Catholic cathedral, there was a shift in the balance. A pair of cousins known as Raymond and Celeste Hunter would unknowingly impact the lives of so many.
The happily ever after for the twin of light, brought forth darkness to fall over the school known as Hillbrook and the ShadowHaven Castle. Pearl was a divine being and she met her soul mate in a young man name Richard Hastings. The couple escaped to a far off land known as the West Coast and created their own precious soul- Divina. To this day, they live a happily ever after. Pearl splits her time between her soul mate and her twin soul, leaving the precious Divina to reside at ShadowHaven.
Diane was thrust into the dark when her light fled across the country. She lost her wings when she fell for the fair, raven-haired Celeste that possessed eyes of the dove. Darkness flowed over the land in its quest to obtain the one she couldnāt reach. For the raven-haired beauty loved another, the exotic Julian Abernathy. The exotic and the dove-eyed creatures combined their essence and through the power of magic, a precious child was brought forth- the highly imaginative and cunning God with the eyes of the dove and the coloring of the exoticās gold, and he was named Cortez. The raven-haired God will one day find his soul mate, but first tragedy must strike.Ā
While her twin soul and her soul mate found their futures with lesser-men that the darkness desired to smoother, she had to spread her gloom. The darkness was filled with the monster known as green-eyed. If she couldnāt have her Celestial beauty, she would take its mirror image. Raymond was fair of skin, dove-eyed, and raven-haired, but he possessed a manly attribute that disgusted her. For two years she courted disaster by covering Raymond with false adoration. She devised a plan that only the dark could manifestā¦
Celeste accepted the proposal of happily ever after from her Julian and that green-eyed monster bloomed within the darkness. She allured Raymond with her own proposal. No mortal man could deny an ethereal being. Laid upon a cloud she bided her time until the mortal man fused as one with the angel. Mid-coupling she began to cry foul. The mortal man was so taken that he didnāt hear her. Once coupling starts it is most difficult to halt. The Angelās mock cries were to lure the Celestial being, but she had found solace within the embrace of the exotic and never heard the song. That evening two souls were conceived, one through love and one through deceit.
Darkness blanketed the soul of the mortal man as his thoughts were twisted and thrust back at him as a weapon until he didnāt know if heād been invited to fuse with the angel or if heād trespassed. Broken, he fled and lived a life that wasnāt his destined path. A destructive path that will not only harm him, but his child and his cousinās child.
The raven-haired beauty announced with great celebration that she was ripe with child. The monster known as green-eyed completely eclipsed the darkness. She knew that her soul mate was headed to her happily ever after, taking hers with her. Deceit flowed easily from the tongue, she said she, too, was carrying a child, but it was conceived through trespass. The Celestial being rained tears for her companion. One final deceit and she ensnared the raven-haired beauty for a lifetime- she named the trespasser Julian Abernathy.
The exotic went back to his land in the south never knowing heād created a God.
The darkness flowed as light as she proposed that Celeste join her in life to raise the sons, thought to be brothers, which were budding within their wombs.
The deceit was disguised as a great day of celebration when the dark pretending to be light birthed a God several months early. He was known as Ezra the fair. Ezra was haloed with white, fair of skin, and eyes of the mourning dove. Celeste looked upon the divine miracle with eyes gone clear. No magic known to the earth or sky could create an ethereal being from the union of a mortal exotic and an angel.
The raven-haired beauty erupted against the faux-light until the darkness poured midnight fury. Gloom flowed from her throat in a torrent; she lost her happily ever after when Julian Abernathy trespassed after she had laid with Raymond the mortal. The mortal was weak and fled in her time of need. With no way of knowing the origins of her growing child, all she could do was wait.
The darkness yet again transformed into faux-light. She and Celeste raised the males together, but never to the darknessā vision.
The faux-light began to plot more deceit.
The Catholic cathedral of Hillbrook welcomed two children of Jerusalem: Bronzed skin Gods, whose eyes glowed amber fire, and hair spiraled of black silk. The welcoming arms of the alumni captured the youngest known as Marcus. Such as the ways of the era, he was betrothed to the faux-light by his ailing Matriarch. At the tender age of sixteen he was brought to ShadowHaven to begin his courtship of the faux-light, where he fell in love with the fair, the golden, and the divine. The faux-light shined bright as a promise of a happily ever after hung from the sky. Marcus the bronze was welcomed into a large family of blazing souls. Another wee-one known as Aaron, blessed the ShadowHaven Castle.
The faux-light was still on her quest for the raven-haired. In private she admonished Ezra the fair and doted on Cortez the gold.
The darkness shattered its light-shell when Celeste, the raven-haired beauty took ill. Darkness blanketed the ShadowHaven Castle, never to lift.
The darkness spewed chaos in private and shined angelic light in public. It twisted the souls of Marcus the bronze and Ezra the fair. Her love of Celeste cushioned Cortez the gold in a protective orb.
The twisting of their souls pushed Marcus and Ezra to commit unspeakable trespasses. After his final act, Marcus fled to the land known as Sin City. A demon in disguise captured him in her web and he was released the year thereafter, leaving behind a tiny Spyder.
Marcus returned a changed soul on a mission to protect the fair, the gold, the divine, and the wee-one.
An evil descended on ShadowHaven, an evil wrought through deceit. The fair was seized by Raymond the mortal who turned Hunter seeking prey. With his fate stolen, he was left to walk the earth lost and in misery. He wanted a companion created in his image. Upon learning that he had two such creatures, one from his loins and one from his cousin, he returned for another.
Marcus the bronze was going insane keeping track of Cortez the gold. The child was uncontrollable. He locked the children in a room and sought secrets from the darknessā locked chamber. He found a scroll detailing this fable. His uncontained fury eclipsed the darkness. He went to Cortez the gold and renamed him Cortez the cunning. He knew the Hunter would return for his quarry. He laid in wait and sent the Cunning into hell with the wee-one in tow.
Three day passed and the children returned from their pilgrimage changed men- changed in the ways Sin City changed the bronze.
From that night forth, Marcus the bronze has fought the darkness. We now engage in a war as the darkness siphons power from the demon.
Erica Chilson: The Wicked Writer 