It feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve blogged about anything other than the crazy tour schedules I’ve been immersed in and all of the exciting bestselling news for my latest releases. As fun as all that’s been the past 9 months…I need a break. Like, I feel like I could take a three-month long vacation on a tropical island somewhere and just sleep for weeks straight. That’s how exhausted I am from the past year. Between writing, editing, revising, touring, marketing, running contests, reading and reviewing books, and planning new series and releases…my mind is fried and it’s time to step away from it all for a bit.
That being said, I won’t be stepping away from the writing itself. Over the next few months, I just won’t be on-line much. I’ll be hiding away to spend the summer working on The Tragedy of Knowledge (book 3 of The Resistance Trilogy) and Repossession, book 1 of my upcoming series, The Keepers Trilogy. Holed up in my reclusive bubble, I foresee a lot of pajama, bedhead-hair-wearing, Dorito-stained t-shirt kinda days in the future.
Yes. Let the slob-mode commence.
But I look forward to shutting down the internet and just spending some time in solitude with my characters and their stories. The other motivation for retreating to write is that I’m looking forward to focusing on the fantasy realm I love so much again. The need to give Gavin, Camille, and the gang their ending is really gnawing at me, and my head is completely consumed with The Keepers trilogy right now. Preservation was a nice temporary departure from the fantasy world, but it was just that–a temporary departure.
I haven’t talked much about that, so I guess I should mention that I’ll be writing more contemporary romance in the future, but Preservation specifically was really just a random, experimental project for me. I didn’t over-think it. I just wrote. I just had fun with it. Yes, it went through a few drafts and the typical editing and revising process, but as far as the general storyline went, I didn’t over-analyze everything when I worked on it. It was just a natural, raw, liberating project. It’s a very personal story and was cathartic for me to write, and I wrote it for myself. The idea that some readers might enjoy it was a plus, so I released it and decided to let the chips fall where they may. So far, the reception has been interesting, forming this weird polar divide. Some love it and some hate it. It’s been really fun to watch such a wide range of opinions emerge. I’m thankful to anyone who has taken the time to read it. And to those who took the departure from Fantasy Land with me to try out this standalone contemporary romance? You rock! Thanks to you, Preservation made it to #3 on Amazon’s Top 100 Bestseller List and #2 on the Contemporary Romance Bestseller List.
So, until my next trek over to Contemporary Romance Land, I’m off to the bayou and headed straight for Amaranth before I make a pitstop to confront an alien invasion in post-apocalyptic America.
Se you all soon and have a great summer!
Much love,
Rachael
xo