I Ain't No One-Hit Wonder, Baby!

Big news for my writing career yesterday. I got "THE CALL" again!! Harlequin Intrigue has contracted me to write not one, but FOUR more books for them.

When I got the call the first time back in June, selling Primal Instinct, one of the things my new editor said was "So whatcha working on currently? Hurry up and get a proposal into us soon so we can get another book in the works."

Well, never being one to do things the easy way, I decided I would send Intrigue a multi-book proposal, rather than just a boring (but probably much wiser) single-book proposal. You know, since I had so much writing experience and...stuff. I worked frantically through June and July and sent it off to them, unsure of its strength or if it was what they really wanted at all. Newbie fears.

Honestly, I had a daily expectation of receiving some sort of email from Intrigue along the lines of: "Hey new kid, don't get too big for your britches. Just one book please. Who do you think you are?"

But they didn't. In September I got an email from my editor saying she thought I had "done a great job" on the proposal and that she was sending it up the chain for final approval. And I got the word yesterday: they want all four books. Crazy!

Thanks True Lies.

Each of the books I proposed was a stand-alone, but they all dealt with the Branson siblings -- three brothers and a sister -- who find their lives and hearts in peril. They are all connected to S.H.I.E.L.D Omega Sector, a covert inter-agency task force made up of the most elite agents our country has to offer.

Fun stuff. I rub my hands with glee every time I think about it. Lots of possibilities for great twists and mayhem. And, of course, falling in love.

All four books are scheduled for 2015 release: January and February then May and June. This gives me a couple month break from promoting during their release -- I'll need it.

The multi-book proposal involved me writing: 

1. A one-paragraph description of all four books and how they fit together (in this case, four siblings who are also involved with Omega Sector).
2. A brief synopsis (2-3 pages each) of books 2-4.
3. A full synopsis (7-10 pages) of book 1.
4. The first three chapters of book 1.
5. The potential back-cover blurbs for all four books (this wasn't actually required, but since I had them, I sent them anyway). 

I'm excited about all four of these stories (I'll post the blurbs soon) -- I believe they all have the potential to be great, if I can do them justice. But having to write four books (well really 3.25 books, I already have the first one 3/4 done) in ten months is daunting.  Plus, did I mention the whole Ironman Triathlon thing? Yikes. 2014 is going to be a busy year.

Time to hit the writing cave. Maybe I can set up my treadmill there.