This post violates one of the unspoken rules of authordom: in it, I imply that my books are not like babies and I do not love them all equally. Prepare to be shocked.
One of the reasons I’m excited about the release of Trial by Desire is probably not obvious on the face of it.
You see, the publication order of my books has not been the same as the order in which I wrote them. I wrote Proof by Seduction first, found an agent and an editor and sold the book, and had started work on Trial by Desire when my editor asked me if I’d like to write a novella. So I wrote “This Wicked Gift” a full year after I’d written Proof by Seduction, and well after I’d conceived the idea for Trial.
For a young writer (and I am young as a writer!), a year is a really long time. There are skills you learn by doing, things that you learn from writing books that you can’t learn any other way. I can definitely tell that I’ve grown as a writer. I can point to some things in Proof and know that I would handle them differently now. This is not to say that I think it’s a bad book. But I do think I’m a better writer since I wrote my first book, and I think you can tell by looking at the novella that came out before my first book.
In any event, I’ve finally caught up to myself. After Trial, my books are finally going to be coming out in the order in which I wrote them. I hope that in the years to come I continue to grow as a writer. And what I hope that means for you is that the best is yet to come.
But speaking of future books: I’ve posted the first scene from my January 25, 2011 release, Unveiled. No relation to Trial by Desire or Proof by Seduction.
There is something so sad about finding out that an author’s first book was his or her best book.
One of the most enjoyable things about finding a new author is watching them grow as writers. If you see places where you can improve as a story teller, and use that knowledge in each new outing, then the reader benefits right along with you.
Your first (published) efforts were so good Courtney that I’m positive that you’re headed for Great.
Best wishes for TBD and all the books that follow!
Congratulations on catching up to yourself! Thanks for the excerpt of Unveiled — it looks great. I just finished Trial, so I’m ready for your next. 🙂
You’re such a tease. Put up the second scene already. I want to see her give Ash his come-upance. “The wind started up again as if the whole world had been holding its breath.” If I didn’t love you so much, I could really hate you! Fabulous excerpt.