In June of 2015, my agent and I sold a novel on proposal.

It was a middle grade project. I’d submitted a synopsis and the first twenty pages, and at first, that was good enough for the publisher. Up until that point, the biggest challenge for me in my writing career had been turning in quality revisions and meeting deadlines. When this novel sold, I had no idea what was in store. Which was several versions of the same idea, written from scratch, and rejected every time. This eventually led to the contract being cancelled entirely.

Receiving that news sent me into a tailspin. I questioned my skill as a writer, whether I should continue to do it at all, if I’d been kidding myself all these years about the reality of succeeding as an author. I’ve never felt as lost as I did during this period. I stopped writing entirely, but I told no one. When friends and family asked how I was doing, I put on a smile and told them I was more relieved than anything. Secretly, though, I believed myself to be a failure.

I’m not sure when I started to heal. Maybe it was time, maybe it was distractions, or maybe it was my new project.

When I started writing again, I had just spent three years in the mind of a small boy. I had just spent three years denying all the shiny new ideas that flashed my way. I had just spent three years writing the same story again and again. So at this point, I felt trapped and drained. I sat in front of my laptop, feeling brave enough to try again, and that blinking cursor beckoned. And I realized that, for the first time since I could remember, I could type any damn thing I wanted.

Long before the botched middle grade project, I had been wanting to try my hand in the adult genre. I'd started an urban fantasy novel. This was partly attributed to the fact that some of my favorite series were on those shelves—Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs, Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead, or Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton to name a few. But it was mostly because I thought it would be refreshing to include any amount of swearing and sex that came to me.

So this was the story I came back to after the cancelled contract. To my surprise, it came naturally, and I worked on it every chance I got over the summer. Instead of themes like coming-of-age or fitting in, I dove into themes involving power and politics.

That book became Fortuna Sworn, which I have officially self-published. Here is the blurb:

Fortuna Sworn is the last of her kind.

Her brother disappeared two years ago, leaving her with no family or species to speak of. She hides among humans, spending her days working at a bar and her nights searching for him. The bleak pattern goes on and on... until she catches the eye of a powerful faerie.

He makes no attempt to hide that he desires Fortuna. And in exchange for her, he offers something irresistible. So Fortuna reluctantly leaves her safe existence behind to step back into a world of creatures and power.

It soon becomes clear that she may not have bargained with her heart, but her very life.

I absolutely can't wait to share Fortuna's story with my readers. So... order your copy now!