Taking a Breath

Those of you who are stalwart enough to hang in waiting for me to post a blog, your time is now. I actually posted two other blogs, and thought I'd done so successfully. Such is my keen knowledge of the internet, that I evidently didn't notice for four weeks that I failed--miserably. So when I logged in tonight, imagine my surprise to find that I hadn't actually posted since June, when the Miss Fortunes came out. A lot to catch up on, for sure.

First of all, thank you to everyone, and I mean EVERYONE who shared the experience of the Unfortunate Miss Fortunes with Jen Cruise, Anne Stuart and me. Because of you, Anne and I are first-time New York Times Bestsellers. We weren't WAY up there, but ya know, it all counts. As Nora Roberts said years ago when she made 17 and then failed to return for at least five more books. "I can still put it on my f&^*$# tombstone. New York Times Bestseller." I'm following Nora's advice. In fact, the granite company might be inscribing it right now, just in case my family forgets in thirty or forty years from now when I need it.

Secondly, hang on for a few days, and I'll catch you up on what's next. For my suspense readers, things are going to be slow again, I'm afraid. I'm working on a new book--and it's a doozy. I can't tell you about it, because it's something new and I"m just superstitious enough not to want to put the idea out into the ozone where somebody else can catch it(last time I did that, Ridley Pierson snatched it up and made a bestseller out of it--and no. He didn't steal anything. The ozone is where we float all our cool ideas, and suddenly they all come out in print at the same time). Anyway, the problem is that I lost my suspense house. St. Martin's finally admitted that they simply don't know how to promote me. I don't do a standard suspense. I'm different. So I'm writing half of the new book on spec(without contract), and taking my chances.

In the meantime, I'm playing over in romanceland. Not only am I finishing the trilogy for Silhouette Nocturne, featuring the horniest fairies in the Northern Hemisphere(Daughters of Myth--Dark Seduction out in Feb '08)(in case you wanted to know--and Deadly Redemption in the works now), but I just sent in an outline for a trilogy that's been in my head for the last seven years. I don't know if any of you remember Melinda Helfer, one of the original reviewers for RT, who reviewed contemporaries and regencies, but Melinda cursed me. Right before she died, the last thing she ever said to me was, "Eileen, you have to write a Regency." Well....

All I'll tell you is that it begins at Waterloo, and is as much adventure as romance. I decided to follow in the footsteps of Patricia Veryan, who did the best historical adventures I've ever read. More on her later.

But right now, I'm in Alaska. Yeah. The big A. My husband and I needed some serious time off together, so before I attend Bouchercon in Anchorage the two of us are taking the Dreyer Wilderness Tour(did I tell you I'm the queen of internet travel), the particulars of which will be up on my travel page when I get home. I tried to upload a photo from the Anchorage to Seward rail trip, but evidently I can't do that in Alaska. So I'll try again when we get back to Anchorage. And for a few days you might have to set publishing aside to hear my travel rants.

Now, it's time for some rest. I have to get up early tomorrow to walk a glacier and sail a fiord. It's a filthy job, but somebody has to do it....

eileen\kathleen, the evil twins