Man oh man, if I knew then what I know now! I was so thrilled with the idea of a multi-book contract, I wasn’t looking to those future returns decades down the line. I had no idea what I was doing when I sold my first books on my own. Even after I got an agent, I should have done the homework to make sure MY future earnings were protected. But that was before author associations, online go-to groups, and an endless Internet goldmine of info to search. Live and learn is a sometimes bitter lesson.
I just got the rights back to a ton of old titles. Some were complete reversions – mine to do with as I please. Woo Hoo! Others came with unexpected loopholes to protect the publishers interest . . . forever, or as they say, until the grosses go down and they’re willing to return them. This really hurts if you have a lengthy series you’d like to reissue . . . but can’t offer the first few books in it. I can’t blame my publisher for that Catch 22. I can only blame myself. So, I’m stuck with a 15-book series in which the first three books may never see the light of day again (except as hugely expensive e-books and scalped paperbacks). Fortunately, Book 4, BOUND BY MOONLIGHT, is a great place for the reader to jump in and not be totally lost. Here’s a taste . . .
The Excerpt
Would you break your laws for me?
When she’d said yes, she’d given up any control she might have had over their relationship, and with CeeCee, it was all about control: Of her situations, of her choices, of her emotions. All that changed the moment she’d let Max into her heart. There was no black and white, right or wrong, and the loss of those rigid certainties upset the sturdy building blocks her life was built upon.
He knew she loved him. He knew she would surrender her honor, her very life to protect him. He had her living out of his house, out of his pocket, parading before the media at his side. Though her chain was lighter and woven in a more attractive pattern, she feared she was becoming the attack dog on his porch, just as he had been for Jimmy Legere . . . and that pearl collar was chafing.
( . . . and a bit more . . .)
She rubbed at the scars on her shoulder. Proof that there was nothing natural about what was between them. She’d let something alien invade her body. That union was even now altering her, physically, mentally, making her into something not quite human. Because of his bite, because of his claim. She, who had never allowed a man within her personal space, was now bonded for life to something she didn’t understand.
He was swallowing her whole, consuming her heart, her thoughts, her physiology. She’d just wanted to be his lover, not the Bride of freaking Frankenstein.
And yet, here she was, bound heart and soul, and considering something both promising and terrifying—that huge step from sharing drawer space to sharing an eternity. She was losing her identity to him, and she was scared to death. All because she just couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t not fall in love with him.
I’m on a writers’ weekend (squeeeee!) with several of my critique partners so fingers crossed that new ideas abound!
2 comments:
Oh, I'm so glad you're able to at least re-release a bunch of them! I'm sure that will keep you busy for a bit. And new covers are always fun!
Definitely a cautionary tale. I was lucky when my 1st book was published the contract included a reversion of rights clause. We have so much information now on author's rights, contracts, and general info than we did when I started writing (back in the olden days). Keep reissuing those older books. Don't let them sit around gathering dust. Make them work. LOL
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