Thinking of Dabbling in Serialized Fiction

There are so many ways to consume great stories and books these days. In addition to the traditional books (whether ebook or print) we now have audiobooks, fan fiction websites, online choose your own adventure comic-style books, and joining the mix is serialized fiction.

Actually, when I was looking up "how to's" for serialized fiction I learned it's been around for quite some time. At least back to Dickens and his Pickwick Papers. Serialized fiction is a format where a single larger work is published in smaller, sequential installments. Think of it almost like TV episodes. There are emerging websites like Radish where you can read curated serialized fiction.

As a reader the pro for this is that authors generally publish the next "installment" in the story at least once a week. So you don't have to wait months or sometimes years for your next fix of those favorite characters, world, or plot. The con is that you only get short snippets. Length can vary but is generally a single scene, between 1k and 3k words total. A quick taste, usually with a cliffhanger ending, and then you have to wait for the next installment.

As a writer I can also see pros and cons. Pros is that the author can keep readers hooked and have regular content to share. Cons, the story develops almost in real time. You don't get to go back and fix this mistake or adjust that character, adjust the plot, etc. As a writer who revels in the editing process, this would be the biggest deterrent for me.

However, just for fun I've decided to give it a try. Sort of. In my private FB group for readers (Abbie's Awesome Nerds) I'm writing the next story in my Brimstone Inc. series in real time. Starting with set up questions that readers vote on. Once I get going the idea is at the end of each scene to have readers vote on what happens next. I figure this gives readers a very behind the scenes look at my personal process and will be a fun way to see how a book turns out by committee. Once we reach "The End" I intend to go through my full editing process, perfecting and changing as needed and publish it officially.

So what do you think? Is serialized fiction for you? Are you already into it? Or would you rather have the full story in one shot?

A Halloween & Christmas Mashup New Release!

When I started writing my Brimstone Inc. series, I had one plan in mind. I wanted each book to feature a different paranormal creature and to pair that paranormal awesomeness with a fun contemporary romance trope. So far I've had:

• demigods & nymphs in a billionaire boss romance
• wolf shifters in an arranged marriage romance
• witches in a nanny & hidden identity romance
• ghosts in a brother's best friend romance

Fun right?!? At least I think so. LOL. But I had to find a way to tie all these different folks together, which is how I came up with the series idea. Brimstone Inc. is a firm that deals with supernatural problems. At the heart of the firm is an enigmatic woman named Delilah. Until now, we have no idea what she is or what powers she actually has, because she has many contractors working for her. 

When it comes to solving difficult situations for her supernatural clients, no one does it better than Delilah. Staffing, medical needs, mediation, law, interventions, arranged marriages, new identities… You name it. Delilah  likes a challenge.

Well...Delilah finally gets her own story! Releasing in less than a week, TRY AS I SMITE is a standalone novella (though probably a smidge better if read within the series). And romance readers, boy did I have fun with this one. Halloween meets Christmas in this paranormal romance retelling of A Christmas Carol.

Here's a quick look at the book and an excerpt...

Let's Talk About Hex, Baby!

I am so excited to share my latest release, Bait N' Witch. A witch takes a job as a nanny for the hunter after her. Hiding in plain sight has never been so...magical!

BAIT N' WITCH (Brimstone Inc. #3)

Rowan McAuliffe has been hiding most of her life. Secretly trained in her powers by an unusual source, she’d been taught not to trust anyone. Especially other witches. However, after she was forced to perform a hateful act against her will, she now hides from the Covens Syndicate and their judgement.

Greyson Masters is the Syndicate’s best hunter. On top of the danger of his job, Greyson is trying to raise his triplet daughters alone, budding new witches who display an alarming combined power no one understands. Too bad he doesn’t have a clue how to deal with them.

Until Rowan walks in and the chaos settles for the first time in…well, ever.

Little does Greyson realize that his new nanny is the very witch he is hunting, and she’s been hiding right under his nose this whole time.

BUY NOW
    

“If one is inclined to enjoy a steamy, paranormal, characterdriven tale with heart and humor then “Bait N’ Witch” delivers on all fronts!…Sprinkled with humor and a bit of mystery, this is one delicious romance that will satisfy even the most jaded of palates.”
~InD’tale Magazine

***This novella was previously self published as a Legendary Consultants story, but has undergone a complete re-edit. Scenes were added, things were changed, but the kissing still remains!

EXCERPT

A chuckle had snuck into his voice, a suspicious quiver hovering about his lips.

Kissable lips. Damnable lips.

Given how rarely he smiled, a contrary part of her wanted to press harder, see if she could really make him laugh.

“I don’t agree with everything you say and do. There’s a difference. So…now that you know I accept you, appreciate you even, you can go back to bed knowing I’m just like every other woman.” She waved toward the hallway.

But he didn’t leave. Instead, he reached out and wrapped a red curl around his finger. “Any other woman of my acquaintance would be begging me to kiss her right now.”

She snorted to cover her rising panic, because dammit, she did too. “Arrogant. How do you know that?”

He smiled, knowing and unrepentant. “And not one of those women makes me want to pull her up against my body every time she speaks.” His voice dropped lower, rasping on her overly sensitized nerves.

“I’m your children’s nanny.” Her resistance was crumbling in a pathetic heap around her feet, a house built on sand, but she had to try to stop this before it got out of hand. “That’s it.”

The words echoed inside a strange hollowness that suddenly filled her. Why did knowing all she could ever be to Greyson Masters was a temporary nanny feel like this? Empty. Aching. It made no damn sense. Two weeks and she was smitten. With him and his family. And that was a tragedy worth crying over.

He continued to stare down into her eyes, and desperation had her grasping for a solution—even a shock tactic to stop this, even as she longed for it. With a ragged breath, she curled a hand in his shirt, and tugged him closer. “Fine. Just kiss me and get it out of your system, Grey.”

Before he could say or do anything, she went up on tiptoe and placed her lips over his.

The kiss caught fire faster than a spark to dead wood. Grey groaned low in his throat, and aching need took over her body and her mind while he pulled her in close, searing her with the heat of his body. Desire throbbed through every part of her, heavy and thudding, leaving her beautifully tingly and on edge as she lost herself in what he was doing with his lips, his tongue, his hands.

She couldn’t have ended it even if she’d wanted to. Gods and goddesses, she’d just discovered what heaven felt like. Taking it away now would be like taking away a child’s birthday toy. The sexy stubble on his jaw rasped against her skin, and she reveled in the sensation wanting to press against him, rub her cheek to his. Grey was all man, and she wanted more.

With another groan, he pulled back, then stepped away, breathing hard, and the cool air that hit her in his absence was like being dunked in an ice bath.

He didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then he ran his hand through his hair, spiking it up even more than before, making her fingers itch to smooth it down for him. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

Pride and a fierce self-protective instinct kicked in. She tipped her chin up and gave him her best nothing big has happened here smile. Hopefully she managed to look amused and bored at the same time. “You didn’t. I did. Now that we got it out of the way, we can move on.”

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BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

  

Brimstone Inc. is set in the same world as the Fire’s Edge & Inferno Rising series!

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New Release | The Demigod Complex

I have a new(ish) book out and am so excited to share!

The Demigod Complex is being re-released, new and improved, with my awesome publisher, Entangled! While the basic plot remains the same, some things have changed and the book is now set in the dragon shifter world of my Fire's Edge and Inferno Rising series.

Each of the other novellas in the series will also be going through a makeover and re-release. Shift Out of Luck (previously The Worse for Were) is coming this April and Bait N' Witch this June. Then...we get to dig into brand new stories starting in October!

But let's get started with The Demigod Complex, only $0.99!!! (And is that new cover gorgeous or what!?!?)

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THE DEMIGOD COMPLEX

BRIMSTONE, INC. #1

Two nights. One room. One demigod-sized problem.

    

When Lyleia Naiad was head-hunted by Brimstone, Inc., for her job as Executive Assistant to a high-powered billionaire demigod, she was given one directive—do NOT fall in love with Castor Dioskouri. Doesn’t matter if he is the son of Zeus and can electrify a room with a single glance. As an ex-nymph, she possesses a unique ability—a gift from the goddesses to protect nymphs from the randy gods—to resist her boss's charms.

Or so she thought.

He insists she accompany him to an alpha wolf shifter mating ceremony, an event where the pheromones fly, and so do clothes...and inhibitions.

Goddesses save her, because Castor has stolen into Lyleia’s heart, and she’s not so sure she can hold out much longer...

***This novella was previously self published as a Legendary Consultants story, but has undergone a complete re-edit. Scenes were added, things were changed, but the kissing still remains!

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EXCERPT

Marrok suddenly gave a low whistle.

“What?”

“Did you see Leia before coming here?”

“Yes.”

“Was she dressed for the wedding yet?”

“No.” She’d preferred to come to the ceremony without him, a decision that had bothered him more than it should. She’d muttered something about needing to sit near the back. Whatever that meant. Best guess, she was avoiding the werewolf who’d ruined her identity as a nymph. The only thing keeping him from ripping out the bastard’s neck when they’d been introduced ten minutes earlier was not wanting to ruin his friend’s important day. That, and Leia had warned him not to before he’d left the hotel.

Dark laughter lurked in Marrok’s voice. “Let’s just say you’re going to need a very large stick.”

Stick? What the fuck was Marrok talking about? “Why?”

“To beat off the wolves.”

His friend was obviously enjoying the hilarity of the situation but had to be mistaken. Leia was gorgeous, but she didn’t flaunt her beauty, tending to dress on the conservative side. Besides, he doubted she wanted to call attention to herself with Kaios here.

He scanned the crowds filing in at the back of the chapel. “I don’t see her.”

“Navy dress. Her hair is up.”

Navy sounded right. Conservative. The way his nymph liked to dress.

He caught a flash of blue and the top of her golden blond hair piled high on her head. Then the tuxedoed man blocking most of her from view stepped aside. What was Marrok talking about? While she looked incredible to him—his body started to heat up and harden at the sight of her like it always did—he harbored feelings for her. Given the way the other ladies were dressed, he doubted Leia had anything to worry about with the wolves.

The dress was long, draping to the floor, the top gathered over her right shoulder. No cleavage showed. A thin slit at her hip showed a sliver of flat belly. Sexy as all Hades. But still covered up compared to the skin on display from the lady wolves. Leia appeared classy in a room full of overdone.

She caught his eye and waved. Her lips, painted bright pink, stretched wide in a smile. Castor caught his breath as his stomach clenched in response. Her smile was for him alone. How he knew, he wasn’t entirely sure. His heart hadn’t tripped over itself like this since he’d captured his wife. Only this was different, not stronger exactly, but…different. Hilaera had been familiar, his love tender. With Leia he was all fire and need and protectiveness. Leia pointed at the back pew, indicating where she intended to sit.

Someone he couldn’t see snagged her attention, though she seemed reluctant to turn away from him, but she did.

Castor inhaled sharply.

The back to the dress was…there was no damn back to the dress. The garment was held in place by a thin strap or two across her shoulders and dipped low to a point above her curvy derriere. Barely above.

“Holy hell.” His body, already charged by the intimate smile she’d graced him with, responded rapidly. He shifted his stance, trying to ease his discomfort. In the meantime, every man around her did a double take. What was she thinking?

His friend had the temerity to chuckle. “You’re a lucky man.”

“She’s my assistant.”

“Right.”

Yeah. He didn’t believe it, either.

READ NOW!