News

My agent and I talked this week. Meerkat, my friend and assistant, and my agent talked yesterday. My editor was here last week, and a film crew was here filming me for a commerical and other video bits of publicity. New York is gearing up for the June release of “Hit List”, the latest Anita Blake novel. I’ve got questions to answer from my publicist, and decisions to be made. We have the tour dates; where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing for the book release. I’ll post that in a separate email so you guys don’t have to toggle through verbiage to get to the dates. There may be more dates later, but this is it to date. Even now as I type this, my mind is racing not about the tour, or the new book, or even the book I am currently supposed to be writing, but about other things. New projects, new ideas, new excitement; I’m still trying to find a balance between work and play that makes me happy and productive. Right now, I may actually be playing too much, and not working enough, which is so the opposite from how I’ve spent the last ten, to twenty years of my life. My work ethic is not only strong, but often punishing. It is the price I have paid to be able to say that “Hit List” is the thirtieth novel I’ve published, and the twentieth Anita Blake novel. Yep, you read that correctly, “Hit List” is # 20 for Anita and the gang.

I remember when the thought of having double digits in one series with one character seemed like an impossible goal. Now, I’m about to hit a goal that most series never see. It’s like getting to that 20th wedding anniversary and not only still being happily married, but happier than when you began. Anita has been my imaginary friend since the late ‘80s, though the first book wouldn’t be published until 1994. She and I have grown up together. Anita and all the other imaginary friends in her world have seen me through one divorce, dating again after more than a decade of monogamous marriage, and through ten years with my husband, Jonathon. We’ll be celebrating our tenth anniversary this year, and we are happier and healthier as a couple than when we started out. The fact that I’m happier now with both my personal life, and my professional life than I was a decade ago is a pretty wonderful thing to be able to share.

I sit here, knowing what my next three books will be, though not necessarily what order I will write them. The Merry Gentry series is not finished, contrary to rumors, but now that I’m at the same publisher with both Merry and Anita, Merry is on a more user-friendly schedule for me as the writer. I know the major plot, and some of the goals Merry and her men have to hit, but beyond that I’m still wandering in the wilderness waiting for it all to coalesce. Anita, well, I don’t actually know what’s next for her either, but I have a stack of notes to go through and I think somewhere in there is the spark for the next adventure. Or something brand new may hit me and my muse between the eyes, and we’ll be off chasing a different dream for Anita, Jean-Claude, Richard, Micah, Nathaniel, Jason, and all the rest. Because I know what happens next for Merry I’ve been thinking that book would be the next written, but my fairie princess and private detective always seems to be difficult when it comes to opening gambits. Merry is harder to pin down and I usually try several false starts before the book begins to chug up the hill. Anita, once the idea is chosen, usually starts hard and fast out of the gate, and we seldom look back. Anita books are sprinters, that break to the lead early and keep that lead to a breath taking finish. Merry books stay in the back of the pack, until you think the book will never break and gain speed, and then suddenly it does, coming from far behind to win the race at the last minute, squeaking across the finish line by the proverbial nose. I much prefer the way Anita writes, because it feels more certain and there are usually fewer stops and starts, but it’s not always a bad thing to take your time and pick your way through the forest. It just tends to make me impatient. But lately, as I’ve learned to play, and not just work, a little time to smell the flowers and wander off the beaten path sounds interesting. Of course, if you wander off the path you need to beware of the big, bad wolf. Or sometimes you even get lost among the trees. As we gear up for the release of “Hit List”, I’m learning how to leave myself bread crumbs in the forest so I can find my path again, and keep going, but I don’t want to miss all the flowers either. Why am I suddenly hearing the song, “Hello, Little Girl,” from the Sondheim musical, “Into the Woods”. It’s the song that the wicked wolf sings to Little Red Riding Hood. Hmm, I sense a metaphor that I can’t escape today. The question is do I want to avoid the wolf, or am I a big enough girl to let myself be nibbled on, and strong enough not to be eaten up all together? That is the question. Do I have an answer? Not yet.