It's finally time. I've been itching to share this for the last four months, give or take, and now's my chance. I'm thrilled to announce that I am signing a four book deal to publish a fiery new young adult trilogy and standalone book with the amazing Roadrunner Press.
I will be the first to admit that my first two publication adventures were rocky, to say the least. The first round, simply put, was with a company that was not what they claimed to be, and the second round was with a bunch of great people but a small company that didn't work out.
I truly believe this time is different. Roadrunner Press has been making quality, award-winning, beautiful (I really don't know how else to say it) books for years and is very good to their authors, and I feel very blessed to be part of this new family. It's a small press, only publishing around ten books a year, but the focus is quality over quantity, and many of the books are quite decorated with awards and merit.
Regarding the four books I've signed with them, here's what I can say now: My 2017 release, Special, is being rewritten and expanded to be republished (or "published," technically, since I only have ARC copies available of the first round in my webstore). Same story. Same characters. Same lesson. But written by a 22-year-old and not a 17-year-old. It's crazy what time can do for a writer.
The other series is something that makes my heart beat a little faster. It's a little different than anything I've done before: for a little older audience, and it's a heavyweight--I think the series is going to clock in at around 300,000 words.
The first book in the series is a magical-realism novel called Gifted, and it's followed by loosely-titled Chosen and Enlightened, both of which will be in the works soon. I know you're not supposed to pick favorite children, and I truly do value all my other work, but I have a special place in my heart for this series and the direction it will be heading. I'll be sharing the Gifted synopsis pretty soon, and hopefully some artwork.
The books are schedule to be released in 2019 and 2020, and while this is still tentative, here's what the publisher and I are planning on:
Spring (Late Feb.) 2019: Gifted
Winter 2019: Chosen
Spring 2020: Special
Winter 2020: Enlightened.
There are also plans for more books, but we'll cross that road when it's no longer 2018.
I'm very thankful to everyone involved in the support I've been given: God for the ability, my family and close friends,, to professors, to Skye (close friend but also gets a mention for adopting one of my characters and editing all my stuff), and the awesome Jeanne Devlin, for believing in a young man with a love of story telling and a dream.
So readers, friends, and publishers, let's celebrate with a fictional toast to some fictional books.
Here's to a lot more stories, tears, laughs, and love.
- JH