Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Katie who?

TheWalledFlower.sm I'm currently working on two Katie Bonner projects.  The first of which is the third book in my three-book contract with Berkley Prime Crime.  I won't know until at least February if they will review the series.  These days, with so many authors going independent, if they DON'T offer me a new contract, and I still feel that I have more Katie stories in me, I can always write them to keep my readers happy.  (So what once was a horrible circumstance isn't as tragic as it once was, thanks to e books.)

So what's the second project?

IStock_000002252576XSmall Well, for now it's a (psssssst!) secret.  But the beauty of it is I get to explore Katie's backstory/background like I haven't been able to do in a novel.  (Backstory is a real no-no.)

Not that I haven't done this kind of thing in the past.  I have a whole notebook of stories chronicling Jeff Resnick's life.  The problem is that they aren't mysteries or psychological suspense.  So they are destined to never be made available to readers. Unless there's a TREMENDOUS demand, and let's face it, so few readers have found the series that that's never likely to happen.

So what's the difference?

The new Katie project is likely to expand readership for the Berkley series, or at least for those with e readers, because that's the only sensible way to offer the book, and it's so far been a LOT of fun to write.

It's a lot more fun than ditch digging.
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