This blog post is an apology to my readers.
I'm a slow writer. Yeah, I know. I'm not writing the Game of Thrones novels. My books don't follow the fight for the iron throne between the seven kingdoms told through a myriad of characters. If it did, well, I'd be writing until I was dead then finish the series in my next life.
I was planning to release the next book in the UltraSecurity Series, Dama X, by spring 2015. Alas, it's spring and no release in sight.
Please accept my apology for this schedule slip.
I could go on about my day job and my personal life that has sucked my energy and creative juices. I've also created a workshop for writers about Joss Whedon and the Whedonverse with author Kate Johnson, which took up a lot of my time. Then I wrote a short story about UltraAgent TimeTrap as part of a holiday anthology—A Very Paranormal Holiday. All of these things contributed to my lateness, but they're just excuses.
The fact that I wrote a 20K story about TimeTrap that sets up for a future novel means that I can finish Dama X.
There was another reason why I was having such a hard time finishing this story.
I was scared.
Since I was writing a different type of series about transhumans with sci-fi and paranormal elements, I wasn't sure I'd have a wide audience. My family and friends supported me and enjoyed A Surefire Way and encouraged me to write the sequel. I have to admit when I received negative reviews that tore apart my story, it did hurt. I did question my ability to write. Sometimes these reviews would derail me, and it would be hard to get back into my writing again. An author needs to have faith in themselves, in their ability, and in their story. Several negative reviews challenged my faith in myself, but I overcame them, thanks to my wonderful critique partners who encouraged me to move forward. However, what I didn't realize was how the positive reviews and gaining new readership would freeze me in my tracks.
Readers liked my story. Some really loved it. In their reviews, they requested more stories about my other characters and Surefire.
This terrified me to think that people were waiting to read something that I wrote. I became afraid of letting them down. I wanted to make sure Dama X was good enough for my readers, and they weren't disappointed. This fear paralyzed me and made it hard to finish a scene or even a chapter because I kept wondering if I was pushing the plot too far or going in a direction with the characters that my readers would find far fetched.
Then I had an epiphany. When I was doing research for the workshop on Joss Whedon, I came across this quote:
I had lost faith in myself and the narrative. After this Oprah A-ha moment, I started writing again. Slowly, but surely, I overcame my fear and felt confident in where I was taking Dama X. I'm writing the final scenes now. My next step is sending it to my critique partners then my content editor. I have a new hard and fast deadline: October 9th.
I have typed it, so it shall be.
So thank you for sticking with me through my journey. I appreciate every person who takes the time to read my story—and I am truly sorry for this delay.
I'll be uploading snippets in the coming months. Here's the current cover and an overview of Dama X. Enjoy!
![]()
I'm a slow writer. Yeah, I know. I'm not writing the Game of Thrones novels. My books don't follow the fight for the iron throne between the seven kingdoms told through a myriad of characters. If it did, well, I'd be writing until I was dead then finish the series in my next life.
I was planning to release the next book in the UltraSecurity Series, Dama X, by spring 2015. Alas, it's spring and no release in sight.
Please accept my apology for this schedule slip.
I could go on about my day job and my personal life that has sucked my energy and creative juices. I've also created a workshop for writers about Joss Whedon and the Whedonverse with author Kate Johnson, which took up a lot of my time. Then I wrote a short story about UltraAgent TimeTrap as part of a holiday anthology—A Very Paranormal Holiday. All of these things contributed to my lateness, but they're just excuses.
The fact that I wrote a 20K story about TimeTrap that sets up for a future novel means that I can finish Dama X.
There was another reason why I was having such a hard time finishing this story.
I was scared.
Since I was writing a different type of series about transhumans with sci-fi and paranormal elements, I wasn't sure I'd have a wide audience. My family and friends supported me and enjoyed A Surefire Way and encouraged me to write the sequel. I have to admit when I received negative reviews that tore apart my story, it did hurt. I did question my ability to write. Sometimes these reviews would derail me, and it would be hard to get back into my writing again. An author needs to have faith in themselves, in their ability, and in their story. Several negative reviews challenged my faith in myself, but I overcame them, thanks to my wonderful critique partners who encouraged me to move forward. However, what I didn't realize was how the positive reviews and gaining new readership would freeze me in my tracks.
Readers liked my story. Some really loved it. In their reviews, they requested more stories about my other characters and Surefire.
This terrified me to think that people were waiting to read something that I wrote. I became afraid of letting them down. I wanted to make sure Dama X was good enough for my readers, and they weren't disappointed. This fear paralyzed me and made it hard to finish a scene or even a chapter because I kept wondering if I was pushing the plot too far or going in a direction with the characters that my readers would find far fetched.
Then I had an epiphany. When I was doing research for the workshop on Joss Whedon, I came across this quote:
“Somebody once asked me if I have anything like faith, and I said I have faith in the narrative. I have a belief in a narrative that is bigger than me, that is alive and I trust will work itself out.” —Joss Whedon, EW interview
I had lost faith in myself and the narrative. After this Oprah A-ha moment, I started writing again. Slowly, but surely, I overcame my fear and felt confident in where I was taking Dama X. I'm writing the final scenes now. My next step is sending it to my critique partners then my content editor. I have a new hard and fast deadline: October 9th.
I have typed it, so it shall be.
So thank you for sticking with me through my journey. I appreciate every person who takes the time to read my story—and I am truly sorry for this delay.
I'll be uploading snippets in the coming months. Here's the current cover and an overview of Dama X. Enjoy!
Synopsis for Dama X
UltraAgent Oracle is called to work for the first time since she opened her telepathic mind to save another agent and an Aztec god scrambled it. But no other transhuman (genetically modified human) has her ability to see into a person’s mind, which is what the Baltimore police need to understand how a suspect turned her boyfriend into a woman. But when Oracle enters the suspect’s mind, she finds her power has intensified. She can do more than read thoughts—she can control another human. Although this power boost scares Oracle, she is more frightened to learn that a new drug caused the victim’s transformation. A drug distributed by a female transhuman cartel leader, Dama X, with a vendetta against men.
Levi Paxton, Pax to everyone but his mother, co-owns UltraSecurity (U-Sec), a private security company that solves transcrime—crimes committed by transhumans. As Oracle learns more about this drug, Pax receives a call from Felix Reyes, an ex-general of the Mexican army, who is cashing in a favor Pax owes him. Reyes needs Pax to help him stop Dama X from distributing this gender-bending drug before the military storms her compound and kills her. Dama X is Reyes’s estranged sister and he wants to protect her, but Pax senses that Reyes is holding back details of their relationship and hiding an important key to this drug.
When Oracle hears that Pax—her ex-lover, mentor, and current boss—is traveling to Mexico, she volunteers to go with him and use her ability uncover what Reyes is hiding. But Pax refuses. Despite ending their relationship years before, he is still protective of her. Pax doesn’t want Oracle to go in the field before she has fully recovered. Does Pax still care for her, or is he keeping his company’s asset from further damage? Dama X kidnaps Pax and Oracle sets aside her jilted feelings as she fears Pax may be the next victim of the cartel’s drug. If that happens, Oracle will unleash her new found power on Dama X, even if it destroys Oracle in the process.