I contacted my editor to let her know I’ll have another manuscript for her soon. I gave her the information she needs. Since she’s worked with me for about 10 years, she knows what I write, so I don’t have to give her all the information I advise writers to provide.

The information I provided to her:

1. The series name: This is the last book in the Triune Alliance Brides series. She edited the first three, so she’s familiar with it.

2. The estimated word count: 50,000. However, the manuscript has already exceeded that and will likely hit 60,000. I doubt it will reach 70,000. She’ll get an update before I send her the manuscript.

3. The desired date for completion of editing: November 30. She let me know her schedule, and I know how fast she edits. I promised to send her the manuscript no later than November 15. This puts pressure on me to finished writing the story and to make sure it’s clean before sending it to her. The goal is to publish before Christmas.

Normally, I would advise authors to set the manuscript aside for a good long while before returning to it and going through several rounds of self-editing and then hiring an editor. However, I’ve got over 30 books published and know what I’m doing. Experience has its advantages.

So, what’s left for me to do besides finish the story?

1. Contact the cover designer. I sent a message to the cover designer who did the covers of the other books in the series. This is important for visual cohesion.

2. Finish writing the story then setting it aside for a few days before going through the self-editing process. (Yes, I do go through rigorous self-editing, but at a speed expedited by lots of experience.)

3. Alert my marketing team and providing them with the front cover artwork, back cover copy (which I have yet write), and draft manuscript for use in their pre-publication marketing effort.

Time’s a-wasting!

Now that Light of the Twin Moons has been launched, I’m concentrating my attention and effort on the next manuscript. This book is a bit of a departure from my usual stuff.

To clarify, I’m going back to a book published several years ago (2019). Triple Burn was never intended to be the first in a series, but it quickly led to two more books: Double Cut and Single Stroke. Both the second and third books in the series focus on the planet Ahn’hudin in the Triune Alliance of the Triune Alliance Brides series. Triple Burn takes place on the planet Uribern and is my first story with a reverse harem trope.

Readers expecting the typical HEA (happily ever after) quickly let me know they did not appreciate the story’s bittersweet ending. The criticism, although well-deserved, stung. I revised the book’s description to warn readers of the bittersweet ending. (A recent comment in my Facebook feed complained that the book isn’t a “true” romance. I replied that was correct and that I’d put a warning in the description to alert reader before they purchased the book.) Then I put the heroine’s story on the back burner and let it simmer.

Six years later, Ursula will get her unqualified HEA in a sequel titled Four Play. Yes, the title is a pun. And, yes, the story gets delightfully dirty. I considered using “quad” instead of “four,” but “Quad Play” doesn’t have the same naughty ring to it. Nor could I figure out how to use “quadruple” in a succint, snappy title.

That unqualified HEA the romance genre demands won’t come easily, of course. There will be political and cultural plot twists as well as some back-and-forth among the characters to integrate them into a cohesive partnership.

Like many science fiction and fantasy romances, Triple Burn’s fictional world places women at a political disadvantage. On Uribern, creative pursuits like art and music are the purview of women. Everything else falls under the domain of men. Like many cultures past and current, women have privileges, not rights; however, on Uribern, those males fortunate enough to have a wives treasure them and do whatever they must to keep their wives happy. It’s rather a domestic power play requiring a delicate balance of self-restraint and generosity and emotional intelligence to pull off successfully. It’s also fun to pit modern women from today’s USA against what we consider archaic, male chauvinist cultures.

So, I’ve not given you any spoilers. With a romance, as per the requirements of the romance genre, every reader knows the ending: it’s an HEA. The pleasure of reading romance is in the journey, not the destination.

Look for Four Play to be released at the end of this year.

With Light of the Twin Moons ready to go live, I’ve been working on the next manuscript. Unlike many writers, I do things a little differently.

I don’t write every day. Sometimes I don’t write for months. But I always and eventually do write.

What I’ve found is that most of the “expert” advice rendered to novice writers and aspiring authors doesn’t work for me. Following the process and obeying the rules lead me to frustration, exasperation, and burnout. I’m weird that way.

And, yet, I still encourage others to follow the standard process and obey the conventional rules.

The process and the rules exist for a reason: they work for the majority of people. My choice not to align with rules and process doesn’t mean I’m special or grant me any superiority over someone who does. All it does mean is that I’ve developed a process and rules that work for me. I’ve acquired sufficient experience and developed the expertise to do things my way.

I saw a clip from The Steve Harvey Show in which a young woman objected to her parents’ insistence that she conform to corporate expectations in order to be hired: i.e., to follow the rules and the process. She attributed her lack of success in finding a job to her exercise of her right to express herself. Harvey responded with a solution: Do what you have to do first to earn the right to do what you want to do later. When you get to the position that you can do what you want to do, then you can change the rules.

That resonated with me. I did what I had to. I followed the process and obeyed the rules for decades. Now I do what I want to do. I’ve earned that right, and I appreciate the time and effort that went in to building that expertise and to learning what works best for me—because now I work even better for my clients. #ghostwriting #editing #bookdesign

Coming soon… and get your copy early!

Light of the Twin Moons goes live on October 1, 2025! This is the sixth and final book in the Twin Moons Saga. In this book, the series comes full circle. A villain from Daughter of the Twin Moons (Book 1) finds his fated mate in a character introduced in Champion of the Twin Moons (Book 5). Some of my very favorite characters in the series, the Unseelie King and the unicorns, pop in for a few cameo appearances. So, as one of my history professors used to say, “What’s it all about, Alfie?” Here’s the back cover copy to spark your interest:

A fae prince exiled and corrupted.
A god desperate for power.
A queen caught in fate’s cruel design.

Once thought dead, Koriolis survived banishment to the iron-saturated mortal world—only to return as something else: a demon. Now, corruption spreads through the fae realm, and only he may hold the key to saving it.

But controlling a demon requires his true mate—and Iselde, the oracle’s estranged daughter, has no interest in being anyone’s pawn.

In a realm where destiny rules and free will is a rebellion, Koriolis and Iselde must choose: save their world or lose themselves.

Intrigued? You can pre-order your copy from Amazon, but you can actually get a jump on other readers and purchase a printed copy from me at the Tipp City Mum Festival on September 28 and 28. I’ll have 10 copies available for those lucky buyers.

Here’s a little secret: I ordered my author copies to sell at the Tipp City Mum Festival a wee bit too early—before proofreading—and the proofreader found a three errors. Stick around, buy a pre-proofread copy, and I’ll be happy to point out those three errors to you. Heck, I may even bring a highlighter to make sure you don’t miss them!

#hollybargobooks