Coming in 2015: The Alliance Series!

It's time to share the announcement I've been sitting on the last few months! I'm pretty sure many of you guys will have guessed already...

I’m going to be self-publishing an adult contemporary fantasy series! 

The Alliance Series is set in a 21^st-century Britain with a twist… our world, Earth, is connected up to hundreds of others through Passages, guarded by the Inter-World Alliance. The story follows two protagonists, Ada, who lives under the Alliance's radar, illegally helping refugees from her war-torn homeworld hide out on low-magic Earth; and Kay, fearless Alliance guard determined to solve his supervisor's murder - and when their two worlds cross paths, trouble follows.

This is the book I’ve dreamed of writing for years, a sum of all the things I love: alternative universes (not parallel worlds, but an interdependent Multiverse system); magic that kicks back; complex characters and unlikely partnerships; a high level of sarcasm; monsters (of course) and some more unconventional things like centaurs, hover-boots and invisible walkie-talkies. It's a weird hybrid of fantasy and sci-fi, and it’s been an absolute blast to write! It’s also my first adult novel, though I would say it’s suitable for YA readers – the characters are aged 21+, but content-wise, it’s similar to my upper-YA Darkworld series. I’m self-publishing the first book, Adamant, in March 2015! It'll be up for pre-order on Amazon from late January, I hope. And you can add it on Goodreads now!

So… how did this come about? Well, I've actually been considering self-publishing as an option for over two years, but I knew my best option was to write a longer series, like Darkworld. I finished editing my quirky MG fantasy in June this year (which is set across multiple universes), and I was daydreaming/procrastinating one day when I thought:

"I want to write another multiple-universe story. Not middle-grade. Maybe YA? Or New Adult?"

"But it'd be really complex. Not a standalone. Not even a trilogy."

"I've wanted to write another longer series ever since I finished Darkworld..."

"There are quite a few sci-fi books with parallel worlds, but there aren't many multiple-universe fantasy series out there, especially ones with both modern-day technology and magic. I love that kind of thing. I want to read a book like that."

"Huh? The Alliance? Brain, where did that come from?"

"Wait. Holy crap. Oh. My. God."

*sudden idea lightning storm* 

*frantically grabs notebook* 

*scribbles 10 pages of ideas before remembering I'm supposed to be writing another book*

I'm a firm believer in the maxim "Write the book you want to read" - in fact, it's more like "Write the book you'd be first in line to buy if someone else wrote it"! I tried to be patient and wait until I finished my other project, but kept sneaking off to write bits of it until I could finally concentrate on this series.

Next thing I knew, the characters had hijacked my brain, throwing me head-first into this series and leaving all my other projects behind. It's fun, it's intense, and it's challenged me as an author more than any other book I've written. And there was never any doubt that I wanted to publish it. I wrote the first draft in only 24 days, which is a million times faster than I've ever written a draft before - I was convinced the story was writing itself!

So I finished the draft, revised, went through three rounds of beta feedback and revised again ( Thank you so much to Cole, Jessica, Erin and Laura for helping me with various drafts!). Meanwhile, I'd already started a prequel novella and the second book, which I finished in 34 days - proving it wasn't a one-time-coincidence. The series really wanted to be written. Since then, I've finished the third book (in 37 days) and self-edited the second one several times. Now I'm onto Book 4... and still power-writing!

In the meantime, I dealt with business-related things like obtaining ISBNs and tax stuff (fun!). And then I needed to commission cover art and professional editing, and learn how to format for ebook and paperback. I wanted to do this right, and put out the best-quality book I could manage. Now Adamant is with the proofreader, and I'm delighted to have been able to work with the talented Amalia Chitulescu (who designed my Darkworld book covers) for the cover art! ^_^

There will be six books in the series, and I’m planning to release a new book every 3-6 months. So, Adamant will be published in March, with the second book, Nemesis, following in June and the third book, Collision, to follow later. I'm hoping to publish a novella, Delinquent, next year, too. The wonderful thing about self-publishing is that I get to call the shots! I knew I didn’t want to put this series through querying, and that I wanted full control over the whole crazy Multiverse. And I've had my eye on the indie path for a while. When you write less-than-conventional books like I do, not to mention writing fast, it was probably inevitable! I love working with publishers (of course!) but I wanted a project just for me – one I had full control over. And this was a story I was adamant that I wanted to publish. (Sorry. I just had to make that pun at least once. :P)

Expect blurbs, covers, and other awesomeness coming up soon, and don't forget to sign up to my newsletter to be the first to see the cover and blurb for Adamant!

*disappears into a puff of smoke*