Books from me in 2019

Alright, you guys. It’s December 31, 2018, and as always, I’m determined to make next year better than this year. That includes WRITING MORE BOOKS.

My last two years (2017 and 2018) have seen a lot of upheaval and turmoil. Some of it is too personal to mention in a public post like this, but basically, 2017 saw my life get turned upside down (like in the intro to “Fresh Prince” but about ten times more wild, trust me),

and in 2018, I moved to the West Coast after living on the East most of my life, started not one but two new jobs, and then decided to go to graduate school. (You can read more about my midlife crisis in the after-essays in the back of Anika takes the long way home and Reverie if you are so inclined.)

I’m looking forward to boring routine and stability in 2019.

2019 will still hold transition (see aforementioned graduate school), but I’m hoping that I can settle into a nice, stable, boring routine this year. That includes a stable routine for writing. I haven’t been sure what exactly I wanted from my side-career as an author these past couple years, but now I have some clarity, and I’m determined to bring you at least 3 – 4 new books in 2019.

Here they are, in order of anticipated appearance…

Late January 2019: Eastside / Westside / Love

Subgenre: Contemporary romance / general fiction

Eastside / Westside / Love is me grappling with our current political climate, identity politics, race in America, and within that context, what it means to try to be a good person — and more than that, a good citizen. It also touches on themes of life after divorce, being queer in suburbia, the problematic phenomenon of gentrification, and lots more.

It’s a shades of grey kind of book. And no, I don’t mean 50 Shades of Gray.

I suspect it’s going to be controversial. It’s going to be one of those books people are going to love or hate, and I fully anticipate criticism from all sides of the political spectrum. Conservatives are likely to hate it because it’s unapologetically liberal in its tone, but there are going to be liberals who have problems with it, too. There will be people who will be upset with me for trying to represent the African American experience as a white author (fair), people who will be upset with me for the story being too preachy (fair), and as always there will be those who read my books expecting a straightforward lesbian romance and instead get hit with the dark, the gritty, and the makes-you-think.

Spring / Early Summer 2019: Soldier of Dorsa

Subgenre: Epic fantasy

This is the book I know many readers are most looking forward to, and I’m definitely looking forward to writing it. I was a little shocked and delighted that Princess of Dorsa was such a hit. Since I’d mostly written contemporary pieces before Princess, I didn’t know how people would react to an epic fantasy. But my girlfriend was right (she likes to remind me that she’s always right): There’s a big, unsatisfied audience out there who loves Game of Thrones but who wishes there were more viable queer characters. Ya know, ones who don’t die, otherwise end in tragedy, or feel like bit players.

Attention! Book 1 spoilers below. Skip the list if you don’t want anything from Princess spoiled.

Things that will happen in book 2:

1. Readers will get to learn a lot more about Joslyn’s backstory.
2. About half the book will be told from Joslyn’s POV, half from Tasia’s.
3. Joslyn is rightfully worried about the undatai threat growing in the East. She has reason to believe that her ku-sai knows something about them, and goes on a quest to find him.
4. Meanwhile, Tasia is rightfully worried that she has lost control of the Empire and it’s being run by the man who, if not *directly* responsible for murdering her father, at least had something to do with it. Her big concern throughout most of the book is regaining her crown and thereby restoring order to an Empire that’s precariously close to plunging into civil war.
5. Book 1 spent most of its time establishing the main players and the conflict they faced. As such, we didn’t get a chance to see much of the Empire; most of the book happened in the royal palace and in the winter camp on the eastern front. Book 2 will give readers a chance to explore the broader world.
6. Since Tasia starts the book in Paratheen, which is a port city in Terinto, expect to learn a lot more about that corner of the Empire.
7. But Joslyn’s search for her ku-sai will take her to all sorts of unexpected places, both past and present.

Late Summer / Early Fall: From the Ashes of Angels (beta title; will probably change)

Subgenre: Urban fantasy / paranormal romance

This is a book that’s been brewing in my mind for about two years. I’ve posted the opening chapter here. I was nervous to write it before, because, like I said, I’ve mainly written contemporary romance, so I wasn’t sure how people would take it if I branched out into geekier genres. But Princess of Dorsa was such a success that I’m ready to start trying other things.

From the Ashes of Angels is a love story at heart, a love story between an immortal former servant of the gods (Ying) and the girl she’s been chasing for lifetimes (Paris). All the immortals in this book have unique supernatural abilities, and Ying’s is an ability to see into the both the future and the past. When it comes to mortals, Ying can get a glimpse of their past and future lives; when it comes to immortals, Ying can predict what other immortals will do and what consequences those actions will have.

It’s a pretty useful talent, especially when a war is about to break out between various immortal factions.

But Ying doesn’t care anything for her immortal peers and their petty power struggles. What Ying *is* interested in doing is the same thing she’s been doing for thousands of years: She is waiting for her mortal love to come of age, live a quiet, beautiful life with her, and hope against hope that this will be the lifetime Paris chooses to become immortal and stay with her forever.

Plans change when other immortals figure out that threatening Paris is the best way to force Ying’s hand.

Winter: Mary the Accidental Magician (another beta title)

Subgenre: Urban fantasy / romantic comedy

Mary is a nerdy graduate student at MIT, the kind of genius who’s self-involved not because she’s greedy and heartless but because she’s obsessed with her work. Unfortunately, being obsessed with work isn’t particularly conducive to one’s love life, so as the story opens, we see Mary’s girlfriend leaving her.

Bummer for Mary.

Not long after, strange things start to happen. Coffee cups fly across the room unexpectedly. Laptops short out. And a man shows up to tell Mary that she’s a magician.

It’s a surprise to everyone — not just Mary, but the man, too. Most magicians start to show their powers rather early in life, as in the age of two or three. Mary? Well, she’s thirty-three. To call her a “late-bloomer” is something of an understatement.

Nevertheless, Mary is a danger to herself and others if she doesn’t learn how to control her new magical abilities, so she finds herself at a school for magic in Manhattan.

Where she is the oldest student by a good twenty years.

Strange things get stranger when Mary unknowingly fulfills a prophecy that marks her as one of the two Guardians of the Chosen One. The thing about being a Guardian for a Chosen One is that you have to protect the Chosen One at the cost of your own life. That’s hard when the Chosen One is a bratty, Mean Girl tween who you kind of want to strangle…

This is going to be a fun romp of a story, something like Harry Potter meets The Magicians meets The L Word.

And that’s your 2019 preview, folks.

The imminent threat graduate school notwithstanding, I’m determined to get at least three of these four books into the world in 2019.

Let me know what you think of my plans! And if there are other stories you’d like to see — a favorite book, movie, or storyline that you’ve always wanted to see with queer protagonists — well, let me know!

I know that 2019 is full of more geeky, magical, paranormal books, but it doesn’t mean that I will never go back to contemporary romance. This is just where the muse is steering me right now. If fantasy and paranormal isn’t your bag, just stick with me; I’m sure I’ll come back to contemporary when the inspiration strikes me.

And if I start to fall behind in my goals, get distracted, or procrastinate too much, feel free to start poking me.

Happy New Year!