Introducing: Ruined Rockstars

Way back when when I started writing the Shadow Phoenix series (with Finding Zen), I had no idea about series planning or how I wanted my author brand to look and feel. I knew a bit about marketing and branding from the business I ran before I became an author, but this whole author gig was totally new to me.

So, I didn’t really go into writing Zen with what I now like to call a series plan. I knew I wanted to write all the members of the band, so right off I knew his book would be the first in a series, but from there it was really up in the air. I let the creative flow take me where it wanted to.

On the plus side, I wrote 6 books and a novella and love how the series turned out, but on the negative side of things, the series never felt right. The names were off (they came across in my mind a lot more like sweet romance than the darker, steamier way the series ended up going), and the covers never sat right with me. I couldn’t get them to look how I wanted no matter how many different versions I made (and hired designers to make).

The more books I write (and future series I plan), the more I realize where my brand is going and what kinds of stories I like to write and how I want everything to come together. As it was, the Shadow Phoenix series wasn’t going to fit in. See, the thing about writing a book is that’s only one part of selling it. You have to write a decent book, but you also have to make people want to read it by having an awesome cover and also making it simple for someone to look at it and in half a second know what they’re going to get out of the story.

Everyone judges a book by its cover.

So, I’ve spent the last several weeks behind the scenes playing around with names that fit the trope and genre better, re-writing blurbs (and I’ve only just begun this intensive process), and redesigning the covers until I finally hit on something that encompassed the way I really wanted the series to look and feel.

My favorite stories to write are the ones with broken heroes, strong and driven heroines, and all sorts of dark, twisty, steamy fun, so that’s what you can expect from me going forward—whether it’s contemporary MF, paranormal RH, or something in between.

Check out the new titles and covers HERE.