KB Alan

Hello? Is this thing on?

I’ve somehow managed to be away for two years, so it’s a little dusty here. I’m trying to make sure that things are in working order!

My apologize for my unplanned absence. I wish I had a list of excellent reasons that I haven’t been writing, but we’re just going to have to go with…life. Yeah, life happens, right?

At any rate, I have been writing up a storm the last few months. I’ve sent one novella off to submission and have decided to self-publish a novel in the same world as Perfect Formation. It’s called Perfect Alignment (I know, not the sexiest title ever, but it goes with the theme, so…) and it is currently in production mode (beta reads, edits, formatting). This is my first attempt at self-publishing, so I’m not sure what the timeline will be like, but it will probably release in June. I’ll post a date as soon as I figure it out! In the meantime, I’m working on another Perfect Fit story, tentatively titled Perfect Addition (I know, I know, I need an official titles person). I’ll tell you all about these in some upcoming posts, but, as I said, first I wanted to dust things off and make sure everything was in proper working order.

I’ve missed you all (for reals!) and I’m excited to be back in the swing of things.

Those lovely but naive ladies at the Australian Romance Readers Association asked if I’d like to guest blog for them. They probably assumed I’d be interesting and witty. Er, not so much, but I did ramble on and manage to write a whole post. I talk about becoming a writer and how it changed my world. There’s also a little hint in the comments section, if anyone cares for a sneak peek on upcoming news. Also, Book Thingo posted a lovely review of Perfect Formation. I don’t normally announce reviews on my blog, just post them in the reviews section, but this one is connected to the ARRA thing, and besides, I felt like it. 😛

I had a lot of fun watching the events unfold at The Romance Studios 2009 CAPA Awards. I didn’t win my category, but it was so amazing to be nominated I couldn’t stop smiling. I worked on a critique for a fellow writer, before giving in to temptation and settling in with Branded Sanctuary, by Joey W Hill. I love her and this series is amazing, so I was thrilled to see her latest was out. I tore myself out of the story a little while ago, and checked my email, to find Perfect Formation has been nominated for the 2009 Australian Romance Readers Award! I am seriously overwhelmed right now.

*happy sigh*

I’m over at The Romance Studio’s CAPA awards blog, watching the action. I blogged there the other day, and they are giving away a copy of Perfect Formation. Ooh, looks like they’re announcing the first category, gotta go!

Perfect Formation releases today at Ellora’s Cave! I am so excited. I really loved writing this book and I still miss the characters. For whatever reason, I always figured that if I wrote a menage story, it would be supernatural. Most of my favorite menages are (see Lauren Dane). When I started writing it (remember, I’m a pantser, not a plotter) I kept waiting for one of my characters to be a werewolf, or fae, or…something. But, they weren’t. They were normal people. And there was nothing funny going on in their world – it was totally normal, too. I was pretty surprised, I’ll admit, especially since the story I was focused on at the time was a shapeshifter story – I just started this one for when I needed breaks on the other.

I had a great time with Taryn, Richard and Caleb, though, despite the fact that they were normal 😛 . They really had a way of keeping me on my toes – I was honestly never quite sure what was going to happen next. I remember going into work one day and having to suppress the news that they’d gotten into an awesome fight, because it had been so much fun to write and I couldn’t wait to get home and figure out how they were going to make up (I hadn’t yet told the coworkers what I was up to with this whole writing thing).

So, I loved writing it, I miss the three, and I’m really proud of Perfect Formation. But, yeah, none of that changes the fact that I’m terrified! Only three people have read this story. Charlotte who was kind enough to critique it for me – my first critique which taught me so much. Klara, who read it and gave me a couple of ideas that made some subtle changes that I loved and told me it was great and to send it out, and of course my fabulous editor who chose to take it on. None of them had any reason to lie to me. Right?! I’ll calm down by the end of the day, I’m sure (see, this is me, making up stories, ’cause that’s what I do). I’m sure none of this has anything to do with the fact that the book is not just naughty but downright kinky, and I’m supposed to be the sweet and innocent girl next door. I’ve made my coworkers promise not to tell me they’ve read it unless I’m drunk.

Those of you I don’t have to look in the eye and wonder what scene you’re imagining, however, are perfectly welcome to come here and tell me what you thought of it!