Hi, pretty, pretty anonymous one! 

The next Cherry book, strictly speaking, is Gilded, which I mention over here. It comes out December 26th, and if you want to make my Christmas very merry and yours very Cherry, you can pre-order it at all your usual spots! What is it about?

It’s about choices. It’s about having to take a good, hard look at where you are in life and deciding if that’s where you want to be, if what you want is worth it, or if it’s time to pull up your big girl knickers and make the choice that’s best for what you need.

It’s about sacrifice, and growing up, or… if it’s not about growing up, it’s about the chance to do so, and the choice Cherry will make when it comes down to it.

And on a lighter note, it’s totally about murder.

But not so much science, this time. Cherry’s been too busy, see, and Teddy’s left London with the end of the Season. What’s a bored Society miss to do?

Will it have Micajah Hawke in it? Not as much as you’d want, I’ll bet. But don’t give up hope! Because I have plans for Cherry and Company that will take them into much, much darker territory than any of them had hoped. With a murderer or two on the loose and Cherry’s rather determined state of mind, there’s no telling how much trouble is going to fall.

And, oh, fine, yes. Though you won’t see much skin in Gilded, I promise you’ll see some in Corroded.

But whose?

Now that’s the question.

Ask Anything Wednesday

Ask me your burning questions (but not questions about burning, because I don’t know for sure, it may be something you ate or rubbed up against and have you tried a doctor? or IcyHot, I hear that works…) and I shall answer them all Wednesday long, spaced out until 6pm PST.

Anything that won’t fit in the time slot will be answered next week, and so on. Really! Ask away. 

That’s a tough question, if only because I can’t decide which sort of man best appeals to me at any given moment. I mean, as a Virgo/Libra, I’m already torn between this way, or that way, or that way with these things… I mean, it’s hard to be me!

But if I had to pick one? Micajah Hawke has, for me, that ideal blend of hard edge and mystery that makes my little heart go pitter-patter. Now, if only he could be as rich as Civilized Cornelius… Maybe with some of that polish… 

Oh, who am I kidding? I’ll take them both, please. Harems are totally acceptable, right?

The next witches book, called Wicked Lies, will be out in March. This book is a novella, set between Sacrifice the Wicked and One For the Wicked, which is tentatively scheduled for April/May.

Wicked Lies is very near and dear to my heart, and as soon as I am given the okay, I’ll be sharing just why! Stay close. :)

Someone awesome and whose name I have inevitably forgotten once said that every storyteller has a main theme that shows up again and again in their stories. For some, it’s obvious and blinding—for others, it’s subtler. I’m not entirely sure why mine keeps rearing up in a geographical divide between the Haves and the Have-Nots, but this is where my thematic cards appear to be falling.

There’s something incredibly tragic about the concept of people who break the backs and spirits of other people. We have so much historical precedent, so much “tradition” stocked into the concept of segregation—by race, by color, by breeding, by wealth, from school up into adulthood. We’re all about drawing lines, and when we can get away with it, forcing physical barriers. In my twisted imagination, I think, “The poor sods need something to jump off of when reality gets too bleak.”

And falling, fly. Only they don’t fly, do they?

The St. Croix Chronicles came about more naturally—when you have the means in Victorian London, your options are slim. Society would never flee London, and so rising above like the divine is simply their due.

For the Dark Mission, it came more as an indication of humanity’s hubris. Clinging to the concept that lightning won’t strike twice, humans often re-entrench when they should let go, stake their claim when they should search elsewhere. Enter that divide again, that segregation, and it seemed the right choice.

Fortunately for me, none of my current ideas really involve another upper/lower divide. At least not physically. I’m afraid segregation will always be a part of what I write. We humans just can’t help ourselves.

I know who you are. 

Also, that’s a tricky question! The problem I have with characters like Cage is that while I might have a very distinct image of him, others likely don’t see the same image. What I deliver visually may not be what other readers picture, and so the character’s “visual” appeal is diminished somewhat.

The closest picture/model I’ve found is Eduardo Verastegui. He’s got the coloring and raw beauty, but I picture Cage’s features a little more cruelly shaped, a little edgier.

Want more visual inspiration for the series? Enjoy my St. Croix Chronicles board!

Hooray! You’re my first question, and I didn’t even have to beg. :D

One for the Wicked, the fifth and final Dark Mission book, is tentatively slated for an April/May 2013 release. It’ll wrap up the lingering questions regarding the Salem Project, the role of witches in New Seattle, and, of course, the redemption of those involved—if redemption can be had.

You’ll be able to pre-order it soon; I’ll be sure to set an announcement!