2014 & Looking Ahead

2014 has been a great year for me with my writing. What started as a quick story being written to get another one out of my head (seriously) turned into my first published work. My writing didn't start in 2014. There's never been a time in my life when I wasn't carrying around a notebook and pen, and later, a laptop with a good Word program on it. But I never shared anything I'd written with anyone, even those closest to me. Hell, I had gotten extremely close to my best friend in the world before she even knew I wrote stories. I didn't write to publish and I had no intention of putting myself out there. Sure, what writer doesn't have dreams of taking the chance of publishing someday? I had the dreams, but I had no desire to follow them due to fear. Who would want to read what I've written? Writing was the only thing that had always been mine and only mine. I could create characters and worlds according to what was in my head. I never had to ask anyone's opinion or thoughts because it didn't matter. They were mine and mine alone. Then something happened when my friend told me one day "You really need to write stories." Well, I did, but she wasn't aware of that until much later. 

Then Taking Lance came to be.

I'm not going into details of exactly how I came to write that story, but suffice it to say that I needed a break from other things for a bit. My break turned into a naughty bi-erotic story about an older man lusting after his wife's son. There was no intention of that story (like the ones before it) ever being read by anyone but me, much less published. I mentioned the story to my friend and after more than a bit of pushing on her part I sent it to her for her thoughts. I emailed it to her before I went to bed and was terrified of her response to the story. I was up for 2 hours the next morning before I clicked her email. This alone is odd because I normally jump online and talk to her first thing when I get up each day. Not only did she love the story, but she strongly encouraged me to self-publish it. The rest, they say, is history. After Taking Lance came Keeping Lance, and not long after, Being Karen. I've blogged about what led to Willy the Kinky Elf & His Bad-Ass Reindeer coming to be. It was written for a publisher's submission call. That publisher (I won't name names) jerked me around for 17 weeks before I finally pulled the story from consideration. I am so glad I did. Willy was my 4th to be published this year and by far the most successful (though the others have done extremely well too). Had someone told me in December of 2013 that I'd have 4 stories published in 2014 with another due out in the very near future (Saving Travis), I would have called them a liar. 

To say I'm in awe would be an understatement. I took a big chance (with a lot of encouragement from my friend and family) and it paid off. I finally have the confidence to do what I love - write. 

I've gone on and on about how much I appreciate my Twitter followers and fellow indie authors. I never would have dreamed that I'd put myself out there and be accepted so quickly by so many. Then there is my friend who wouldn't allow me to stop writing, even when I was wanting to. A lot of folks are iffy about those closest to them giving their honest thoughts on something they've written. Not me. My friend has always been honest (brutally so at times... thank God!) and not only do I credit her completely for every story I've published to date, but I will forever be grateful for her encouragement, and again, honesty. To everyone else who has encouraged and helped me in 2014, I have no words for how much I appreciate every single one of you; from Retweets to advice to kind messages - to everything. 

Lastly, to every single person who has taken the time to read one of my stories - you've given me the validation I never thought I needed and shown me that taking that major chance of putting myself out there was the right thing to do. I've made some of you laugh (who knew?) and I've even pissed a few of you off (sorry!) but in the end? You're reading my books and you're talking about them. That's something I never thought would happen as I was writing these things and hiding them away.

When I first published, I had a few well-meaning strangers contacting me telling me that bi-erotica doesn't sell. People (according to them) want either all hetero or all gay, not having the on-page sex mixed up. I'm proud to say that (according to my sales reports for both Taking and Keeping Lance), that was proven wrong. I will always write according to what I want to write, not what others feel should be written. The day I start writing stories based on other people is the day it stops being fun for me. Writing is therapy for me in a sense and I will continue throwing out my stories based on what's in my head at the time, not what others feel should be put out there. A lot of folks disagree with me in that regard and I get that. I'm speaking according to my own writing and what draws me to sit in front of my laptop for hours on end creating my stories

So what's in store for 2015?

I don't just write erotica. I've written dozens of love stories (gay, bi, and het) that still have the sex, but not on every other page. I also write books that have nothing to do with romance at all. There is a humorous horror book in the works. Yes, I said humorous horror book. I'm a huge fan of horror books and I've always said that someday I'll write my own. I'm also a huge fan of humor in books, so why not combine the two? That particular story was started awhile back and will see the light of day at some point. I have to put 2014 and obligations of the year behind me, with one of those obligations being FINALLY getting Saving Travis out there.

About Saving Travis.....

This story was scheduled to be published at the end of 2014. It wasn't and here's why..... I could have published that story months ago, but (to be blunt) it would have been crap. No author wants to put out something they KNOW is not their best work. I had to take a character (Travis Jordan) who only had 4 or 5 pages of time in Keeping Lance and write a horrific back story. Then I had to take a jerk character (Marc Parker), who played a huge part in Keeping Lance, and make him out to be a nice guy. If you read Keeping Lance, you know that turning Marc into a good guy was a monumental task. Throw in the fact that new characters were introduced and old ones (Rick and Lance) had to be brought back to tie up some loose ends, and there you go on all the delays. Also, Saving Travis will be my longest story to date (almost novel-length) and while I know it won't be perfect (what book is?), I want to make sure it's as perfect as it is going to get in my - the author's - eyes. I will do a promotional thing with the first 3 books in the series when I do publish Saving Travis. I'll share the info all over the place when it happens.

What am I working on now as I work on the final edits of Travis?

I'm currently writing a very naughty gay Valentine's Day story that may or may not be published. I have already written over 15,000 words of Finding Alex (#4 in the Taking Lance world), and I have a really goofy story in the works about a man whose *ahem!* anatomy gets covered with something it's not supposed to be covered with. I have several completed (not yet self-edited) stories that I hope to publish in the coming months as well. In the midst of all that, I have to play catch-up on things in the real world I've allowed myself to get behind on. I have wonderful people who support my writing and who understand, but I still feel as if I've let these folks down a bit.... even though they swear I haven't. You know who you are and I appreciate your confidence, patience, and support more than you can know.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that the year 2015 is a good one. I've been battling the flu over the past couple of weeks, so my apologies for being absent so much on social media. Hopefully this will pass soon and I can get back to my regularly scheduled program. Christmas was nice and my husband made sure - sick or not - that I had a good holiday. Today will hopefully involve watching my beloved Alabama Crimson Tide kick ass against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. If you've followed me anywhere, you know I'm a big Tide fan and we're hoping for another championship. If you're an Ohio State fan, I apologize in advance for my thoughts about your coach today. We SEC'ers have long memories. Only those who follow American college football will get what I'm talking about. I promise to try to be nice - publicly. 

To everyone, I say Happy New Year! To my fellow Alabama Crimson Tide fans I say ROLL DAMN TIDE!!!

Until next time,

~Candi Kay