Wow, 2015 has already been so crazy, and so much has changed in our plans for the books, that I wanted to update everyone!
So we started off the year with releasing Platinum Prey. With a formatting issue that wasn't immediately resolved because we were visiting my family for the holidays, Platinum Prey didn't come out until Jan. 1, five days late. The upswing of this? We get to count it as a 2015 release!
As soon as we got back from our holiday, it was full steam ahead on Inescapable! Because I know for a fact that not all readers picked up Exiled, because it wasn't from Talia's POV, when I started writing Inescapable, I felt like I needed to recap what happened. For those who did read it, everything was completely different on Talia's end of things, and the struggles that both Erik and Penny are going through because of the Created drug needed to be discussed, since they do play a pivotal part in what is to come. Of course, I ended up writing about 40,000 words (almost 200 pages!) to cover everything as succinctly as possible before I could even get in to the meat of Inescapable's story.
And then I freaked out a little. I mean, that was half the book, almost. If I continued on with everything that I have planned for Inescapable, it would be a 600 page book, minimum. And what if people who read Exiled hated this, because they already know what happens, and don't really care to get Talia and Erik's POV on it all? What if everyone just wanted us to jump in to the action? On the other hand, what if I scrapped it, and then lots of people were confused, because they didn't understand what had been happening from Talia's POV, and what was going on with Erik?
So we discussed this for hours, over the span of days, and finally decided that there was only one thing to do: Write all of that and release it, but not as Inescapable. That was the birth of Unforgettable. It's called number 4.5 for two reasons: Because we didn't want to confuse everyone, since we've announcing book 5 is Inescapable, but also to make it a little side detour, if those who've read Exiled don't feel the need to take the jaunt. Obviously reading this will make things in Inescapable much clearer, and ensure that everyone is caught up on Talia's world and all of her new struggles, but it's also not *necessary*.
I will say this- it breaks my heart a little to go this way, just because I was thrilled to *finally* be getting Inescapable out, but I also didn't want to put out something that either confused people who didn't read Exiled, or felt redundant to those who had. Originally, Unforgettable was just going to be a short novel that came out on Valentine's Day (there's a lot of ship love in it!), but of course that never happens with these books :) Somehow there's always so much story to tell that it turned in to a full-length novel, coming in at around 350 pages.
As disappointing as this may be to many of you, who have been loyally waiting for Inescapable for just over a year, I hope you'll enjoy a little silver lining- as I was writing and developing this book, I realized that there is still SO much story left to complete Talia's journey, where I see it all going. So yes, if you haven't heard- there will be at least one more book after Inescapable, probably two. I know some readers may balk and see this as us milking our most popular series, but I assure you that couldn't be further from the truth. As a writer, I do want that satisfaction of finally completing a series! But I do feel like everything that is happening in the Talented world deserves to be told in full, instead of just cutting it off for the sake of releasing the final book. I think you'll understand more once you read Unforgettable, and hope you'll agree! There is still so much left to tell <3 For the blurb, cover, and preorder links, click here. (Did you know that pre-ordering your favorite authors' books does a TON of good stuff for them? True Story.)
With that, obviously my release schedule is way off track for this year. As a writer, I feel like I have to let the stories take me where they will, whatever the consequences. As a business woman trying to do this all on my own, so that I *can* let the stories guide me, it makes me very nervous to have to push things all around again. But after spending the last two months writing and editing Unforgettable (my fastest book start-to-finish!), it's simply something that has to happen.
So Unforgettable comes out March 3. As soon as that finishes, I have to focus on BEA and BookCon for a couple of months. A LOT goes into it, but I'm also hoping to write a draft of the first book in the Syndicate series to have with me there, to talk to some agents about it. By no means am I planning on traditionally publishing this series, since I think it would be really really difficult to give up so much control over my work, but we do want to explore our options. The good news is that, unless somehow someone gives us an insane offer on it, this book that I am SO excited about will be released this summer! While I don't want to start another series with so many in the works, we really do want to get some feedback on it during BEA and check out any options we might have.
Then, post-BEA, we're trying to decide what to jump in to next: either Inescapable, or Vacant Voices. Whichever one happens, the other will be the next :) We like to allow ourselves enough time to do the stories justice, so we don't want to guarantee anything, but it is our hope that we will also release Sacrifice at the end of the year. It's crazy how quickly a year goes by when planning it out in terms of book releases! If we are somehow able to get all of those in, it will be by far our most prolific year yet. I know that some indie authors are able to write and release a book in a month, and I am so impressed by that, but the fact is that we marinate a lot, and build storylines and layers as we write, as things comes to us, so I don't ever want to sacrifice quality for quantity (NOT saying that those authors do- just that we would need to). The Inescapable sequel will then be coming out at the beginning of 2016 (we definitely don't ever want more than six months to pass again w/o a Talented release).
So here are my questions for you- answer them in the comments, and someone will receive a signed book of their choice!!
- Which book do you want to see this summer: Inescapable or Vacant Voices??
- I'm posting the synopsis for the Syndicate series below- pitch an idea for a title!!
Can't wait to see what you guys say! And definitely chime in with your thoughts on everything else- I love getting feedback, and definitely value the opinions of all of my readers. That's one of the best things about being an indie- I can let you guys steer where we go! As always, thank you for your support and unending loyalty <3
xoxo, Sophie Davis
The Syndicate, book one:
In a future where time travel has been outlawed, a black market exists for anyone with the money, connections, and nerve to request items from days past. As a Runner for one of the underground syndicates that now controls the timewaves, Stassi 5623 has seen it all: the fall of Rome, the rise of Hitler, the end of democracy, the establishment of time tourism, and the devastating consequences of it. Stassi’s job is to seamlessly slip through the past, in search of items of value to the syndicate's clientele.
Despite the generous pay and lavish lifestyle that comes with being a Runner, Stassi had her own reasons for joining the syndicate. Like many of the kids raised in work camps, Stassi’s memories of her parents and their warm, happy home are vague, faint at best. For her, traveling through the past is the only way to uncover their identities. With only an ancestral locket to guide her, Stassi chases its origins through centuries and generations, praying it will lead to her parents.
If Stassi does manage to find them, will she have the strength to return to a present in which they don't exist? Or will she risk tearing the fabric of time to time to ensure a future in which they do?