"How much of your book is inspired by real life?"
When it comes to the Time Wrecker Trilogy, I'm relieved to say: not much. Thank goodness, right? Even after drafting all three books, I'm still not sure what I'd do if I was offered the chance to travel back in time.
However, there are a few things I have in common with my main characters. For example: like Mara Sterling, I've lived with chronic pain. In fact, several months before the release of Every Last Minute, I had a much-anticipated surgery on my right ankle. After a lot of rest and a lot of physical therapy, I was able to walk and move more comfortably than I had in a long time. On my book release date, I walked in to the party pain-free, and it felt amazing.
After that, I felt confident setting some big publication goals for Books 2 and 3 in the trilogy. Since both books were already drafted, I planned to release Book 2 in the spring of 2018 and Book 3 in the fall. Yep, two books published in one year! I knew it would be a big push to make it happen, but it was totally worth doing. After all, as a reader I don't like to wait too long between books in a series. Is it any surprise I'd have the same preference as a writer?
Unfortunately, my pain-free days didn't last. Over the winter, chronic pain slowly crept back in to my life. After a lot of thought, I decided to push back the release date of the second book in the series to prepare for my next surgery, which will require a longer recovery time.
As hard as it was to make that decision, it was definitely the right thing to do. Like many things in life, chronic pain has a way of throwing a left hook at my neatly-laid plans. The good news is, I can always reassess, refocus, and revise my goals.
So here's the new plan: I am working towards a tentative release date of October 18, 2018 for Book 2 in the Time Wreckers Trilogy. I've also set a tentative release date for Book 3: October 18, 2019. (If you've already read Every Last Minute: Book 1 of the Time Wreckers Trilogy, you know why October 18 is a significant date!) I love the symmetry of releasing each book one year apart. I won't make my original goal of releasing both Book 2 and Book 3 in 2018, but that's okay. I'm still going to meet my goal of telling all the stages of Will and Mara's story. I promise it will be worth the wait.
Thanks for sticking with me through this unexpected turn of events! To celebrate the six months since Every Last Minute released, I am offering the Kindle ebook for free (today only, so if you don't have a copy for your ereader yet, be sure to grab it now!)
Regardless of any other circumstances, writing and sharing these stories with you has been a dream come true. I'm grateful to be an author on any publication schedule and I'm looking forward to everything 2018 and 2019 will bring! Stay tuned!