Guest Post: Birth of a Series by K.C. Blake

The Books

The Rule Series: Goodreads | Amazon
The Witch-Game Series: Goodreads | Amazon

Birth of a Series

As a former writer for Harlequin, I have seen both sides of publishing, traditional and indie. People often ask me why I would choose to publish my own work when I was already published. It’s an issue I struggled with myself. You see, I wanted to write YA books. They were, are, and will always be where my heart is at. I love them.

A few years ago I set writing romances aside to try my hand at YA books. My first endeavor was called Vampires Rule. After finishing this book, I shopped it around with every agent I could find. I was lucky enough to land an agent with Trident Media Group, one of the best agencies out there. Stephanie was excited about it and couldn’t wait to find a home for it. Unfortunately, because of the Twilight explosion and the market being saturated with vampires, every single publisher passed on it. Although, a few of them said they would have gladly published it had they seen it a few years earlier.

Stephanie suggested I write a book with something other than vampires. She wanted me to come up with an unusual hook. After a lot of brainstorming I came up with the Witch-Game Series. Crushed is the first in this line. The books are in a series, but can be read as single titles because each one has a different set of characters and a brand new game for the witches to play. They each have an element of danger, mystery, and a powerful romance. Stephanie loved it. Then something unforeseen happened, and I lost my agent. Instead of searching for a new one and starting the process over, I decided to put them out there myself.

Another reason behind this decision was a matter of control. I knew from my time with Harlequin that the writer has very little say in her own books. The covers are chosen for you. Maybe you hate them. Doesn’t matter. You get what you get. Editors want you to change things in your books (not just typos, but serious overhauls of the entire novel), and the book ends up being more their vision than yours. So I decided that even if I didn’t sell as many books this way, I would be happier in the long run, and I am.

Crushed and Witch Hunt are selling well at Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, etc. I have no complaints. The next novel in the series, Tempting Fate, will hopefully be out later this year. That is the plan. The books are getting great reviews at Goodreads. I look forward to many more Witch-Game books in the future.

     About the Author     

Born and raised in California, I fell in love with writing while reading The Outsiders. Then I fell in love with Stephen King's writing style. I enjoy reading many types of books, but YA Paranormal is my favorite. I used to write for Harlequin under a different name. So that's my background. Exciting, no?

K.C. Around the Web:    Website  |  Goodreads  |  Twitter 


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With love,
Margaret

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