Time To Do It Again!

By Cege | January 6, 2013 - 10:14 pm | CG News, Musings of the Writer, Shadows series

2012. Wow.

I really don’t have much more to say about that. In case you were wondering where I thought I’d be at this time last year, you can check out my 2012 resolution post. Yea- there were some changes made in timing and titles, but ultimately I said that I would publish six books last year.

And I did.

That made me think that I need to up my game in 2013. So I sat down last week and put together my production schedule for the year. My knees are still shaking just a little bit. To say that it is ambitious may be an understatement. But I’m a big believer in the saying “Go Big or Go Home.” I set a BHG (Big Hairy Goal) for 2013, and I think I’m going to have a ball going after it.

I am hoping that you will join me for the ride as well. That will multiple the fun factor for me by about a thousand!

So I know you are about ready for me to stop babbling now and just tell you what’s going on and when you are going to hear next from Angeline and Connor, Cameron, Samuel, and Malcolm, and maybe even Violet and Jeremiah. Well, here it is (please note that I say this is tentative and subject to change!):

**Cege’s TENTATIVE 2013 Production Schedule**

January 2013: The Shadows Trilogy omnibus

February 2013: Soul Cycle (Twisted Souls #3)

March 2013: Trials of Truth (Bloodtruth #3)

May 2013: Step To My Bones

August 2013: Twisted Souls series #4

September 2013: Bloodtruth series #4

November 2013: Immortal End

I am planning to release a paranormal thriller serial starting in April, and those episodes will be interspersed with my novel releases. Each of those will be 10K-20K words each, so that’s a lot of writing for those as well.

I’m also launching a new pen name that will serve up stories in the contemporary romance genre. It’s a completely new endeavor for me, and one I’m really excited about. There were be several short story/novel releases under that name as well.

Whew- I’m exhausted already. And nervous. But really psyched about what I’ve got spinning for this year. By the way, I can’t stress enough that I love to hear from readers of my series, and if there is a big push from fans, I may consider moving some things up to accommodate.

In the meantime, you’ll find me in my favorite writing chair.

Happy New Year!!

Share and Enjoy

Contest Winner: Elena’s Vervain Necklace from The Vampire Diaries

By Cege | November 19, 2012 - 8:29 pm | Cege Smith Fan Club, CG News, Contest Winner

Leave a comment

Thank you to everyone who took a few minutes and joined the Cege Smith Fan Club! As a special treat for everyone who joined the club during my birthday weekend, they were entered into a random drawing for a chance to Elena’s vervain necklace, featured in The Vampire Diaries.

CONGRATULATIONS CHARITY FRENCH!!!

Things in the fan club are really ramping up, so be sure to join now and so that you are always in the know FIRST for things going on in the Cege Smith universe.

Thank you again for all of the wonderful birthday wishes both here and on Facebook. You guys are the best.

See you soon!!

Share and Enjoy

Cover Reveal: Immortal End (the Ageless sequel)

By Cege | November 4, 2012 - 7:29 pm | Ageless, Bloodtruth series, CG News, Heiress of Lies, Immortal End, Shadows series, Twisted Souls

Leave a comment

I am swooning yet again over my newest cover from LFD Designs. I will be completely honest here: I wasn’t sure if I was going to write a sequel to Ageless. I left the story where the arc of the book was clearly over, but there was a nice thread left open that could be continued if I wanted to do it.

Until this past week, I was leaning toward leaving it alone. Then I found this cover, and suddenly I saw Violet there clear as day. And so Immortal End will become a reality sooner rather than later. (Hooray! More Jeremiah and Jonah *wink*.)

I am feverishly working on Veiled Shadows right now, but Immortal End will be coming in Q1 2013 (if not sooner). When really all depends on 3 things:

How long Veiled Shadows takes me to get done
How long the 3rd Bloodtruth book takes to get done (Angeline fans everywhere- rejoice!)
If I have a push from Twisted Souls fans to get the 3rd book in that series first

If you have an opinion, I’d love to hear from you in the comments or by dropping me a line (cege@cegesmith.com). Series fans really do have a voice in my production schedule because at the end of the day, I’m writing for you.

Share and Enjoy

The Beginning Of The End: Shadows #3

By Cege | October 8, 2012 - 7:23 pm | CG News, Edge of Shadows, Musings of the Writer

Leave a comment

I think I have figured it out. The reason it has taken me so long to wrap my brain around the third and final book in the Shadows series.

At first I thought that it was because I didn’t know how the story was going to end. That’s a very legitimate and logical reason, and one I’m sure fans of the series could understand (even though y’all are gently nudging for me to get going- lol.) But that wasn’t it.

Then I got a bit distracted by writing three other books this past summer. That was really nothing other than a diversion (a very pleasant one! I love all those books too). I was using fake reason #1 to feed my insane need to procrastinate on everything I do.

As September loomed, I started to think that I couldn’t do Ellie, David, and crew justice. Ellie’s journey is one of transition and a final metamorphosis into the person she was always meant to be. I can’t trivialize or get it wrong for fear fans will hate me. Or I’d hate myself.

But after a long spell of reflection, and healthy distance from the outline I drafted of the book in early September, I’ve come to a stunning conclusion.

It’s all just a load of hogwash.

I haven’t written the third Shadows book because quite simply, I’m not quite ready for it all to end. That’s given me reason to pause. I am certain that this book is going to be the last Shadows book. There will be no more cliffhanger endings or waiting to find out what happens next. This will be THE END.

It has a sobering note of finality said like that, doesn’t it? Once I realized that all of these things were just ways for me to prolong the inevitable, something sort of amazing happened.

I was ready to begin. I was excited to dig in. I can’t wait to write the words that will eventually show you how it all ends. All good things eventually do come to an end. I don’t need to dread it. It was time to embrace it.

So fingertips flew over the keyboard last night, and Chapter 1 was born. Ellie is so different to me now then she was back in Edge of Shadows. But a lot has happened, and there are still a lot of loose ends left to tie up. She had to change to make this journey believable, and for you to end up loving her as much as I do.

I’ll be updating you regularly here, and it’s a guarantee that if you are waiting, you’ll have the last book in your hands before the holidays. But I’m warning you in advance- it’s going to be a crazy ride.

Now is the chance for you to tell me: which character are you most looking forward to or hoping to see in the final book? There’s still lots of time for guest cameos…

(photo credit @boetter)

Share and Enjoy

A Peek Behind the Curtain

By Cege | June 30, 2012 - 11:39 am | CG News, Heiress of Lies, Musings of the Writer, Shadows Deep, The Soul Garden

1 Comment

As I was wrapping up my month long blog tour for Shadows Deep, I realized something that made me really queasy. I hadn’t written anything but guest blog posts for more than a month.

Now for anyone who has been waiting for the next books in the Twisted Souls or Bloodtruth series, that probably sounds like a harbinger of doom. I have been planning all along to release those books this summer, and this blog tour has, well, put me a little bit behind.

Something else happened along the way as well. I had a whole new set of characters start bending my ear about their story. Ugh- the things that writers go through! So earlier this week, right after I finished the last guest post, I did the only thing I could do.

I dove in with both feet and started to write. On two different novels.

The picture at the top of this post is my writing desk. (I did clean it up for you. ) On my iPad, I’ve got the running draft for Ageless, which is going to be a new standalone novel about a girl who finds out her obsession with a historical myth is actually her future reality.

On my Mac, I have the running draft for Twisted Souls (Twisted Souls #1). There I am catching up with the four survivors of Soul Implantation 3675, and things are getting creepier and more dangerous for them by the minute. The notepad on the far right? That’s the outline of the first scene for Angeline’s Quest, which is the sequel to Heiress of Lies and the second installment in the Bloodtruth series.

Yes, I’m that crazy. But once the words start following, it is really hard to stop them so I’m just pounding the keys like crazy and enjoying the ride. The upside of all of this? I expect to have all three novels out by the end of August, and that means… I’m right on schedule. (Hooray!)

My goal is to be able to announce launch dates within the next two weeks. A lot of things depend on my editor’s schedule and I also will be working on the cover art. Thank you to everyone for being patient so far, and I can’t wait to share these adventures with you!