I’ve been asked a bunch of questions lately and I decided to just answer them all here because I thought some of them would make a good blog post because they’re pretty much all about writing and how I write or rather why I write and all of that nonsense. Or Stuff.
Whichever word you like.
I have the questions all stashed in a document and are arranged in no particular order so… here goes.
Does Dreamspinner tell you what to write? Is that why you wrote Back in Black?
This was a two parter so I’ll answer in segments.
1) Nope. That’s not how it works. I have a bunch of series and whatever storylines hit me, I write that book. My writing is independent of DSP. When I’m done, I offer them the book for publication. If they choose not to pub it, I’d probably self pub. Dreamspinner doesn’t dictate anything to me. I don’t work for DSP. I’m an author who writes books and wants them published. I’m not contracted to write on demand like I think some romance houses have a pool of writers for “pulp” monthly releases. I write what I like.
2) I wrote Back in Black because I have said from the VERY beginning that I would be bringing Cole back in a series of mysteries. It was time and the Cole “voice” hasn’t changed but they’re no longer romances. This was always my intent. Once the romantic suspense of him getting together with Jae was done, I wanted to transition his character into a more traditional first-person mystery series. And it was time. *grins* I like writing Cole and I’ve missed him.
When is the next Hellsinger coming out?
I don’t know. I do have a plot. It’s different from the one I wanted to write but I think it suits Wolf and Tristan more. Cin and Harker are going to have to deal with the psychotic clowns.
Why are your books so violent?
I am a violent person. No seriously, I don’t find them very violent. So perhaps my viewpoint is skewed. And honestly, I’m never going to shame someone for not being exposed to that kind of world. That’s a really good thing and they should cherish it.
When is Rook and Dante’s next book coming out?
Also, I don’t know. But soon. I probably should have answered that under the Hellsinger one. Like I said, these aren’t in order. When I last left Rook and Dante they were dealing with the arrival of his mother. I wrote a good 35K of a book with them and it felt flat. So I have to back up and take a good look at the plot and kick it into submission.
Do you throw a lot of words away? Because it seems like you’re always restarting things.
Oh that’s a good one to answer after the Murder question. Yes. I do throw words away. And sometimes I don’t. Mostly I don’t but sometimes you write and write and it feels like you’re writing out of a hole instead of knitting a story so… that’s when you know to toss the whole thing.
Why don’t you just write one series at a time?
Several reasons. I get bored and hate the characters once I’m done writing 80,000 words of their lives and I want them to die in a horrible fire. Going right back into them would make me want to kill them and that’s not a good way to run a series. Also, I really prefer to be a bit diverse in what I write and this gives me the chance to play with voice and world-building. So that’s why.
I think that’s it for now. I’ve got to head back into it and kill a few people. Wish me luck and I hope you all have a great week! Much love!
Wanna see where it all began with Cole McGinnis and Kim Jae-Min? The entire “Dirty” series is on sale now at DSP, Amazon and other online retailers! And you can ONLY grab Dirty Bites at Dreamspinner Press.
Today’s Stop is: 
Back in Black
Morning…. 
Rhys Ford 