Writing Wednesday: When you Realize you Missed your own Deadline

So I'm participating in an author panel at a local writing conference on Friday and got out a few of my books to take with me. And realized that at the back of DEFIANCE: Son of a Mermaid Book 2... with the sample chapter, I added a page that promised Book 3 in July 2016.

July 2016.

Promised.

Oops.

Today is August 3rd, so July is officially gone, and I totally blew my own deadline. No wonder I'm getting emails from readers wondering where they can find Book 3. It's supposed to be available. And yes, I am getting Facebook IMs and emails through my blog from readers going, "Are you done yet? Are you done yet?" One helpful reader already wrote to me twice and added suggestions about a prequel he'd really like to read.

Problem is, my personal life has been a bit chaotic over the last year. Distracting might be a better word in terms of making excuses for why the book isn't even finished. I do have a title, and beautiful cover art, created by the fabulous K.R. Conway ~

I'm so in love with this cover imagery! And as I get further into the book, I realize how perfectly the title fits the story. Initially I'd thought it was only the overarching deception, but there are myriad small ones floating all over Atlantis. Nothing is really what it seems.

...and I've been writing a lot more this summer. I'd gone down the wrong path earlier, and needed to start again because Kae was not strong enough in the first version. I'm pretty happy with the current way the book is flowing, despite the fact that Shea is acting a little jealous and bratty. He's a hormonal teenage boy who's been listening to his own press a little too much. It happens.

I'm still hoping for a summer release, if we can think of September as a shoulder season to summer. But that might be optimistic because I still have to get a beta reader's take on the story and, oh yeah, finish writing.

With this week's news of CHANNING TATUM playing the lead merman in an upcoming remake of the original mermaid movie from 1984 SPLASH... perhaps we are about to see a resurgance in all things mermaid and merman. So I need to finish this story and get on to the last installment of the series as fast as possible to take advantage of the merman frenzy.

One can only hope.

Either way, Channing Tatum will be shirtless and wet.