A Partial Victory

Some of you may remember a while back that I was having some...issues with a publisher that held three of my books, Ellora's Cave. I know that in these past several months, I've fallen silent about that. Unfortunately, it hasn't been because all was well. There have been a lot of things that have happened in that time, but I've been quiet because I've been working on getting the rights back to my three books published there; Model Love, Vampire Prince, and Kissing Cody Starr. My emotions regarding the situation have been running extremely high, and I know myself well enough to know when nothing good is going to come out of my mouth --or through my fingers--so I've opted to keep quiet.

But now I'm happy to share some fantastic news. I've received my letter of reversion from Ellora's Cave for two of my books, Model Love and Vampire Prince. I have obtained full publishing rights back to these two titles!

I can't even begin to tell you the sheer joy I have in getting these two books back. Negotiations had to be done, and while the outcome was hard on me financially, what I've gained emotionally from having these two books returned to me is huge. I did not, however, get my rights back on Kissing Cody Starr, so that title will be staying with Ellora's Cave for a while longer. I'm disappointed about that, but I'll continue pushing forward to get that title back, as well.

What this means for Model Love and Vampire Prince is soon those books will no longer be available. They'll be pulled down from Ellora's Cave's website and all their vendor sites. I've already removed their covers and excerpts from my website. This does not mean, however, that they'll be gone forever.

Since knowing I would be getting my rights back, another tough decision came to me. What should I do with the books? I love these stories and I want to keep sharing them with readers, and so I decided to  find a new publishing house to be a home for the stories. I didn't have to look far. With the compassion and support they've always shown me, MLR Press is going to give Vampire Prince and Model Love a new home.

MLR is where all my books are published, and they've always treated me and my work with respect. Owner and author, Laura Baumbach, and Executive Editor, Kris Jacen, are two amazing ladies of the highest integrity who are very sharp in the publishing business. I've never worried about my work that I've put into MLR's hands, and I know Vampire Prince and Model Love will be well taken care of with them.

I'll be going through the stories and doing a round (or several) of thorough revisions. I'll get to put some of my touches that had been taken out of the books, back in. Once I go over them, then they'll go through content editing, line editing, and proofing with Kris and MLR's editing team. Since there is some work to do, along with making new cover art, the re-release for the books won't be immediate, but we're going to try to have Vampire Prince ready to come out again later this year.

Going through this situation with Ellora's Cave has been a heavy burden. It's worn me down and has clawed away at my creative spirit. I'll admit, before word came of getting my rights back to Model Love and Vampire Prince, I was resolved to walk away from writing for a while. The only thing that have kept me writing has been working with my beloved guys from the Conquest, Instincts, and Terra series. And though it's still hanging over me that I haven't yet gotten back Kissing Cody Starr, getting back Model Love and Vampire Prince has given me the boost I've needed and has me feeling positive once again.

My thanks to everyone for the support that's been shown through this situation!