Decision Made

Well, I've been working on a number of projects recently, another one that has seven versions on file but I'm still not satisfied with it, so obviously it's not quite ready to emerge fully formed as a novel or novella, and one that is not at all what I usually write that's making me nervous.

I'm putting those projects aside, plus the Spindrift project that's been kicking around since the Winter Solstice Ball novella was written years ago! It fills a fat binder in the dining room, and will just have to gather another layer of dust because...

.....more than five people have asked about a sequel to Romney and Ivy's story which began in Black King Takes White Queen and then continued in Black Knight, White Rook. The series doesn't even have an official or even an unofficial name. It's basically the story of a young woman's unexpected rise to power as the queen of the united black and white arts practitioners that all begins when her older sister's boyfriend summons her (in error?or does he really know who he's calling that fateful night when his father is murdered by a demon sent by his evil younger sister to destroy both father and brother?) and then subsequently marks her as his property when she is attacked by the same demon. In his practice, the marks he's left on her indicate that she is his wife and she is bound to him. Ivy has no real feel for her own power, but she quickly has to discover who she is and what power she wields in the witch community. In a very short period of time she finds herself married to a black arts warlock, pregnant with his heir, and preparing a very unprepared group of practitioners from both the white arts and black arts communities to battle Rayna Sharpe and her followers. Ivy's brand new husband is the guardian of a vast treasure hoard of magical items, and especially one item that absolutely cannot be brought back into the world because of it's pure evilness. Rayna is out to kill her brother and gain control of what he is sworn to protect with his life as the new King. Ivy finds herself struggling to discover who she really is while fighting to keep her husband alive.

In Black Knight, White Rook Ivy and Romney face new evil and struggles when Ivy's sister returns with a husband of her own, one who wants to destroy all that Ivy and Romney have accomplished in the two years since they defeated Rayna Sharpe. Ivy and Romney have a young son, Ezra, now. Things are especially hard on the young Queen who still has insecurities and self-doubt. She's put through several grueling ordeals as an evil warlock repeatedly drives wedges between her and Romney, but ultimately she loves her husband and her son and knows that if they are to defeat this warlock, she must dig deeper within herself and find a means to help them win. She heads off to Wales to visit family, to find her roots, and to find the lair of the evil warlock. She becomes more the queen that she is with each new challenge that she faces.

At Articulture and where I work, I've been asked when the sequel will come out. I have two versions started, so now I am rereading both novels to reacquaint myself with these characters and their story, and find the direction they need to go in to continue in book three.

So-my decision is that the third book in this series without an official name will be the continuation f Ivy Greenaway and Romney Shape's story.

Stay tuned for updates!