The Hollow Queen Series

I recently shared this on Instagram, but I need to share it here as well. Here is the official cover for Vows of Shadow! I love it! (Designed by yours truly) I decided to go with something discreet after asking for opinions, and this is what I came up with. I hope you like it! The ebook is up for preorder now on Amazon. The paperback will not be up for preorder, but it will be released a week or two early to account for shipping.

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I am working on formatting a hardback copy as well through Barnes and Noble. As it stands, it has slightly too many pages to qualify for hardback on Amazon, but I’m still editing, so who knows.

This books has approximately 250k words, so it’s quite hefty. A lot of that is owing to the fact that I went heavy on the spice. (Currently wondering what percentage of the book is just spice…though there is a lot of character and relationship building that occurs, and a lot of post conversations.)

While we’re here, I’ll make mention of how The Hollow Queen series differs a bit from books I have written in the past. I may have already mentioned this in another post, but after taking a break from writing and coming back after 5 years, I’ve grown, I’ve changed perspective on writing in general, and a few things are different this time.

Also, I’m pretty sure Dark Romance was not really its own subcategory back then…

1.) There is strong sexual content throughout. Previously, I’ve always had some sort of romance subplot and leaned into gothic and horror stories. I definitely leaned more erotic in stories like Dark Depths and The Hallowed, even The Nutcracker Bleeds. But this one ramps it up. We don’t start with falling in love, and Leila is a very desirous character (which does connect to the plot in a way.)

2.) Usually when I write a book, I focus mostly on plot. The plot, or even the twist, are often formed first, and the the characters fit in within the lines of the plot and the things that I intend for them to do to get from point A to point B. This time, the story is more character focused I think, based more on the character of Leila Morana and the way her life unfolds as she gains power. I had begun to do this in a smaller way when I was writing The Mark of Thorn, which I had planned for 5 books (and still only has 2). That one focused on several character stories all converging together in a dark fantasy fairytale world. The Hollow Queen is like that in a way, where I am focusing on the characters and the world as I carry on the story. This seems like the only way I can get numerous books out of a series. Otherwise it will seem like I am tagging other books onto the one I originally intended to write. Which is why I usually can’t get more than one book out of my ideas.

3.) I solve all the mysteries. Usually, everything is so tight within the plot that by the end, I have answered all the questions a reader might have. Or at least, I feel like I have. In fact, I usually feel like it’s a flaw when I don’t answer all the questions!! But this time, there may be a few things (more on the minor side) that go unanswered. Some things, you may have to ponder, or wait until another book down the line to learn the truth. I think one of the most interesting things is to see fans of works speculate and discuss things with each other when threads are left open.

4.) I am TRYING not to write in passive voice so much. I know that annoys some people. 🙂

Those are a few things I can think of right now. If you’re not on the mailing list, certainly sign up for that. I want to start taking apps for ARC copies soon, and I’m going to start with the mailing list.