Some years fly by in a hurry and some move a little more slowly. 2022 seemed like a slow-mover to me, but maybe I was the one moving slowly. Covid really gave me a kick in January and it took me a while to get back to my regular speed. I took the month of May off, choosing to spend it in my garden and rethink my work schedule. That was great and I may make a habit of it. After that, I decided to concentrate on my historical romances for the rest of the year.
New Releases:
The Hunter & the Heiress was a surprise addition to the Blood Brothers series – I hadn’t originally expected Amaury to need his own book, but I was happily mistaken in that. The Dragon & the Damsel was just as much fun to write as I’d anticipated as Rafael and Ceara were a great match for each other. Both of these books were also published in large print hardcover editions, like The Wolf & the Witch, and The Hunter & the Heiress is also available in audio.
I also returned to the Regency era and that interesting courtesan Esmeralda Ballantyne. She inspired a new series called The Ladies’ Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction. I published the first two works in that series, both of which were longer than I’d originally expected. I had this notion that they would be novellas of 25K words or so. Nope. The Christmas Conquest is 40K words and The Masquerade of the Marchioness is close to 70K. I need to block out more time to write these because they are longer, but they are a lot of fun to write.
I also participated in several multi-author anthologies this year, including Twelve Lords for Yuletide and Rogues, Ladies and Mistletoe.
Translations:
This year was enormously busy for translations of my historical romances. As you can see below, there were thirty-two of them altogether. While it’s fun to see my books in other languages, I’ve dialed it back twice already because the formatting and uploading is just too much work. I’d rather be writing new stories.
Other Changes:
I did have most of my books in Kindle Unlimited for about a year, but decided this past fall that it wasn’t working out for me. They’re available at all portals again – although my Apple links have changed – and the reloading is a job I’m glad to have done. Some of my translations are still enrolled in KU and we’ll see how that goes in 2023. My newsletter moved to a new service, as well.
Coming in 2023:
I have several pre-orders already listed for the year ahead. First, there will be the next book in the Regency series, The Widow’s Wager, which features the younger sister of the Duke of Haynesdale and her secret crush, her brother’s best friend. The Scot and the Sorceress will be next – that’s Murdoch and Nyssa’s story and the finale of the Blood Brothers series. After that, I’m returning to the Rogues & Angels series with One Knight’s Desire, a tale of disguise and unexpected love. It’s pretty clear what I’ll be doing for the first six months of the year!
Claire Delacroix 