Nightwalker out, Capt Lacey to come

Nightwalker, the fourth book in my Stormwalker saga (written as Allyson James) has at last been released! This means that I can now turn to Captain Lacey (and I am raring to go).

Mystery fans might enjoy Nightwalker, which is an action-adventure / mystery with a paranormal touch set in the Southwestern United States, in and around the Navajo Nation.

Blurb for this installment:

Stormwalker Janet Begay, proprietor of the Crossroads Hotel, a place where the paranormal stop for a safe night’s rest, discovers the hard way that a slayer is targeting Ansel, a Nightwalker who’s become a more-or-less permanent resident.

When Janet and her boyfriend Mick intervene to save Ansel’s un-life, they find that the attack is the beginning of an oncoming storm. Janet has her hands full already with the upcoming marriage of her father, her crazy half-sister, the return of a woman who claims to be Coyote’s wife, a couple dragons on her back, and her worry about Mick, who’s behaving strangely again.

But it seems that everyone is after Ansel, who fears he killed the woman he loves in a Nightwalker frenzy. Janet must choose between protecting Ansel, or facing the most powerful magical beings in the world, who are willing to destroy Janet, Mick, her hotel, and everyone she cares about to get to Ansel and his secrets.

This book will be available in all e-formats and in print. I will post links as they become available.

Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/Nightwalker-Stormwalker-ebook/dp/B009FFGEO2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1348408441&sr=8-4&keywords=allyson+james+nightwalker

Smashwords (all formats): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/238710

On to Disappearance in Drury Lane!

High Time for a Captain Lacey update

I know you all are waiting patiently for Disappearance in Drury Lane. It will happen (just as Death in Norfolk happened). I was very certain early this year that I could write and publish like the wind, but then reality set in. The fingers can only type so fast, and the brain cells can only function so long. I am under contract to get certain books done and to Berkley, and I am trying to continue another series of my heart as well as this one.

That said, here's where things stand:

My "urban" fantasy (set in the rural southwest), Nightwalker, is almost done (I'm revising the draft)--hope to have that out soon.

For my Jennifer Ashley side, I just pubbed a short novel (part of the Shifters Unbound series)--now I owe Berkley two more novellas and a novel, one a month until November. One novella is nearly done--will turn it in next week.

After Nightwalker is published, I'll be able to focus more on Captain Lacey again (around the Berkley books, of course). My goal is to have Disappearance out in October (on the anniversary of Death in Norfolk), but failing that, by the end of the year at least

Disappearance book will be available both in e-book and print.

Captain Lacey and the series is *very* important to me, so rest assured, I have not, and never have, abandoned it. I have lots of ideas for more books, and will have a Captain Lacey blitz soon (sales on older titles, e-book boxed set of the second three books + novella, and other things).

While I have contracts to fill for my JA persona, Captain Lacey is always in my thoughts. Besides, my mother loves this series, and trust me, she badgers me every day to get the next one out ASAP!

The other day I posted an update on my Allyson James blog, which is also relevant here. You see, I'm trying to get two books out--one in the Stormwalker series ( urban fantasy/mystery ), and Captain Lacey. Around that I have to write books for Berkley. But Disappearance in Drury Lane is coming. Here's the post:

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Where is Nightwalker? Good question! I'm still writing it. 

Many of you have been emailing  me asking when it will be out, and I apologize for confusing you with dates. I had wanted to have it finished and out by April at the latest, but life happened. I spent a month in Feb-March very ill. I was able to get Justin [Tales of the Shareem] finished and released, but that was about it, and then I collapsed.

Being sick put me behind not only on Nightwalker (and my next Captain Lacey mystery) but also very behind on my deadlines with Berkley. I've turned in one of those deadline books, but I must now work on the second before I'm caught up there.

However, throughout all this, I've been steadily writing Nightwalker. I work on it every morning for at least an hour. Today I reached page 115 (about 31,000 words). The book is projected to be about 75-80K, which is give or take another about 200 pages. I type fast, so it won't take that much time (weeks, not years!).

After that, the book will be revised and edited, then proofread. Add another 2-3 weeks for that.

I'm not going to project a specific release date. I've learned my lesson. :-) Once the ms. is finished, I can better project a date, knowing how long it will take for the edit/proof/publishing process.

But the book will be done, it will be out, and the next in the series planned. I also have a Stormwalker novella planned--though that may turn into the next novel...I'll see how it goes.

Because I'm currently writing five series (Shifters, Mackenzies, Stormwalker, Captain Lacey, Shareem), juggling all this has proved to be a trick!

I can say, in my defense, that books are coming out from me steadily, and will continue to emerge throughout the year. Books in 2012 that have been and will be released (in this order) are

Wild Cat (Shifters Unbound) (Jan)

Justin (Shareem) (Feb)

The Pirate Next Door (re-release) (March)

The Duke's Perfect Wife (Mackenzies) (April)

Nightwalker (Stormwalker)

A Disappearance in Drury Lane (Capt Lacey)

Hard Mated (Shifters Unbound short novel/novella)

Mate Claimed (Shifters Unbound)

and more after that taking us to 2013
The Seduction of Elliot McBride (Mackenzies, Jan 2013)

Re-releases from my Jennifer Ashley side, including the Immortals series will be threaded in here.

I offer no excuse (except the illness--that's a good excuse), and I do apologize for projecting dates I had no right to project. I got excited.:-)

End of Allyson James post

Once I finish Nightwalker and the Berkley book (Seduction of Elliot McBride), Disappearance in Drury Lane is next on my plate. I hope to release 1-2 Lacey books per year--this year will see at least one!

Ashley Gardner

Update on Captain Lacey

Disappearance in Drury Lane is still in the works. I'm behind where I want to be, due to two things: 1) Spending most of this month sick as a dog (I hear many others having the same trouble); 2) Having a book overdue to my publisher (said illness slowing that down as well).

Once I get the book turned in to my editor, I'm going to take a short break and try to get over this lingering cold. I'll indulge in my dollhouses (http://www.jennsminis.wordpress.com), catch up on my reading, maybe take a stroll up to the mountains or over to the coast. I've been working nonstop, seven days a week, since July, and I think I need a few days off.

Once I feel better, the next two things on my plate are Nightwalker (in my Stormwalker series), and A Disappearance in Drury Lane. I'm writing books for three pseudonyms, switching off every three: Ashley Gardner, Jennifer Ashley, Allyson James, Ashley Gardner... etc. This, of course, must be fit around my Berkley deadlines. It's tricky, but it's working thus far.

I apologize for being a bit behind, but a few months behind is better than a six-year gap between books! Captain Lacey and I disliked that immensely.

The plan is to put out 1-2 Lacey books a year, until we all think the series is done. I prefer full-length books to novellas, as I can put a lot of meat into them, but those, naturally, take a little longer.

I will update my status as I go, so you'll know when to start expecting Disappearance.

On a better note, the paperback edition of A Death in Norfolk now has wider distribution. You can order it from Barnes & Noble and through Indiebound and other booksellers.

Thanks to all who have found the Lacey series and for hanging in there with me

(Photo, by the way, from a dollhouse at the Mini Time Machine Dollhouse Miniatures museum in Tucson. A marvelous museum, worth the trip.)

Ashley Gardner
http://www.gardnermysteries.com

Captain Lacey Mysteries first "Boxed Set"

Now Available: Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries, Volume One. The first three Captain Lacey novels plus the short stories from The Gentleman's Walking Stick, are now available in one convenient ebook bundle. Currently on Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook, with more platforms to come. I'm also working on Volume 2.

A Disappearance in Drury Lane is still in the works! I will update when I have a more specific pub date. Right now it's "sometime in March."

Updates on the Lacey Series

I continue to write A Disappearance in Drury Lane, happy to be back in London for this one. Looks like that release date might have to move to March, but I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, I will be releasing the first six Lacey novels plus The Necklace Affair and the short stories as boxed sets:. I'm waiting to get the covers from my cover designer, then they'll be ready shortly after that. Volume One will comprise Books 1-3 and the short stories now collected in The Gentleman's Walking Stick. Volume Two will include Books 4-6 plus The Necklace Affair. I'm purposely leaving Death in Norfolk out, but it will be collected into Volume 3, as soon as I get a few more books out. If you know folks who would like to try the books or prefer to buy everything at once, let them know this is on its way.

I can't express what a joy it is to work on this series again. I'll keep going as long as the stories come!

Ashley Gardner
http://www.gardnermysteries.com