BLOOD QUEEN: An Overdue Update

Hello! It’s been a while. I wanted to apologize to readers who have been waiting patiently for Blood Queen, the conclusion to the Reign of Blood Trilogy.

It has been about a year since the scheduled release date came and went, and the pre-order was canceled. I’d like to fix that – so it’s time to apologize for the delay and explain what happened, as well as share my publishing plans for the future.

The truth is that 2021 was a very difficult year for me, and 2022 has proven to be so also. After getting Covid in April of last year, I struggled with the dreaded long Covid fatigue, and didn’t the energy to do much beyond my day job. 2021 and 2022 also brought with them some personal setbacks, along with a resurgence of struggles with anxiety and depression for me.

Additionally, the world of Nymphera – and particularly Terra Nocturne – is often very dark, and in a real world that has been very dark for the last few years, it has been difficult for me to be in the right mental space to write in that fictional world. This story and these characters are incredibly important to me, and they deserve my full attention and all of the care I can give in writing them. I don’t want the conclusion of this story to suffer due to being rushed or forced. 

Unfortunately, I had to put my writing and publishing on the back burner just to get through the year. Beyond the long Covid exhaustion, every time I tried to write, it was tied up in so much anxiety – and sometimes panic attacks – that I just couldn’t do it. I wasn’t even able to push myself to complete the mostly-finished Arbiters short story that was supposed to be part of the Call of Magic collection in October 2021. That story only needed about 2-3000 more words, and even that was insurmountable.

I didn’t want to make any announcements about Blood Queen or other publishing plans until I could set a realistic publishing date, and I couldn’t make that decision until I knew I could start writing again. But it’s been much longer than I expected or intended, and it’s not fair to readers who have been waiting so patiently for me to continue to remain silent without any update.

I’m getting back to writing for Blood Queen, though progress so far is slower than I’d like. I don’t want to set another release date until I’m confident I’m fully back on track and can realistically meet the deadline, but as soon as I have a date, I’ll be sure to let you all know. From what I have outlined and written so far, I’m incredibly excited to bring Blood Queen to you. I’m back to working on it, and I am loving this book so far. I hope you do, too. I hope it’s worth the wait.

As far as Marked for Pain (book two of Arbiters of Shadow) goes, that pre-order was canceled as well. I will make another announcement about that once I have a better idea of when I’ll be able to get it finished and published. Blood Queen, and finishing up the Reign of Blood Trilogy, is priority number one. Blood Queen was always supposed to publish before Marked For Pain, and that is still the plan.

I want to thank you, my readers, for your patience and understanding. I hope you’ll continue to be patient with me and pick up the conclusion to Miria and Azalea’s story when it releases. Thank you again for sticking with me. The support of readers means the world to me. ♥

-Becca