A few updates:

• I finished Dragonbound! I started this book back in 2011, put it aside, and then picked it back up earlier this year. I’ll write another post on this book and how it came to be, and the various struggles I had with it, but overall it turned out to be a really fun book to write, and I can’t wait for everyone to read it. I don’t know the release date yet, but it should be coming out sometime next year from Skyscape.
• I’ve started planning Renegade X 4 and can’t wait to start writing! I’m still missing some big important pieces, like the main plot and who the bad guy is, but I’m excited about all the other stuff I’ve figured out, and it’s all coming together. I’d meant to start this one this summer, but I delusionally optimistically overestimated when I could get Dragonbound done. (It was originally supposed to be done by July. I finished it late October…) I have adrenal fatigue and Hashimoto’s (my thyroid doesn’t work like it should), and I can’t always predict how much energy I’ll have. Some days I feel good, and some days I can’t do much of anything. (This is the main reason why there was a two-year gap between books 2 and 3.) But my health is slowly improving, and I’m going to try my best to get book 4 done a lot sooner this time.
• I’m currently working on the Renegade X holiday special. The backers of the kickstarter for book 3 got to vote on which holiday I’m writing about, and Halloween won by a landslide. As you can see below, it’s called The Haunting of Renegade X. I don’t have my official description written up yet, but I can say that it takes place between books 2 and 3, and in it, Damien is haunted by his dead ex-best friend Pete. Kickstarter backers will of course be getting this story as part of their incentives, but I’ll be putting it up on Amazon as well, so watch for that later this month. (Or, better yet, sign up for my newsletter, and I’ll let you know as soon as it’s out.)

• And, last but not least, I started working on a book about writing a few years ago (2011, actually, the year of abandoned books and no energy), and lately I’ve been thinking about picking it back up. It’s called Breaking the Rules and is meant to be an intermediate book on writing. I was always frustrated with how many books there are for beginners, but not much for when you’ve got a few books finished but aren’t, you know, there yet. And I hate rules about writing and am a big fan of breaking them, so that’s a big part of what the book’s about, too. (As you can guess from the title.) In it, I go over so-called rules like showing vs. telling, the use of the verb “to be,” and passive voice, among others, how they tripped me up when I was learning how to write, and why what everyone’s told you about them is a bunch of crap. (I hate those rules! Just mentioning them here is making me angry. Erg.) I’ve got an outline and some of it written. I think I’ll also be adding a section on writing sequels/series, since that’s something I wish more people talked about, too. But I’m also open to suggestions, SO, IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT WRITING, or something you want me to include in this book–any “rules” you want me to talk about breaking, or if there’s some aspect of writing you’d like to hear more about from me–LET ME KNOW. You can ask here in the comments, message me on Facebook, or email me at CampChelsea@gmail.com. If I end up writing about your suggestion/answering your question, I’ll send you a free ebook copy of the finished book.

The cover for The Betrayal of Renegade X is done! It’s amazing, and it couldn’t have turned out better! The characters on the left are Gordon, Riley, and Sarah, and on the right there’s Damien’s mom, Kat, and his grandpa. And because the cover is now done, I’ll be able to release the ebook a little earlier than I’d planned. It comes out June 20th, everywhere, though in the meantime you can pre-order it on Amazon and get it the second it’s released. Click here to pre-order.

The kickstarter was supposed to be the only way to pre-order the book, but since it’s past the release date, and since there’s so much confusion over when it will be out, I want to make sure everyone has a chance to get it as soon as it’s ready. The book is up on Amazon right now with a placeholder cover, and will for sure come out June 30th. If you pre-order it, it will be sent directly to your kindle the second it comes out.

Get it here or click on the image below:

It will also be available everywhere the first two books are sold, on Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iTunes, etc., just not through pre-order.

It’s come to my attention that some of you–kind of a lot of you, actually–had signed up for the newsletter, but never got the confirmation email. Some email providers were rejecting it, so it didn’t even go into spam, but just never showed up.

So, if you signed up for the newsletter but never got anything from me, that’s why, and it’s fixed now.

I switched newsletter providers and imported everyone who signed up, confirmed and unconfirmed alike. It should all work smoothly, so that when I announce the release of book 3, everyone will actually get the notification. You can also sign up from my facebook page as well.

I tested it out, and it seems to be working, but please let me know if you have any problems with it.

I know, I know–The Betrayal of Renegade X was supposed to come out on June 10th. (A lot of you saw that on Goodreads, I think.) You guys have been waiting and waiting, and nobody wants this book to come out more than me. Unfortunately, there’s been a delay with the cover, but I should have the finished art very soon. And the second I do, I will hit the publish button! I’ll also post about it everywhere and send out a newsletter. So hang in there! The wait is almost over.

The Betrayal of Renegade X is almost done–only three scenes left to write–and, barring some disaster, will come out in June. That’s right, June, as in next month. I don’t have an exact release date yet, but I expect that the ebook will be out around the 6th, with paperback and hardback versions soon to follow. That’s not an official date, just a probable one, but I’ll send out a newsletter as soon as the ebook goes on sale, so if you’re worried about missing it, sign up in the top left corner of the site to get notified.

And I’ve got good news for fans who have been waiting for the audiobook for The Trials of Renegade X! Thanks to the extra funds raised in the kickstarter, I’ve worked out a plan with the narrator/producer team, and they’re currently working on the audiobook for Trials right now. Expect that to come out sometime in September.

Last reminder–there are 12 hours left to go on the kickstarter for The Betrayal of Renegade X. We’ve reached stretch goal #4, so besides the holiday special, the postcards, and the travel guide, all reward tiers now include magnets! And Kickstarter backers get to read the book two weeks early.

Stretch goal #3 has been reached! This means that backers of the kickstarter of all reward tiers get the Renegade X holiday special (and get to vote on which holiday I write about), the postcard set, and Damien’s Guide to Golden City, a snarky travel guide from Damien’s point of view. The kickstarter is currently at $4,166. and there are still five days left, so it’s time to announce the next stretch goal:

If the kickstarter reaches $4,500, ALL REWARD TIERS will get a high-quality 2×3 inch fridge magnet featuring the wrap cover art from book one, which looks like this:

These are going to be really cool, and I know I want one!

Ahem.

I also announced that I’ve been talking with ACX, the distributor for the Renegade X audiobook, and they’ve provided me with some extra promo codes, good for downloading a free copy of The Rise of Renegade X from Audible.com. This means that the top 40 backers–based on pledge amount–will be getting a free copy of the first audiobook!

Unfortunately, these only apply to backers in the US or the UK. And if you’re in the top 40 and already have the audiobook, you’ll have the chance to opt out so someone else can have a copy. Or you can hoard more for yourself, or give your Audible code to a friend–it’s up to you.

We’ve hit stretch goal #2! That means all reward tiers in the kickstarter come with not only the Renegade X holiday special (where backers get to vote on which holiday I write about), but also a set of 3 postcards featuring the cover art (one postcard for each cover).

And I’m super excited to announce that if the kickstarter reaches $4,000, I will write and illustrate Damien’s Guide to Golden City. This will be a tour/travel guide to Golden City, as only Damien can tell it. Expect lots of snark and hilarious anecdotes about your favorite characters. This will come in ebook format and will be included with ALL REWARD TIERS.

If you’ve been keeping up with the kickstarter for The Betrayal of Renegade X, then you’ve probably seen that we’ve reached our first stretch goal! That means I’ll be writing a Renegade X HOLIDAY SPECIAL. Backers get to vote on which holiday I write about. It’s going to be awesome.

And we’re getting close to reaching the second stretch goal:

If the kickstarter reaches $3,500, ALL REWARD TIERS will come with a set of three 4×6 postcards, featuring the gorgeous artwork from each book cover. I can also sign and/or personalize these, or leave them blank. And that’s all reward tiers, so even if you only pre-order the ebook, you’ll still get the postcards sent to you.

We’re at $3,385 as I write this, with eight days left to go–let’s make this happen!