Thank you all so much for your support and patience with Strange Case. Evidently, in a previous life, I was a saint. Because I sure ain’t one in this life, and there’s no other explanation for why I've been so lucky.

My news for today is two-fold. The first part is that the book is now in the hands of my formatter. After she’s done, there’s only one more step—uploading it to retailers. Can I get an amen?

The second part is that my incredible cover designer/friend/critique partner, Olivia Rivers, has created another unbelievable cover. From the moment Olivia and I started talking about the concept for Strange Case's cover, I was in love. I don't know how she does it, but the design for each book is a perfect match to what Mitch and Eden are going through at that time. They all have so much meaning behind them and are really special to me. And without further ado…

How beautiful is this?

~~~~

Oh, and please remember to sign up for my newsletter in the sidebar. When the book becomes available, I’ll be sending out an ‘OMG, I'm so excited it's out' announcement and a direct link. The letter will also include a deleted scene between Mitch and Eden. It's Mitch being Mitch, and we all know what that involves. Naughty, naughty boy.

Thanks, all!

Today, because it's my birthday, I have decided to take a break from editing. Because editing is really hard work, far less pleasant than writing something new.

I'll be finishing up the Hyde trilogy soon and am well into the creation of my next series, tentatively titled ‘The Rising'. It is a mixture of Urban Fantasy (UF) and Paranormal Romance (PNR). For those who don't know the official difference, UF isn't required to end each book with a happy ending and usually spends more time on the external plot than the romance plot. This series will cross the two–some characters will have an HEA and others will have to fight harder through multiple books. Just because I hate being predictable. :)

The Rising will have most paranormal critters in it, but the series begins with the story of Shad, a Vampire, and Addison, a woman who grew up believing she was a Seer (a human who can see through the glamour of the Supernaturals). I'm already in love with these two. Their banter cracks me up, though he's far more romantic than I'd imagined him being before I started writing him. The title for Book I is undecided, because my working title is just silly. I call it ‘Trashy'. And I'd like to share an excerpt. Remember, it is still in draft form, so names and anything/everything else may change.

Shad took her hand and began walking back to the Great Hall. Addison tugged against his grip as if she actually believed she could get away from him.

“Once you are identified as mine,” he said, “no one will get close to you. And thus, no one will bother you.”

“I’m not yours.”

He laughed. “You have been mine since the moment I opened my eyes and saw you.”

“Jesus, was that supposed to be romantic? Because it wasn’t,” she grumbled. “You’re supposed to look at someone in the eyes when you say shit like that, not throw it over your shoulder while you're dragging them back into a hellhole.”

He spun around and let her bounce into him. Then he took her by the jaw to keep her still. “I am inexperienced with romance. It has never been necessary.”

She looked panicked, but didn't pull away. “Well, then–”

“You are mine because I will never accept otherwise, and I will remain in your life until you realize its truth.” He kept his voice low, intimate, as he would speak to her in bed, her body under his. “Because—although I have not yet touched you in the way I desire—to even imagine you with another is to shove another stake in my heart. But this time it would land true, or you wouldn’t be there to save me.” They pulled from the same inch of air. With only a tiny movement, he could take her mouth. But he wouldn't take–he would force himself to wait until she did. And then…may the Powers help him, he would give her everything.

“I owe you my life, Addison, and I would give you my life in the only way I know how. By protecting you from anything that threatens you, anything that upsets you, anything you find unpleasant or boring or ugly. By giving you pleasure until you are so sated you beg me to stop. By making your life easier, better, more peaceful or exciting or, yes, even romantic. I will learn your needs just as I will learn your body.” He saw her gaze dance between his eyes and his lips, felt her body shudder, sensed the increased speed of her heart and her breath. “You are mine, Addison. Whether you know it yet or not.”

“Well, okay then…” She swallowed. “That was a lot better.”

1)   I am no longer twenty-one and can’t recover from a night of debauchery as quickly as I used to.

2)   I talk a hell of a lot.

3)   Authors, readers, book sellers, and bloggers are all equally hysterical, kind, smart, and fun.

4)   The famous BBQ of Kansas City does not include a lot of vegetarian options.

5)   I need to learn how to pack better.

6)   Signing books for fans makes me blush and tear up.

7)   If you visit Kansas City in May, do not be surprised to see snow.

8)   I will never read all the books I want to, and my TBR list is competing in size with the Eiffel Tower.

9)   You can’t be in two class sessions at once and will always be forced to miss something you wanted to go to.

10)   My author-heroes are incredibly generous, kind, and fairly normal. Note the ‘fairly’ part of that—you can’t write an amazingly tortured hero without being a bit ‘off’. Ha

11)   I need to figure out how to take a decent picture on my phone 'cause almost all of them are blurry and dark. Grrr. Scroll down to see the only ones that came out. :(

12)   The people who go to RT are so frigging great. So if you're great, then you need to be in New Orleans next year.

This was the first year I went to RT as a published author. It was a very different experience from 2012–equally enjoyable but very different. Last year, I went as an ‘aspiring author'. Although thanks to Joe Konrath, the ‘aspiring' part of my nametag was blacked out. I really enjoyed that moment and the advice that came with it. Because a month later, I was published.

This year I went into the conference thinking that I should behave myself, be professional and cool. That idea died shortly after my plane landed, and I spent the rest of the week being myself. That is the beauty of RT–people are themselves. Regardless of what they do, where they're from, or how famous they are, everyone is there to celebrate books and romance. And hot fictional men, of course. We all share the same obsession and understand each other in a way our families rarely do. We can talk and laugh until the wee hours of the morning or strike up an intensely intimate (but really loud) conversation with complete strangers because we aren't really strangers. Because we share a bond, a love, a passion.

The people I got to know this year are incredible. Truly incredible women (and a few incredible men) who I hope to keep in touch with via my new twitter addiction, and who I'd better see again next year. Thanks, all!

Best workaholics ever. I think it was around 4 AM when this pic was taken.

Yes, there was a fair amount of silliness.

LOVE Marie Sexton!

Big fangirl moment with Laura Kinsale. We had breakfast together and I got to put a Hyde tattoo on her!

With Caroline Hanson, HP Mallory and some random cover models. And that was just the BEGINNING of the night. Ha

Angie from Twinsie Talk Book Reviews. SO sweet.

A few weeks ago I received a letter from a young, pre-published author whose name is Lauren Stewart. She wrote to say that she'd Googled her name and had found that (oh no!) there was already an author named Lauren Stewart. Me. She decided to use her first two initials instead, so her books wouldn't get confused with mine. A great solution all around that didn't cost me a thing (not even the rare and precious commodity of time).

You see, authors can call themselves anything they want to and can title their books anything they want to. To my knowledge, the only restriction is that no two books from the same publishing house can have the same name. Therefore, if I were so inclined (and had a bit of a professional death-wish), I could use the pen name ‘JR Ward', ‘Stephen King', or ‘Karen Marie Moning', as long as the name isn't a trademark*.

Though I'd done a search for other authors with my name before I published my first book, I decided to do it again. So I typed ‘Lauren Stewart' into Amazon's search engine and all my novels appeared. First Hyde, then Jekyll, then No Experience Required, and finally, Second Bite. But the list didn't end.

‘Lauren Stewart' also wrote Sweet Tea and Burglary (Short Stories) and A View From Here (A Contemporary Western Novel). ‘Lauren Stewart' illustrated a book called Igniting the Sacred Fire, Reinventing Yourself at Any Age, and you can even buy a subscription to her blog that I believe is about healthy living.

And therein lies my dilemma. I didn't write those books. That's not my blog. I can't draw worth shit. And believe me, I'm the last person you should come to for advice on healthy living. And while I am sure they are all wonderful reads, I don't want my readers to pick them up thinking that they are getting my style of dark urban fantasy, comedic-mystery, or whatever I write in the future. Nor do I want the other Lauren Stewarts to get flack for not having enough cursing, sex, sarcasm, and violence in their books, just because my readers expect a bit (or a lot) of it. I also don't want their readers to pick up one of my darker books expecting something…nicer and more hopeful, and then be shell-shocked by page three. But I can't force those other writers to change their pen names, regardless of who published first. Plus, I'm a nice person and hate pissing people off.

So what would you do? Would you change your name to Lauren S. Stewart, get all of your book covers fixed, re-do the front and back matter of them all, and adjust your social media profiles? Or would you just ignore it and hope readers can tell from the books' descriptions which ones were written by you and which weren't? I like my name. I always have. But I don't want to confuse people. Advice and suggestions are welcome.

I plan to eventually have something published in almost every genre–UF, PNR, contemporary romance, fantasy, women's lit, YA, NA, mystery, thriller, even middle grade. And regardless of what I decide to do with my name, or how many new Lauren Stewarts there are in the future, you'll know my work by its edge, its humor, and its voice. But I don't do nice people leading happy lives, I don't do cowboys, and I don't do inspirational. I leave that to those who can do it better than I, no matter what their names are.

*Correction: A friend (who knows stuff) told me that I wouldn't actually be able to use King's, Ward's, or Moning's name and that it is actually a trademark issue, not a copyright issue. I stand corrected and chagrined.