R. Garland Gray, paranormal romance author

The warm days are upon us and I feel a need to take some time off. I want to thank all my readers for their kindness and support. Please feel free to browse the website.

I decided to hold off posting as I did not know how the talks with my publisher would end.

Last month and along with many other Medallion Press authors, I was told that my next contract would not be fulfilled as stipulated. That contract was for Darkscape: First Heir.

I was told the reason for this decision was that Medallion Press had decided to follow a different business model, a model I did not agree with. After some soul-searching, I decided to ask for my rights back on the book. What this means is that Darkscape: First Heir will not be published as had been announced.

March 19, 2010 - Heather from The Galaxy Express, a website dedicated to readers of science fiction romance, approached me a few days ago and requested an interview, which I was happy to do. I just received an email from her that the interview is up on her blog . . . along with the sneak peek of Darkscape: First Heir that I had sent her.

I would like to thank Heather for the opportunity to share Darkscape with her readers. And a special thank you to Jennifer Leeland, a wonderful author in her own right, for bringing the Darkscape trilogy to Heather's attention.

I've been corresponding with my publisher on the cover for Darkscape: First Heir, the third book in my mystery scifi romance series. They have been working off the cover specification, which I had submitted when I signed the book contract a few months back. What is a cover specification, you may ask? It is questionnaire, a document that the publisher sends to the author to be filled out and returned. It can contain such questions as those regarding the author's bio, a synopsis of the book, time period of the story, character descriptions, and/or anything that the author feels is relevant to the marketing of the story. Unfortunately, not every publisher offers the author this kind of opportunity to share their thoughts. I am thankful that mine takes the time to listen. Having briefly described the cover spec, I thought it might be fun to share with you the description that I wrote for the hero for First Heir.

- EYE COLOR: Cobalt blue with a bevy of metallic flakes slicing the inner edge of the irises

- ATTITUDE: This was fun. Okay, given this guy's family history what kind of attitude does he have ... Got it: A realist who battles a seething rage. Yep, that fits a Darkscape hero.

- SIMILAR TO: Please give an example of an actor/actress or movie character your character would look most like. - I was into Pirates of the Caribbean at the time and went with Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, but without the facial hair. (I understand that they cannot use Mr. Bloom's likeness and that this is only a conceptual reference, something to base an idea or an image on, which, of course, is the whole purpose of the cover specification.)

Well, I must admit I am looking forward to seeing the graphic designer's cover interpretation. Maybe next month he will share it with me, maybe the month after that. Creativity takes time, I know this well. When they do share the cover for Darkscape: First Heir with me, I promise to share it with you.

I look outside my window, at the land that sleeps beneath a blanket of snow. I am living in a winter wonderland. There is a familiar quiet in the air and I am reminded of an old fashioned winter. Memories return, tinged with sadness and with joy. I have decided to take the month of February off, to curl up in my chair after work, and listen to audio books. I need to rest for a while, like the land does in the chill of winter.

And oh, by the way, I should definitely mention this . . . if you click on the book page link for Darkscape: First Heir, the excerpt is up!

Welcome to the new year. I would like to wish all my readers and their families a healthy, happy, and secure new year. I know that many of us have been touched by difficult financial times, my family included. But I remain steadfastly optimistic and hopeful that our economy will turn around and life will improve for us all.

A Special Presentation of the Faery Faith Series

Beware of spoilers if you have not read PREDESTINED, FEY BORN and WHITE FELLS.

Would you like to find out what happens afterward with your favorite characters?

If yes, click on the link below, the "One More Moment" page of Medallion Press (my publisher) will open, scroll down until you see the same image as below, and click on:

"Discover One More Moment."

PREDESTINED is first, followed by FEY BORN and WHITE FELLS then an exclusive presentation of The Druidess.

Enjoy.

Darkscape: Redemption arrives in bookstores! Enjoy and thank you for sharing this amazing journey with me. Also, if you have a free moment during this busy season, please stop by Medallion Press's website: www.medallionpress.com. Yours truly is featured in the Author Spotlight for December.

- BEWARE of spoilers for those who have not read the first book, The Rebel Lord. -

For me, Declan has always followed his own code, has always been the one who jumped in when he was needed most. I wanted to symbolize the heroic motivations within him and decided to give him a warrior tattoo.

I did some research on tattoos and symbolism then made my suggestions on the cover specification sheet for my publisher. For a scarred and silent type hero, I thought a tattoo would speak for him when he would not. Once all my rewrites were done, I handed the revised book to my editor and was given a December 2009 release date.

Like Darkscape: The Rebel Lord, Darkscape: Redemption's second journey to your book shelves has been a rather long one. I want to thank all my readers for their support. In December, Darkscape: Redemption hits the bookstores! I hope you enjoy Declan's story.

As I look out upon the arrival of fall, I am reminded of the passage of time, of how it sweeps by without notice until something wonderful or sorrowful happens. Then life stops, a kind of pausing from which there is no escape. It can be a time of wonderful surprise. Or, it can be a time of great disappointment.

When my Canadian publisher closed their doors, time stopped for one of those unbearable disappointing moments. And I thought, well I must move on. Darkscape was in limbo and from what I heard from other authors, striving to get your rights back was often, extremely difficult.. But then something unexpected happened. The publisher contacted all their authors almost immediately. They returned to us, our rights. It was simple and sent with wishes for continued success. I was grateful. It meant that I could continue writing the series and, if I chose, sell it to another house.

I revised both books and decided try again. By this time, I was also working on my faery faith series. And as luck would have it, the faery series hit first. The Darkscape series would have to wait once more.

Over the next couple of years, the faery books came out and I had great fun with them. I sent an inquiry to my publisher and asked if they would be interested in a romance set in a future time. It was something very different then my faery faith books of Ireland. I had written two wonderful books and had the outline for the third. I described the Darkscape series to my editor and waited . . . The contracts arrived soon after. The edits for Darkscape: The Rebel Lord went smoothly and the book released last year. But when I went to review Darkscape: Redemption, I realized I wanted to give Declan . . . something. When I met my publisher at a conference, we discussed tattoos and I thought . . .

I handed in the new manuscript a few months later. I was exhausted and very pleased with myself. I had made the deadline. My editor was pleased, too. The first book in the series, Darkscape: The Rebel Lord, was a bestseller for my Canadian publisher at that time, and all seemed right within my little author's world.

The new manuscript had a title: Darkscape: Redemption. Not bad, I thought to myself. My edits arrived a few months later. They were decent, nothing out of the ordinary. Fix this. Elaborate a little more here, if you will. Stuff like that. I made the changes and handed the book back in. A cover was created. The book released on schedule. Within the first three months, I received a lot of fan mail about the series, along with inquiries about when the third book was coming out. Also around that time, the Canadian publisher announced to their authors that they were closing their doors.

Duh. What? Closing doors as in "going out of business?" Oh, no. I felt blindsided. Being new to this business, I had not seen the warning signs.

Now, what? I had signed over my book rights to the publisher when I signed the contract.

- BEWARE of spoilers for those who have not read the first book, The Rebel Lord. -

Okay, where was I? Yes. What kind of man would Declan be . . . especially having lived what he had lived? That was the question. It took me some time to get to know him once again and I thought, he would be a man of smoldering passions. He would be a man who has been deeply hurt and would not trust easily. And that became my story's theme. The ability to trust. But how could trust arise from a volcano of pain and hurt?

From this point forward, I let my muse take over. I wrote whatever came to mind and the outline took form. A hero who buries his emotions deep requires careful crafting and I wanted to take my time so I would get it right. And what type of woman would challenge and tempt a heart such as Declan's? I did some musing over that one. She would be one of unflappable optimism, I thought. Someone who is loyal and spirited to show him the way back. Okay, this is going well. The outline began to flow. Unfortunately, night had come many hours ago. I could hear my husband snoring in the living room and I had work the next day. I set my draft of the outline aside and went to get my husband for bed. The next day, I awoke bleary eyed for staying up too late, dressed, and went off to work.

When I returned in the evening, I checked my email. There was a note from my editor. "When could they have the book? They had put it in for next year's schedule." My eyes crossed. This left me about seven months. A hysterical laugh caught in my throat. I had just barely finished the outline last night. I took a deep breath. Not a problem. I was thrilled to be in the schedule. I could do this. For the next few months, after work and whenever I had a free moment, I wrote. What I did not know was that this Canadian publisher was already having some difficulty staying afloat. And all my late night and weekend efforts were going to be all for naught. At least, for this time.

P. S. The excerpt is up for Darkscape: Redemption! Click on the link at the left column to go to book's page.

- BEWARE of spoilers for those who have not read the first book, The Rebel Lord. -

Last month I promised to begin speaking about the long journey of Darkscape: Redemption to your bookshelves this coming December from Medallion Press. Way back when I was considered a newbie, I received an email from my Canadian editor. She worked for the publishing house that had first contracted for Darkscape and later went out of business. For details about this, see the Darkscape book pages.

I was told that my first book, Darkscape: The Rebel Lord, was doing well for them. It was doing so well, in fact, that they would like me to think about writing a second book. They were interested in Declan, the dark and brooding commander from my first book. Not only that, they would also like me to think about a third book. I was flabbergasted. It never occurred to me that my editor would want another book, let alone a third. I have learned much since then. Always think in a series because you never know.

I went back to my research file and reviewed my piles of notes. I wanted to refamiliarize myself with my characters especially the charismatic and cynical Declan. One evening, I sat up in bed with my scribbled notes scattered before me. My husband stood in the doorway, gave me a knowing grin then disappeared down our long hallway to watch television. I looked down at what I had written and wondered, where do I begin? What kind of a man would Declan become after what he had lived and endured, what kind of a man would he be? I picked up my pad and began to write . . . because suddenly I knew.

A reader has asked me why I changed from writing a romance series about the faery faith of Ireland to writing a romance interstellar series? Good question. My answer is: I have only changed the location of my story as I will with all my new series. My interest and exploration of motivation behind human relationships remains unchanged, and as I find the sky as beautiful as our earth, I thought why not? A hero who is wounded or flawed and, who displays acts of courage is compelling to me whether he stands on a battle torn field, or the bridge of a burning ship. In truth, I wrote Darkscape: The Rebel Lord and Darkscape: Redemption before Predestined, Fey Born, and White Fells. The journey of Darkscape to your bookstores has not been an easy or direct path. Last year, I described the journey of Darkscape: The Rebel Lord. This year, I will delve into Redemption's path, but more on that next month.

This month, I thought I would take a look at star clusters. Perhaps, you will look at the sky differently next time.

Like human beings, stars are not formed in isolation but are created in togetherness. Have you ever gazed up at the Milky Way and noticed glowing bands of light in some areas and in other regions only darkness? Stars and other interstellar matter hang out together. Yes, it is true. They are not distributed evenly throughout the galaxy. I understand this is due to a variety of factors, perspective effects, galaxy rotation, gravity tugs, and other galactic reasoning that only the scientists can explain. There are two major types of star clusters. Open star clusters are loose and irregularly shaped. They provide the means for the birth of a huge percentage of our stars. Globular star clusters are giant spheres of stars lying in a barren region called the galactic halo. They are very large and formed around mostly yellow suns that are very old. Most globular clusters appear in the summer sky and are one of the joys of the summer night sky. So pull out your telescopes and look upward.

Stop by next month for the beginning of my six month countdown to Darkscape: Redemption.

May flowers are coming into bloom. It is the season of changeable weather and I often find myself staring up at the night sky. Since I am in the middle of my Darkscape series, I thought I would share with you tidbits of astronomy that I have learned during my research. If you are one of the lucky ones and have a telescope, preferably medium sized, you will like this one. Have you ever gazed upon the beautiful Veil Nebula? This nebula consists of eerily glowing gas that has been thrown off by an exploding star many thousands of years ago. It is located in the constellation Cygnus and looks like a veil of red and green reflections.

April has arrived and as promised, I posted the cover for Darkscape Redemption on the home page. It is always exciting to see an artist's interpretation of your story especially when done in such detail as depicting a hero's tattoos.

I am in the middle of spring cleanup so I will keep this month's update a bit short and wish you a happy spring.

Can you tell that I am a little excited? I can honestly say that I had a jaw dropping moment when I first saw it. Firstly, because I think it is awesome (being the author, I admit to being a little prejudiced) and secondly, because I was not expecting to see anything for a few months. In my humble opinion, the art department of my publisher turns out amazingly beautiful covers for all their authors, but I will let you decide on this one. I will be posting Redemption's cover on my home page next month, but for a sneak peek at Declan and Fallon, click on Redemption and let me know what you think. I also posted a new book description on the book page for Redemption.

I know many of us are going through some difficult economic times, my family included, and I want you to know that my thoughts and prayers are with you. I believe the future will get better as long as we continue to work for it. During times like these, I find myself reaching more often for a good book. Though I appreciate new technology, I remain an old fashioned girl at heart. I love curling up in my chair by the big picture window. There is a cup of steaming herbal tea on the side table, and a delicious new book in my hands. Sometimes taking a little time for yourself, can make a world of difference.