Hello out there! I hope you’re enjoying your Thursday so far. Today we are very excited to have Jocelynn Drake author of the Dark Days series here to tell us about some of the lessons she has learned since becoming a published author. 

I’ve been a “professional writer” (defined here as having a paid contract with a publishing house) for approximately four years, and by many accounts I am still a newbie, a little wet behind my ears as I stumbled over various learning blocks in my path. I have had six books and one novella published, while being contracted for three more short stories and two books in a new series. At first glance, I struggle to believe that the “newbie” title still fits, but I’m still learning many things about the publishing industry and about writing, in general. One of the hardest things to learn was how to properly end a series.

In this guest blog, I would like to give you a peek into my writing world and expound upon some of the lessons I learned after I finished writing the final book of the Dark Days series, Burn the Night.

1. Body Count

Keep track of the bodies. Mira and the naturi that she fought blazed through characters like they were reaping ripened wheat in a field. They sawed down countless secondary characters and nameless characters that were only there to splash blood across the scene. But you have to keep track of the bodies. As one reviewer pointed out, a supposedly dead body goes missing in the first book (Nightwalker) but I didn’t get the chance to tie up that thread by the end of the final book. That body had been part of a tiny plotline that I never got to pursue due to changes in the major plotlines and just a general lack of time. By the time I had gotten to the final book, both myself and my editor had forgotten about the missing body. Sigh. And I really liked this body.

(If you’d like to know which body I’m talking about in particular, see this interview)

So, now I’m hoping to check back in on the Dark Days series with another short story (following the one to be released this fall) to help tie up the confusion surrounding the case of the missing body. The great thing about a series is its fantastic cast of characters. The bad thing is trying to keep up with all those characters.

2. Plots are like cockroaches

Plots are like cockroaches; shine a light on them and they scatter. When I started writing the Dark Days series, I had very specific goals in mind for my characters. They were certain things they needed to suffer through, accomplish, and discover. It wasn’t only the accomplishment of set goals, but also a defined growth in their personalities.

However, I quickly learned as I was working on the series that best laid plans do not always go how we want them. I had to learn to be flexible as characters made unexpected choices or turned out to be something other than I originally imagined. The closer I would look at a specific plot, the more it would shift and squirm before my eyes, transforming into something even better than I originally imagined. When it comes to long-term plotting, learn to be flexible and magic will pour from your fingertips. But be aware of those changes or you may have unexpected problems (see Lesson #1)

3. Love worth waiting for

The one thing that did not change from my plan at all was the progression of Mira and Danaus’s relationship. Over the years, I had read a number of paranormal romance novels where the two main characters start out as enemies and by the two-thirds mark, they are in bed together. Now, don’t mistake me, I love these books. This particular storyline is one of my all-time favorites. But as I looked at Mira and Danaus, I knew drawing them together was not something that could be accomplished in just one book and I didn’t want to do it in just one book. I wanted to sprinkle the first few books with those precious moments where one character unexpectedly unbent just a little bit and you saw them inching closer together. I think those precious moments, while somewhat frustrating, really stood out because they were so few. I wanted that slow burn. I wanted you to see each brick being laid as they built up their trust for one another. I wanted you to see them learning to trust and rely on one another. I wanted you to see them slowly exposing their vulnerable side while the other protected them.

With Danaus and Mira, I wanted to create a deep love that was not only worth waiting for, but one that would last through the eternity that stretched before them. If the stubborn Danaus could learn to love his most hated enemy, then I think there is hope for the rest of us. And Mira would contend that Danaus was definitely worth waiting for.

In the acknowledgements of Nightwalker, the first book in the Dark Days series, I thank all the people that have touched my life, as those fleeting moments have had an impact on my writing. Now that the Dark Days series is coming to a close, I want to go back and once again thank everyone. Thank you to all the readers out there who took a chance on yet another vampire novel. Thanks for taking a chance on a new author. Thanks for letting me take you on a roller-coaster ride through my imagination. Thank you for opening your hearts to Mira and Danaus and Tristan and Knox and Lily and Barrett and Valerio and so many others. Thank you for your emails, notes, letters, and quick conversations at signings and conventions. I dreamed of spending my life telling stories. I never dared to dream that I would have the chance to share my stories with the world. Thank you for giving me that chance and letting me live a dream bigger than I ever dared.

While Mira & Co. are officially done, I have not closed the door on their world. I don’t know if I will ever have another chance to visit them, but they will always be in my heart and mind.

Burn the Night, the sixth and final book in the Dark Days series will be released on June 28, click here to go to Amazon.

The Dark Days series:

Book#1: Nightwalker

Book#2: Dayhunter

Book#3: Dawnbreaker

Book#4: Pray for Dawn

Book#5: Wait for Dusk

Book#6: Burn the Night

Website: http://www.jocelynndrake.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jocelynn.drake

Live Journal: http://jocelynndrake.livejournal.com/

Blogger: http://jocelynndrake.blogspot.com/