So, three years after releasing my first book as in indie author, I am blown away to realize that between my two pen names, book number SEVENTEEN comes out in eleven days.
If anybody had told me back in June 2019 that I would have that many out by now, I’d have said they were crazy. Mainly because I just don’t write that fast, to be honest. I’m also not a ‘plotter’. I’m a discovery writer. What you’re reading when you pick up one of my books isn’t a carefully charted and measured out story (other than medical, legal or other research done to bring the story to life as realistically and authentically as possible).
It’s like a ‘movie’ literally plays in my head, and I just do my best to capture it in the best way I can, because I think you guys might like the ‘movie’ too.
And maybe that’s the biggest reason why I have seventeen titles combined between two pen names, rather than a single catalogue of books under D.F. Hart. Because what plays in my head isn’t always a crime thriller; sometimes, it is a contemporary romance story about second chances or reunited loves or even a ‘happy-after-ever’ that is accompanied by some crime thriller elements, i.e. romantic suspense.
I suppose I write the way I read – I read voraciously in multiple genres, so, the variety of ‘movies’ my brain comes up with for me to capture and share with you all really shouldn’t surprise me, I guess.
Having said all that – Way, WAY back when in 1989 when I first had the idea for Wall of Secrets, I would never, EVER have imagined that one story carried around in my brain for so long would wind up spawning a total of eight books called the Vital Secrets Series. My initial goal was to finally write the story set in post-WWII Berlin that I’d had in my head for twenty years, and call it good. But one thing lead to another…
And I guess I need to tell a bit more on myself with regard to the Vital Secrets books.
End of Secrets, the one that comes out in a little over a week, was intentionally titled the way it is. I planned on it being the final installment in the series. Nice stopping point, as it were. And now, I’m torn. Seriously. Nathan, Bella, Lizzie, and the rest of the folks in Vital Secrets are living, breathing people, family, to me and I don’t think I’d do well at all if I never got the chance to witness them evolve and grow anymore. The problem is that my brain, that constant movie machine, keeps playing me other stories too, ones that are driving me nuts and will continue to do so until they’re out of my head and on the pages.
In a nutshell – End of Secrets may not actually be a true ‘End’ of the series – just a brief sabbatical. How brief? Well, that depends…
For starters, ever since I wrote List of Secrets, I’ve wondered – what would a closer look at my character The Raven look like, exactly? Maybe tell his story, including where his intersects with the Vital Secrets books… And then there’s the romantic suspense stuff that keeps popping into my head.. My point is, the old memory bank gets a little crowded, and Raven in particular has been waiting patiently for a while for me to get my act together and tell his story.
So at this point, I’m switching gears to focus on the Raven’s Path Series– a four-book set that will follow his journey from start to finish… And yes, I’ve got surprises in store for you all with this series!
Timeline for Raven’s books? Well, I’ll be honest. As I said previously, I don’t write that quickly. But the plan is four books, roughly 50,000 words each. I’d like to get the first one out into the world by December 2023. We’ll just have to see.