Howdy!

October got here in a hurry, or so it seems. Maybe it's just true for me, but I'm pretty sure some of you were surprised when record heat that continued in September gave way to Halloween season.

I had my best month in September in terms of book success. Really, it should be "I had my best month ever because of 'Plague of Coins'!" Word of mouth continues to push it up the Kindle charts—which I am supremely grateful for. Let me stop here to offer a hearty 'Thank you!' to all who have had a hand in the book's success!

"Plague of Coins" managed to nudge all the way up to an overall rank of #727. The book is bouncing back and forth between 800 and 1300 at the time of this writing, and seems to have found a home among some pretty big heavy hitters in the Action/Adventure category. I am beyond thrilled, and have been wearing a pretty big smile these days….

Of course, success with some books often means just the opposite for others. As a result, I've had to make some painful decisions regarding one of my favorite book series. The "Dying of the Dark" series has steadily waned in popularity since April. The latest book in the series, "The Vampires' Birthright", has struggled to catch fire despite some very favorable reader reviews. After "Blood Princesses of the Vampires" is finished in December, I've decided to give my vampire series a year off. No, this is not the end…just an extended vacation until mid-2013 when book #4 will come out. Truthfully, this series will remain active for many years to come. I had already planned to write twelve installments that span ten to fifteen years in the life of Txema Ybarra. Now, it looks like it might take that long to actually write the books! But at least it gives my vampire readers and I something to look forward to in the future.

While we're on the subject of series lengths, the Judas Chronicles will span nine installments. If it plays out as I hope, William Barrow won't finish his coin collection until the end of 2018. The Talisman Chronicles (of which the third book is slated for next year) spans only five books with a possible prequel dealing with angels and an ancient world before the dawn of man. However, that series could very well last another ten years before the final two installments are completed. I wrote the first book nearly eight years ago, and the second installment was completed five years ago. So, really it's not that unusual of a pace for this series. "Hurakan's Chalice" is the next book and will be released next summer. It will be fairly current with where we are right now. However, The last two books' storylines will take place well into the future—sometime in the 2020 to 2040 time frame, when the earth's changes are fully upon us.

Needless to say, the timeline of books to be released next year has been altered a bit. "Reign of Coins" should be released by early March, followed by "The Ungrateful Dead" in May. At the beginning of August 2012, "Hurakan's Chalice" should be ready for release (for everyone waiting on the third installment of The Talisman Chronicles). I mentioned last month that this one will be written from Jack Kenney's first person perspective.

The third Cades Cove novel is slated for next year's Halloween season, and I am hoping to round out 2012 with the third Judas Chronicle, tentatively entitled "Destiny of Coins". As for the new series that involves hoodoo magic and such, it likely won't get started until early 2013. I'm planning one other brand new unique and fun paranormal series to begin in 2013 as well.

Well, that brings us up to date on my ever-changing book plans. Hopefully, this will stay static for a month or two. If so, I'm hoping to share a short ghost story next time. (Yeah, I know…post Halloween).

Until next time, enjoy a ghoulishly delightful (and safe) 'Trick or Treat' season!

Aiden