The great comeback

What a crazy year it’s been for me.  It began last March, 2008 with the release of the first book in my Passion series, Discovery in Passion, a paranormal ghost story, and for the next eight months I was releasing a novel every other month. Three books in the Passion series wasn’t much of a problem having them come out every other month but when I submitted Seducing the Darkness, a vampire story, to my then editor, I had no idea what the next few months would be like for me. Originally a standalone book, everything was supposed to be wrapped up nice and pretty at the end of Seducing the Darkness with the ritual used to blot out the sun broken and the sunlight returning. Then my editor asked me if I would consider making it into a series. Instantly, my mind began to work. What if, instead of having the sun come back at the end of Seducing he Darkness, I prolong it and have the hero and heroine recruit people to help them bring back the sun. And so the Darkness series began. So for the next five months I was glued to my laptop, busy writing five novels, back to back, without a break, plus editing, promoting my Passion series. And like that wasn’t enough for me, I agreed to write three more Darkness books. My schedule was full well into 2009 with releases. While in this crazy schedule of writing, having a release every two months and promoting, my father suddenly passed away. I took two months off to grieve and help my mother cope and when I came back I had to get my butt in gear to get my books written and in by their deadlines. There were times I would be up all night writing, as well as writing during the day when I found time. I joked with friends and family that my life was surrounded by darkness. It truly was. I was engulfed in vampires and a city of darkness day and night for months. I even dreamt of darkness and blood and death. Then in December, my publisher, Linden Bay Romance, sold to Samhain and things were kind of thrown into a crazy sort of turmoil. I had four Darkness books set to release into June of 2009 and my schedule was shifted just a bit from its original release dates. And then….May, all the authors from Linden Bay were told they were discontinuing the line and the authors who they did not want to keep would get their rights back. At this time, I had submitted a standalone book, Until Death Do Us Part to another publisher, Absolute XPress. I went to them to ask if they would take on all thirteen of my books and re-release them. To my joy (at the time) they said yes. I won’t get into all the details but things didn’t work out and I ended up asking for my rights back a few months later and took my books to a new publisher, Breathless Press.You might ask, why is she telling us this and who is she? Well, that is the thing. Before the sale, before taking my books to AXP, I had a good following, I was building a fan base and my name was becoming popular. Seducing the Darkness was in the top five best selling Dark Fantasy Romance novels on Fictionwise for two weeks, at the same time as Stephanie Meyers, Twilight. What an achievement, I thought and I was so overjoyed.But when I slipped out of the public eye for three months, all my efforts to build a name for myself were swept out the door. I learned very quickly that in this industry, even a few months out of the loop and lead to disaster. Now, it seems I am starting all over again. I still have my followers and my fans but as for being known, I am, but not at the level I was before. There are always new authors coming in with new books and if the older more seasoned authors don’t keep up, they can be left in the dust. I am still brushing the dust away as I push my way back into the public eye. But the hectic schedule I had in 2008 is nothing compared to now. I thought releasing a book every two months was hard, but now I’m releasing every week. But I am a fighter, and I love a challenge and so I will continue this crazy schedule because I love to write, I love to tell a tale and I love having others read my work.Passion Series:Discovery in Passion: Nothing is ordinary in the small town of Passion, especially the love.Wanting to start fresh, Cassie Evans relocates to the small town of Passion where she moves into the home of her dreams, complete with dreamy next door neighbor, artist, and handyman Thomas Healy. The only problem is, the house she bought just might be haunted.Thomas Healy lives a life of solitude and that suits him just fine. Then Cassie Evans moves in next door and begins to turn his peaceful live upside down. He tries to ignore her, but ignoring a woman as beautiful as Cassie isn’t so easy, especially when she shows up at your door, naked, begging for you to paint her. Thomas’ first mistake was to agree to it, his second was to take Cassie to bed, now she’s all he can think about.

When their blossoming love is overshadowed by a ghostly haunting, the curious Cassie launches an investigation into the life and death of her home’s previous owner, uncovering a mystery and attracting the attention of a killer. Where will Cassie’s discovery lead her, to the love of her life or to death itself?
 Welcome to the town of Passion.Escape in Passion:Nothing is ordinary in the small town of Passion, especially the love.

Victor Davis is a man trying to escape the tragedy of his past. Several months ago, a bullet that was meant for him killed his girlfriend by mistake. Now struggling to move on, Victor’s taken over as the chief of police of Passion. Vic knows everyone in Passion, so naturally he can’t help but notice when beautiful stranger Julia Wilson moves into the small town.Mysterious and alluring, Julia came to Passion with one thing on her mind, avenging the death of her sister. Desperate to find the truth, and keeping her true identity a secret, Julia enters into an affair with the one man she thinks might be able to give her answers—Victor Davis.

Wild, rebellious, and perpetually in trouble, Justin Davis was labeled the town troublemaker and an embarrassment to his father, the chief of police in the small town of Passion. When Justin was framed for a crime he didn’t commit, he impulsively left the town he’d called home, vowing never to return.For six years Beth Healy pined after Justin, the boy next door who she’d come to think of as her friend, and had wanted for a lover. Now an officer of the law, Beth is shocked when her pursuit of a speeding car leads her to the one man she’s been longing to find—Justin Davis—and after all these years, he’s finally come home.

An outcast by her kind, Trinity Ford has learned to live on her own…not an easy thing to do when you’re a vampire.

Trinity was once a fragile girl. Being taken by a powerful vampire prince changed her. Discovering him in the arms of another woman changed destiny. Alone, she’s learned fast how to be tough, how to survive, and how to protect the people in her city from the evil that lurks in the dark. She was managing just fine, until Basil walked back into her life.

Basil Hawthorn has been the reigning prince of vampires since banishing his father to the Realm of Dark Mystics decades earlier. When a prophetic dream makes him realize Trinity’s life is at risk, he decides the only way to save her is to push her away. Doing so is not easy. Trinity is the only woman he has ever loved, ever will love, and he can’t seem to let her go.

When rumors arise of a plan to raise the King and blot out the sun, both Trinity and Basil know they must do everything to stop it. Even if it means working together. Despite the betrayal and the threat, they find themselves drawn to each other. Love has no boundaries, especially in the face of danger. But will they be able to stop the ritual before it’s too late?

Or will the darkness capture them both?

The Passion series as well as the Darkness series available at: www.breathlesspress.com

Until Death Do Us Part available at: http://www.absolute-x-press.com/catalog/index.php?manufacturers_id=28&osCsid=142a0126116f89864695e562a1ca3e44

Shiela Stewarts Website: www.shielasbooks.ca