Announcement: REMOVED, Book ONE of the Nogiku Series, Coming September 2013

I've kept this news off the blog, Twitter, and Facebook, but now is the time to make my announcement. I decided in June to take my books back from my agent and navigate the world of publishing by myself for the time being. Yes, I'm self-publishing! Which won't come as a shock to many of you, I'm sure. It was a hard decision to make. This book, REMOVED, was on submission as a Young Adult novel, and I just wasn't getting the kind of feedback I was looking for. A lot of editors said they loved it, but it wasn't the right book for them or it competed with other authors they already represented. It was frustrating to hear from my 30+ beta readers, my agent, and some editors that the book was great, but it couldn't find a place. Maybe if I had stuck out the submissions process for another few years an indie press would pick it up? Maybe…

I had an idea. What if I'm the indie press? Sure, I don't have the far-reaching contacts or budget, but I know I'll find my readers somehow. I don't want this series to die. None of my beta readers want to see it die either, so I'm charging forth.

When I took the book back, I made another big decision. I aged it up out of Young Adult and into the New Adult genre. Now, my main character, Sanaa, is 20 and all of her peers are in their 20s. They're struggling with love and marriage, responsibility, honor and loyalty, doubts and anxiety due to their circumstances. These novels make more sense to me now! And I'm proud to be bringing them to you all. Each of the four novels in the series will be published every 4-6 months. I will not make you wait years to see the outcome. You're welcome.

Duty knows no family. Love has no price. Secrets can cost you everything.

Twenty-year-old Sanaa Griffin, a sweet and smart half-Japanese girl, is about to get more than she bargained for when she wishes for love and excitement on New Year’s Eve 3103. Mark Sakai, who knows more about her than any stranger should, thinks Sanaa is the perfect person to spy on the heads of the three biggest Japanese clan leaders in Nishikyō. He wants her to gather enough evidence to keep them from going to war when they land on Earth’s colonization planet, Yūsei. Nishikyō, built by the Japanese 300 years ago to house the rest of mankind, is failing and everyone is preparing to leave.

Sakai has known Sanaa’s family all her life but she knows nothing of him! And despite all the time they spend together, he keeps his distance from her. Then one day, he brings her to Jiro, his nephew, to learn sword fighting, and it changes her life irrevocably. Between falling in love with Jiro and the information she is gathering on the clans, Sanaa realizes Sakai is holding back secrets about her family and her deceased parents, secrets as to why she was chosen for this job, and learning the truth puts her and all of Nishikyō in danger.

COMING SEPTEMBER 2013 to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. ETA: Paperbacks will be offered through Amazon/Createspace!

For news updates, please either keep an eye here on my blog or follow me on Twitter @spajonas. For news updates about the Nogiku Series ONLY, please follow @NogikuSeries. The NogikuSeries Twitter will give updates about publishing dates, sales, reviews, and relevant blog posts. You can also use the Newsletter Signup (located at the bottom of every page of the website) if you prefer to get your news by email. ETA: Forgot about my Facebook author page! Like me there!

As soon as the book is published (I'm shooting for September 16th but the day may fluctuate depending on Amazon/BN/Kobo approval), I'll be able to create a Goodreads author account and make it available on Goodreads for queuing and reviews! I'll let you know.

And in the next blog post, I'll write about my editing process for getting these books ready for actual readers.