I’ve gotten this wonderfully accusatory message about Hugh’s book not being a book, etc, etc.
It is a book. It’s 2-3 to 3/4 done, not quite sure how long it will be yet. We were aiming for 90K, and then Gordon said, “You know, we’re self-publishing it.” So it might be longer. We still lurve it, we still plan to release it, but we have to give them Kate 10 before we do anything else with Hugh. We are contractually obligated to get Kate 10 out the door.
But you are not talking about it.
Nope, we’re not. We are contractually obligated to deliver Kate 10.
But can we see the cover?
Nope, not yet. But it’s coming.
But…
Kate 10. Contract. Signed on the line, gave our word, have to deliver.
What are you going to do next?
Finish Kate 10.
What about more Hidden Legacy?
We are not entering any contract negotiations until we complete Kate 10.
Is the answer to everything Kate 10?
Yep, pretty much. If you’re planning to go into this business, you have to be prepared for this sort of thing. Eventually, you’ll hit a point where there is a deadline and nothing outside of the deadline and that particular book exists on the professional level.
Waaah!
I know, right? Seriously, it hit me this year how restricting contracts are. Gordon and I are like, “We want to do this and this and this” and instead we have to do this, because we said we would. I’m toying with the idea of taking a year off from New York and just writing whatever we want. But we’ll see what happens. Most likely we’ll sign a contract with somebody. But just one.
Yikes, I’m sorry that happened! As much as I’m looking forward to the Hugh book, i can also wait. You guys have other priorities, but I also know you guys won’t leave the fans hanging indefinitely.
Ooh, ooh, OOH!
I just got it!
(Warning. Hidden Legacy Spoiler – sorta…)
You guys are Catalina.
And we want to love you to death…
Scary!
Oh wow kommiesmom! Way good one.
Is the New York contract Arabella (aka the Beast of Cologne) to rush Ilona and Gordon away?
Anyone else get a mental picture of Arabella pulling a King Kong on the New York City skyline?
Mind. Blown. You are so right.
Just write. Buy home. Sell home. Move. Then have me over so we can fill your greenhouse. 🙂
Oh so very excellent! I agree!
Much as I will enjoy the Hugh book, I am one of those clamoring for Kate 10 first. And more Hidden Legacy. And more Innkeeper Chronicles. And more Julie and Derek. And Andrea and Raphael. And . . . 🙂 But no pressure.
What she said.
I’m walking an imaginary picket line with a poster board that reads “My Fridays are sad” on one side and “Innkeeper needed” on the other. As I march I chant – What do we need? MORE In-Keeper! When do we need it? FRIDAYS!!!
But, then the negotiating team came back and explained that if the Author Lords take time out to give us Inn-Keeper they could miss a deadline and pay penalties and go out of business and then no stories or snippets for anyone.
I’m packing my signs up now a trudging home in a dejected manner..
-what do we what (i wisper)
-inn-keeper
-when do we want it?
– when the author lords have time.. :/ (heavy sigh and much sniffing back of tears)
Best comment ever!
LoL
Soooo funny!
Couldn’t have emphasised it better.
Authorlords…of course, buying & moving is your priority, and we understand. The whole process is painful ( me being an ex-banker and all..), but please do share a timeline when we can expect innkeeper..
bahahahaha
Nean,
I’m pretty sure a quart of ice cream will help you get over this momentary rejection. I’d say ice cream while re-reading any book from Ilona Andrews, but that may make it worse. Hang in there. The gap is closing.
I second that emotion.
…and more Julie and Derek! (Just thought it was worth listing them twice!!).
Same here!
I am looking forward to both. Some folk need to get a clue. Most of us appreciate what we can get.
Yep.
Amen!
You are the first writer”s” that I’ve actually waited on books for. I love love love all your books. It’s not just the story and content but also your writing style. So short or long, your stories are phenomenal. Unless they can write kick-ass books like yours, they shouldn’t be making waves with writers like y’all. Just my 2 cents.
That said, I’m praying that you’ll go back to the Hidden Legacy series at some point soon. Love the Kate Daniel series, Edge series and Innkeeper series but have to say, my favorite is the Hidden Legacy one. As long as it’s still on the table with something to look forward to, I’ll be happy. ?
Ditto
Love, love, love Hidden Legacy but Innkeeper is my very favorite. Well, that’s after Kate of course.
First off, you are the authors, it’s your story, characters and world. The End. We as readers are reading at your discretion and whim. What has come over people who think that they get a say in someone else’s creative process. Grow up people. The characters we love wouldn’t let this B.S. stand neither should the authors who write them. We have become an instant fastfood type society even when in comes to books. Craft a story authors and to hell with the rest, and anyone else’s opinion wants and needs except to your vision and characters.
The publishing industry changed with the wonderful kindle and self publishing is great, but follow your own vision, as they are your stories, your life and your work.
What she said. 🙂
Ditto!!
I work at the library where patrons are often cranky about having to wait for their favorite authors’s latest release.
I get looks of disbelief when I tell them of the Olden Days when two years between books was standard and no griping was allowed until at least five years had elapsed between books.
Of course, following up with tales of the Long Journey to the bookstore in the snow, uphill both ways with flour sacks tied to our bare feet with some old twine and a book bag woven from newspaper strips, may be overkill. ?
The Olden Days sucked big-time!!!!!
Well, I hope you both live long and productive lives. At this rate you can write a book for each series or side characters and never run out of books for us buy let alone all the new ideas you come up with. I think that is called job security!
Well that’s just rude. Still, at least you have evidence that teenagers read your books & that’s a tough crowd!
I love this… this is perfect.
No matter what, stand for what you believe in and stay with it wholeheartedly!
Being a fan and a lover of imagination and fantasy, I totally understand priorities. They come first, then other things.
*two thumbs up*
Adulting is so difficult, you know?! Tally Ho!
Really? SO rude!
Waiting for one of your books is like waiting for christmas –
and when it is published i have my feast 🙂
Lordy what you said!
So I have to ask…if no contract, would that mean you could self-publish Kate 11, 12, …20? Just sayin, we love Kate and company. I mean, how else will we get to see Conlan grow up??
Doubles on the Ditto; “What she said!”
Ilona and Gordon crack me up! Love ‘ya as authors and love ‘ya as peoples, lol.
Love your books, love your realistic blogs . But the Horde has to realize you have obligations to fulfill. Period.
And then you can do whatever you want Hugh, Innkeeper, something different. You can knit and read and move households.
I am happy when you are happy and relaxed and not under pressure.
So everyone be adults and just let it happen Thank you for your continued forbearance and patience.Be happy we will wait and buy whatever you create.
As long as you write, I don’t much care what you write. If you wrote a treatise on the existential pathos of long- versus short-haired hamsters, I would buy it and read it and most likely love it. Especially if they were were-hamsters. ???
How about ferrets and ferret badgers?
I would read that. 😀
Agree with Roswita.
I love everything you write, so to me it doesn’t matter what I get. One book a year is fine, this year it was two so feeling positively spoiled.
Have to also agree, you could write a diary of the colors of the sky and it would be awesome!!!
I’m still waiting to hear what happened to that little rock Ilona teased us with one time. 😛
Omg. Totally. I’ve hunted down all yr books so whatever you want to write, I’ll read. ??
Ok ok ok Kate 10.
(Sitting in the corner, with my thumb in my mouth)
Lol.
I will buy and read and re-read and re-read…everything you write and be happy doing it! Keep dreaming all those wonderful stories!
Yikes. Hang in there. We will too. Here’s to the opportunity to have better coordination between what you want to write, and what you have to write. I know you want to write both, or more projects that you have in mind, but like many of us, when we have a deadline, we can think of 142 things we would rather do than what is required to meet that deadline. Not to worry we will be here, ready to read whatever it is when it finally comes out. In the mean time, I will be buying some backlist that I originally read from the library. Because now I know for sure I will be reading them again.
I’m not sure why, but this post made me laugh so much.
Maybe cause it sounds like the conversations I have with 8 year old library patrons every day, when I have to explain to them 10 different ways that because the book is checked out, I can’t give it to them until it is returned….?
Your post made me laugh out loud, my daughter doesn’t understand why THE LIBRARY only has one copy of the book she wants and how dare someone else check it out when she wants it!! Kids are a riot!!
When I read the title of today’s post, I thought “either someone doesn’t know how to spell or been on Twitter too long”. Why is someone so mad about not getting Hugh before Kate 10? Who cares which book comes out first?
In all this craziness, please take care of yourselves (Ilona and Gordon). Your health and happiness are far more important than someone who’s mad about a goofy book.
I keep trying to understand an issue-.Are we readers sometimes too attached to our beloved characters?
I have seen my very favorite authors, even the authorlords, chastised for not meeting plot expectations of fans the past few months or so.
Demands for more/only Original couples. followed by demands for specific other couples. New couples. Kids. Smexy. Unsexy. One thriller character with fans upset he is now married and faithful.
Recently-saw fans call for straight series characters to become gay lovers. Fans unhappy plotting that resolved arc along with couple romance. . Calls for a different couple, or more original series couples less new characters. Seriously intense “requests” that are in different directions.
I feel puzzled about this. Is this usual? Seems hurtful? All top selling beloved authors.
Are fans upsetting if proprietary? Hostile? Overly in love with book characters?
Old folks like me with too much time to thing about goofy issues like This?
It does seem a bit intrusive in the writer’s creative space, doesn’t it?
Can we send Prayers, good vibes, little publishing company minion dolls and pins?
Sad the stressful stuff continues. Hugs.
Love everything you have written. Happy as a clam, regardless of what you are releasing next.
P.S. Ghastek needs to get some.
(Sorry, couldn’t resist. ?)
Yes, yes he does
He really does.
Oooh, yes!!!!
HAHAHAHAHA! Right?!
Soooo, Kate 10. Good, good. And a Hugh book. just fine. Annd there are other things that you want to write. Excellent. No fear of the well running dry any time soon, I hope? (rubbing my paws together) I forsee a long period of greedy, happy, immersion in your books. Way to go!
Go you! I support ALL your decisions!
xxxooo
would it be possible to earn as much self-publishing, instead of signing with a publisher?
Ilona Andrews books are the only books I automatically buy without reading the synopsis. I’m excited to read anything they write.
Good luck with Kate 10 and happy writing!
I’m kind of excited about. Hugh book, but it WAS originally an April Fool’s joke and.. you know…Kate 10
Waiting in great anticipation for next Hidden Legacy and for next Innkeeper, but do not want you guys to go up in a flaming column of Author burn out. Take your time. I may have no nails left and may have waded through a whole library of inferior literary works by the time you get to these projects, but I will survive. Just please don’t pull a Stephen Boyette and leave us totally hanging, never to write more books in what was obviously a story that was meant to continue. (Yeah I searched and waited years for that one)
Good luck with the house, maybe all the preliminary hoops are designed to streamline the money part!
Let me Clarify that I sent a message to Boyette and got a vet nice but firm reply about the aborted series and how his writing had taken a different direction. I was disappointed, but always respect a writers creative decisions. It IS their art after all 🙂
I ran into that with another author. I still wonder how it all might have ended. I have not the gift to write it myself.
Melanie Rawn’s Captal’s tower would be my first wish if I got ahold of the earring
I had plenty of supportive things I was going to say in response to this blog, but as I scrolled through the comments I could see everyone had already said it. So instead I’m giving a general shout out to the Ilona Andrews fan community, ’cause you’re all freaking awesome. High five/fist bump from Australia.
And yeah. Publish anything. We will buy and read and love it.
Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep – ditto to everything everyone is saying.
I will read ANYTHING + EVERYTHING you write FOREVER ❤
… including hairy were-hamsters, ferrets, roaks, little-red-riding-hood (loved your version ?) .. ?
rocks … not roaks … although 100% sure you could make roaks awesome – whatever roaks areally … hehehe
… my spellcheck is insane ?
I love that you have the pacience to turn all the whining you get from us into a constructive and valuable bit of information on the industry or craft
I hope Kate’s dog gets more story line in Kate 10.
Yay, Kate 10!
Thank you for the hysterical yet straightforward reminder that you all have priorities that don’t necessarily coincide with our priority that you write every book you ever thought of NOW so we can read them NOW! Still I would like to point out to you (as I do to my bad dogs) that your wanting to eat regularly is so selfish. But if you insist, we will try to see reason. Still chuckling over the post title.
And while I’m here, thank you for all of the wonderful hours listening and reading. I can’t thank you enough. Good luck on the new house venture. Can’t wait to hear about your moving in adventures!
I honestly don’t care what you write, I adore all of it, and I’m happy that anything new is coming. Thanks for your hard work.
So, how is Kate 10 going?
Kate 10! Kate 10! Kate 10! …and Kate 11, Kate 12, etc, etc! We love, love, love all of the characters from Kate, and if we are lucky enough to get more Hidden Legacy as well, that’s just a big bonus??
Completely off topic, but wondering if Curran changes in book 10 sense he consumed that divine creature. I believe it was a tiger. I got a sense that there will be more to come for him because he couldn’t really explain what made him consume it.
He also couldn’t directly answer Kate’s question with Derek and Julie in the car (makes me laugh every time since it’s up the reader on what Curran’s answer could be). I wonder if any of the divine creature was passed to Conlan since Curran ate it whole.
Kate got pregnant immediately – I figured it was the tiger or the flowers in her crown.
You guys are the best for even considering a Hugh book! I love what you write and will patiently wait for it, snatch it up and ignore my family in order to read it:)
Adulting is very hard and you are doing a great job:)
I believe a year outta New York would be a good experiment, keep an eye on your fan base levels here and in social media. Maybe commit to a small piece to keep foot in door. Maybe a thing for an anthology, and then kick ass with the self publishing. I think I enjoy 2 enthusiastic novellas over a great novel. You do not seem to make the mistake a lot of authors do. You do seem to practice extensive beta reading and professional editing, and it shows. My health has deteriorated to the point where I will be very lucky to see the final star wars trilogy (no big deal, have had a good long life and am enjoying finale and star wars is just ok, nothing can replace the awe of seeing the first one in theaters), so I look forward to a prolific year from you guys.
Joe
Best of wishes Joe … and life is good when we have good things to look forward to ❤
I love that you are so straightforward about this stuff. I follow a lot of authors and you guys are by far the most honest. I really appreciate it and your humor surrounding these situations! Do what you need to do – I think we are all excited for Kate 10 and whatever comes after!
I like that you blend self-publishing with traditional publishing. It gives you the opportunity to widen your character’s universes and generously provide more good reads for your ardent fans. I’m looking forward to some fun author-driven spin-offs.
BTW: My daughter was sickly through elementary school. She was on anti-biotics every other week for almost a year and it became very worrisome. The poor child just couldn’t get well. A friend recommended cow colostrum to rebuild her immune system. As strange as it sounded, we tried it – and it worked! It tasted nice and now 12 years later, my charming daughter has a strong immune system borrowed from a cow.
Have an uneventful move and get well soon!
Interesting! I’ve lived on a ‘cow farm’ for over 20 years and we always have spare cow colostrum in our freezer (for newborn calves) but I never heard of giving it to humans ?
I’ll pretty much wait any amount of time for any story from you! You are, by far, my favorite authors.
Heh…your posts always make me smile. I can wait for Hugh. I dont need to know anything right now. I love that your doing a book on him and thats good enough for me! I know its coming and hey I can accept Kate 10 before anything else. I am eager for Kate 10! I’m a patient reader. I dont mean any disrespect to other readers. I can wait and it will be worth it because I just know it will be great! If I know its coming then the small things dont matter. Book covers dont matter. The story line doesnt matter. If you release it AWESOME but I dont NEED it. I like being surprised. LOL. XO
While I love your other series, Kate is my very favorite, so this is all good news to me. Although I admit to being VERY curious about the Hugh book because I cannot figure out what you are going to do with him.
Hang in there, I’ve been working 70 hour weeks all summer and now I’m packing to move to a new apartment. I understand the need to get some breathing space and hope that November will all a little breathing space for me.
Take care and try to find time to enjoy life! 🙂
Whatever series I’m reading of yours is my current favourite. Currently love love love Hidden Legacy but the prospect of Kate 10 soonish makes my fickle heart beat faster.
I’ve been really confused about the whole thing – so thank you for clarifying. If I understand correctly, Kate 10 is the last book? Hugh’s book will be published some time in the future and will be self-published. Will it lie in the timeline after Kate 10?
Cheers in advance.
I am totally excited about anything you have coming down the pike! Thank you for all your hard work and your wonderful creative energy!!! I also love the handling of the complaint!
HI,
I know you are finishing kate 10 but I wanted to ask if after that you would be starting up the Innkeeper chronicles? I love Dina and can’t wait for her next adventure. Thanks!
Someone not wanting you to work on the book which is under contract? Is this person nuts? Does this person plan to pay your bills?
Not that many years ago, another one of my favorite authors attempted to write two books at the same time. Both were in the same universe, but set 40 years apart. Epic fail on book #2. Book #2 came out 1.5 years or so after it was originally schedule to be published. Lessoned learned for said author.
I am very willing to wait patiently for your tales.