I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions. But I do like to look back on where I’ve been as a way to frame where I’m going.
Where I’ve Been
2022 was a funny old year. I had some expectations for it: that I’d publish another Daddy P.I. book, that I’d finish the Teddy’s Boys series, that I’d have more face-to-face social interaction as the country emerged from COVID lockdowns. Some of those expectations flopped: my first big face-to-face social interaction of 2022 ended with me getting COVID and spending six weeks recovering. Some of them were fulfilled (I published Max’s Bumble and Quaternion, two books of which I’m tremendously proud). Some of them took a zig and a zag but ended up being more satisfying than I could have imagined (my second big face-to-face social interaction, the Books on the Beach signing, was fabulous and convinced me to join signing events in 2023 and 2024).
Because I love numbers, here are some numbers for 2022:
Words written: 415, 447
Novels published: 4
Gabe’s Girl: 105,418
Max’s Bumble: 134,442
Quaternion: 132,830
Capricorn: 51,837
Novellas/shorts published: 3
Curvy Space Girls Need Love, Too: 19,377
Warrin With An I: 5,180
Under the Golden Moon: 16,955
These numbers do not add up, EJ! I hear you saying. True. That’s because some of the words I published in 2022 were written in 2021 (a good chunk of Gabe’s Girl and most of Max’s Bumble, which took me almost a year to write), and because I started a Patreon in 2022 where I’ve been posting short stories that now exceed 50k, which will be collected and released in 2023.
Where I’m Going
I don’t have any plans to slack off in 2023, so this is what’s on the planner:
Blunts Tales Vol. 1: this is the first collection of the steamy short stories I’ve been posting on my Patreon. They feature the house submissives of Blunts, the kinky club in the Daddy P.I. series.
Daddy P.I. 3.0: after the two spin-off books (Max’s Bumble and Missing Ink), it’s time to finish the trilogy. This is the last planned book featuring Logan and Emily, although they will certainly appear in future stories set in and around Blunts. Yes, there will be a baby. At least one …
Seismic Daddy: this is a short that will appear in the spring Dirty Daddies anthology. I’m already ridiculously invested in the characters, though, so they may have to join the Daddy P.I. world at some point.
A Little Summer Sizzle: a character from Daddy P.I. 3.0 will head off to the fabulous Rawhide Ranch to help rehabilitate a daddy who is in serious need of TLC.
Blunts Tales Vol. 2: the second collection of the steamy short stories I’ve been posting on my Patreon, this collection is focused on mischief and mayhem at the club and will feature appearances from a new character in Daddy P.I. 3.0. The clues in the stories will lead readers to a hidden story from the Daddy P.I. world. I really love the idea of sprinkling clues over time for readers to find, so I’m planning to work a related mystery into the physical newsletters I send out (the Emily’s Desk tier+ on my Patreon).
Daddy P.I.: The Second Collection: a box set of Max’s Bumble, Missing Ink, Daddy P.I. 3.0, and two short stories, Something Little This Way Comes, and Have Yourself A Primal Little Christmas, which are only available through my Patreon currently.
The Bad Boys of Bevington College: Arcana Primus: a box set of Teddy’s Boys, Gabe’s Girl, and Quaternion for readers who like to have all the books in one place. I’m planning for the box set to be my first adventure into hardback books; there will be special covers. And, of course, what would one of my box sets be without a bonus novella? There’s several years between Quaternion and Capricorn where Teddy and her boys might have had a few adventures …
Ulune’s Daughter: the next book in the Bad Boys of Bevington College series. It’s set after Capricorn (that is, seven years after Quaternion) and features Kellan, an Air-mage and magickal archeologist, and the three boys who claim their naughty professor and won’t let her go . . . no matter what. Ulune’s Daughter is inspired by my obsession with treasure-hunting shows like The Curse of Oak Island. As with the other Bevington College books, Ulune’s Daughter promises to be a little darker than my other books in both the situations the characters face and the kinks explored. I’ll be emphasising the content warnings on this one. As there’s a lot to this adventure (my plot outline is already over 5k), it may end up becoming a duet.
Fate and the God of High Steel: this is a spin-off from the Bevington College series and part of the Defying the Gods shared world series, featuring Trippy, a Fate with a very little side, and Joe, the God of High Steel. Trippy and Joe have cameos in Gabe’s Girl (although Trippy’s sister, Klotho, has a big role in Teddy’s story). I really wanted to explore their characters more but just didn’t have the space in Teddy’s books, so I’m seizing this chance. I anticipate Trippy and Joe will have cameos in Ulune’s Daughter, but I’m keeping my schedule flexible to avoid painting myself into another spoiler corner the way I did with Quaternion and Capricorn, so this may be their origin story instead of a later adventure. How does a Fate find a mate? Sometimes, they have to make one …
Omega Reclaimed: realistically, this may lap over into 2024, but I really want to get Kieran and Morgan’s first book out in 2023. Their origin story is “Under the Golden Moon,” in the Ruled by the Alpha anthology. Writing just the origin story broke my heart. I know their full story is going to wreck me. A fitting end to 2023, maybe.
What about De Leon, Jou and Tsara, and where are all these scifi-romances I keep teasing readers with? They’re definitely coming. So many words, so little time …
E J Frost 