Tentative Writing Order of Upcoming Books

Please note that this list may change. Also note that I write “play projects” around other things, and when a play project reaches a certain point, I insert it into the writing list for publication. As such, this list will change.

There are also a few projects that I deliberately did not list but are actively being worked on. They fall in the “play project” category, I have no idea when they’ll be done, so they were excluded from the list.

Here goes. I am listing the title, series, and author. If something isn’t on here, it’s either waiting for a later time or on the “play project” list. (Please don’t ask ‘But what about…’); if the book isn’t on here, there’s a reason it’s not on here. It could just be later in the lineup… or a play project. Please also don’t ask when. If it isn’t up for preorder, I’m not guaranteeing a timeline.

(Sorry, but thank you for not asking.)

If the book has a link, that means it’s available for preorder. (Links go to Amazon to make things easier on me.)

** indicates it is a series finale.

*** series finale unless previous books in series justify new storylines/arcs

• A Light in the Dark (Audrey Greene)
• Partner in Crime (Magic, Mayhem, and the Law in Precinct #153) (G.P. Robbins)
• Murder Floof (Bernadette Franklin)
• Booked for Theft (Vigilante Magical Librarians #3) (R.J. Blain)
• Prince of New York (Royal States #11) (Susan Copperfield)
• The Edge of Midnight (Wolf Hunt #3) (R.J. Blain) **
• Death Dance (Lowrance Vampires #3) (R.J. Blain) **
• Death’s Door (Fox Witch #3) **
• Dragon Her Heels (Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count) #23) (R.J. Blain)
• Stone Bound (Jesse Alexander #3) (R.J. Blain)
• Dual Nature (Nature of the Beast #2) (R.J. Blain) **
• Title Is A Sekrit (Magic, Mayhem, and the Law in Precinct #153) (G.P. Robbins)
• Grave Intentions (Grave Affairs #2) (Lilith Daniels) ***
• Achlys (Seeking the Zodiacs #2) (R.J. Blain)
• Rider of the Sun Horse (A Knights of Kelsh Novel) (R.J. Blain)
• Booked for ???? (Vigilante Magical Librarians #4) (R.J. Blain)
• New Waters (Royal States #12) (R.J. Blain)
• Rose Valley Murders (Same world as Life-Debt, etc) (R.J. Blain)
• Audrey Greene #3 (Title being withheld.)
• Herding Polecats (Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count) #24) (R.J. Blain)
• Title Withheld (Jesse Alexander #4) (R.J. Blain) **
• Next Agents of the Royal States Novel (Which one has not yet been determined) (Susan Coperfield)

So, that’s what you have to look forward to, with detours for play projects as I see fit.

Happy Reading. (See, no need for panic. Stuff is going to get done, it’s just getting spread out a little better for more sustainability.) And if you do read only one of my series, give something else a try! You might end up surprised / finding something you enjoy.

(Sticking to a single series does not mean your series is going to be prioritized, sorry. As we’ve seen with the Magical Romantic Comedy series… one series alone cannot keep this ship floating.)

And, as you can tell from the bolded entries, a lot of series are up for completion in this line up.

Regarding the Grave Affairs series: I planned for two books, I bought covers for two books, and while it will be set up where I could write one or two book mysteries into eternity, I am not adding more books to this pen name unless the finances say I can.

Here’s how the math works:

The Lilith Daniels books are longer; 120,000 is the minimum generally for these (Grave Affairs came in right around the 120k mark, and it had a fuckton of research required to write it.) As such, the books are almost always going to be priced $7.99.

At 10,000 copies sold at $7.99 a piece (on retail), the math looks a little like this:

$5.49 per copy sold (approx) at 10,000 copies equals $54,930. I lose 45% minimum to taxes. That’s $24,718 lost to taxes. $5,000 is my general editing and cover art expenses for books of this length. (That’s $29,718 for taxes and base expenses.) I typically invest $3,500 per book in advertising to give the book the best chance possible for success. That brings the total expense bill (Including taxes) up to $33,218. That leaves me with $21,712. Grave Affairs took me four months to write spread out over the year+ something I was working on it. So, that gives me $5,428 per month I spent working on the book!

This is on target for what I want when I’m working on a book. $5,400 a month for my work means I’m paying the bills, putting a little bit away, and paying my rent. This is the level of income stability I need / want for a project.

So, while I do tentatively have Grave Intentions on the list, the reality is, if Grave Affairs hasn’t gotten up to 10,000 sales, Grave Intentions may be pushed off to make the money work.

This is the sort of things I have to consider when I’m writing books.

And yes… I lose, at a minimum, 45% to my taxes the instant I earn a penny. This is due to my husband’s success in his career. (It’s complicated, just trust me when I say we’ve looked into our options and the one we’re pursuing is the best one for us at this point in time.)

And yes, as a general rule, 10,000 sales is the benchmark I use for if a book is successful, especially if it makes those 10,000 sales in the first 60 days of its lifespan.

Most of my books do not get 10,000 sales in the first 60 days of their lifespan.

Spoiler alert: none of my books, new release or otherwise, have earned 10k in sales this year. One book came close last year, which was Doggone Mess.

This is why the backlist is so important. (It makes up for the fact that my books simply do not sell enough copies for me to make a living wage off the brand new releases at release.)

And that’s okay. That’s what the backlist is for. Old books, on their own, aren’t all that much money day to day, but when combined, it’s a serious chunk of change.

To give you a better idea of the reality of my situation, most of my books sell around 5,000 copies in the first year of their lives.

And that’s okay.

But, Grave Affairs (as a series) needs to carry its weight before I consider buying more cover art and solving more mysteries with Kinsley and friends.

I hope the revamped list of books pleases you. Have a wonderful weekend!

~R.J.