Why I Pushed Back Temptation's Release Date

I announced the other day that I was pushing back the release date for Temptation (Club X #1) from July 13 to August 3. Not a long time, but a change, nonetheless. I didn't tell anyone, not even my assistants, why other than I just needed the time.

Because I appreciate my readers, I wanted to post today why I pushed back the date. The truth is the book was complete. Cassian and Olivia had gotten their entire story told, complete with HEA. I was ready to send it to the formatter so it would be ready for the July 13th release date. My assistants were ready for me to send the snippets so they could make those fantastic teasers they create.

A little background information might be helpful at this point. I began writing Temptation months ago. I stopped in the middle of the book to write Ever After when readers asked for more Tristan and Nina, and then I returned to Temptation. When I got back into Cassian and Olivia's world, I found that I really missed and loved their story.

Around that same time, I experienced a few negative moments regarding my writing. I've never been a huge hit with certain reviewers, so it wasn't surprising. But with the advent of the kind of promo it takes to get the word out in today's publishing world when hundreds of books in the same genre seem to come out each week, those big pages not wanting to recognize my books made me wonder if I should change my writing.

Virtually every writer goes through a bout of self-doubt every once in a while. I didn't and don't doubt my ability to write, but what I was doubting was the kind of story I write.  The truth is that even though my Heart of Stone series is definitely erotic (and a little hotter than some contemporary romance readers like), there is a real story surrounding the sex. Also, the heroes I write are the kind of males I find appealing--good looking, sexy, smart men who truly adore women. They're usually broken in some way, but they're never crass or insulting to their heroines. I find heroes who treat female characters like shit unappealing, so I don't write them.

However, lately it seems those kinds of heroes and stories that have less plot but lots of sex have become quite popular. When I did what I thought was a final reread of Temptation, I realized that what I'd been seeing had affected the story I'd written, but not in a way I liked. You see, I'd written an erotic romance even hotter than Tristan and Nina, and that I loved, but somehow I'd left out much of those great non-romantic parts that make up my books. What I had was a book my subconscious wanted because that's what it believed would be most successful but it wasn't the kind of book I consciously wanted to publish.

After a battle of wills between those two parts of me, I decided I had to be true to myself and that meant going back into Temptation to include those non-romantic parts of the story that really fill out my books. So that's why I pushed back the release date to August 3. Those big promo sites likely still won't like it, but my readers will know that they got the best work from me and nothing less. And for fans who love my books because they get a full story around really hot sex, I promise you won't be disappointed.  ;)

K.M.