by Stephanie Casher on May 11, 2012
Any artist will tell you that true inspiration seldom takes a linear or predictable path. We have no control over when the muse strikes us, or where she may take us once we engage the creative process. Sometimes you end up in surprising places.
My experience writing my first two (and soon to be three) novels has been one of these detour-ridden adventures — taking me to all sorts of unexpected places. For example, most people don’t know that I wrote SOUL MATES, the sequel to WHEN LOVE ISN’T ENOUGH first. I completed SOUL MATES in 2006, and shopped it around to agents and editors for several years. In the original version of SOUL MATES, the story that unfolds in WHEN LOVE takes place in three chapters worth of flashbacks. I was treating that whole Samantha/Tony/Angela saga as backstory, lol.
When I started shopping my manuscript around, I also started attending writer’s conferences and learning more and more about the craft of writing and how to develop a novel. You know, all the standard Writing 101 stuff about plotting and pacing and character development. In this process of becoming a better writer, I decided SOUL MATES needed a polish. When I went back in for this second major revision, I realized that I had just breezed through Tony and Samantha’s story, and not given it proper treatment. To remedy this problem, I decided to write a prequel to SOUL MATES, the novel that eventually became WHEN LOVE ISN’T ENOUGH.
There was one major lesson I learned from that process — never write novels in a series out of order! Man. Once I started working on WHEN LOVE, the story took off in ways I never imagined, which was awesome. But all these twists, turns and tangents now required me to go back in for a third major revision of SOUL MATES, to make sure all the threads were connected. For example, in the original iteration of Samantha and Tony’s love story, there was no Damion character. And those of you who’ve read WHEN LOVE know what a major player he is, so of course I need to go and write him into the sequel. Seamlessly. It’s a lot harder than it sounds.
So what I’m about to confess next is going to disappoint a number of you… The release of SOUL MATES is still a ways out. I’m afraid I’ve done it again, fallen prey to my muse and been taken off on another creative detour. I was working very hard on this final SOUL MATES revision, and making very good progress, when James made a comment that nagged at me. He noted that the elapsed time between the end of WHEN LOVE and the beginning of SOUL MATES is ten years.
“That’s kind of a long break, don’t you think? Aren’t you leaving a lot of stuff out?”
And he was right. Damn it.
So what I’ve been doing the last few months is working on a new novel, my third novel, the true sequel to WHEN LOVE ISN’T ENOUGH. It is tentatively titled, THE SPACE BETWEEN, and tells Samantha and Damion’s love story. I’m about a third of the way through, and I’m pretty confident that you guys will feel it was worth the wait. 
And then, after I go back in for yet another revision (seriously, who knows where this new novel will take my characters, lol), I will release the long-awaited SOUL MATES to round out what has now officially become a trilogy. Sound like a plan?
I have been so touched and humbled by all the folks who have written to me, wondering when SOUL MATES will be available. I just love that folks are so invested in my characters, and I’m working as fast as I can to get you the next installment, I promise. I’ve officially taken an editing sabbatical and a TPC hiatus and am dedicating this entire year to WRITING. And before the year is out, you will have the next (and possibly final) piece of this love story for your reading enjoyment. In the meantime, I thank you all for your patience, support, and motivation. Knowing there are anxious fans and readers out there really keeps me going. So stay tuned – I promise it will be worth the wait!
by Stephanie Casher on March 6, 2012
Happy 2012 people! I know I’m about two months late for new years salutations, but I’m pretty much two months late on everything these days, so better late than never, right? 
I don’t know about you, but 2011 was one of those ‘blink and you missed it’ kinda years for me. It passed in a blur, with the usual flurry of activity. TPC was incredibly productive in 2011 — we published two more books, A HARD MAN IS GOOD TO FIND by James W. Lewis and ONE BLOOD by Qwantu Amaru, and achieved the uber-impressive milestone of selling over 10,000 copies of our books! (click here for the official press release) It’s a source of great pride that our little company could grow into such a thriving, legit enterprise, and I tip my hat to my partners for providing the much needed fuel to launch us into the stratosphere (seeing as how I ran out of gas somewhere around September). What can I say, it takes a village!
I also scored a major promotion at my day job as 2011 drew to a close. At the beginning of January, I started a wonderful new job at UCSC, which launched me several steps up the professional ladder. So far it has been awesome–my new boss and co-workers are great, and for the first time in a while I find myself sufficiently challenged and excited to come to work. Granted I am now SUPER busy since I need to achieve mastery of a complicated new position in the middle of an academic year, but I’m happy to report that so far, its going really well. And being liberated from the toxic situation that was my “old” job has shifted my energy in wonderful ways. Onward and upward, and steeped in gratitude for this amazing opportunity.
My circle of sister friends also expanded in beautiful ways in 2011. Through an African-American Women’s Group here in Santa Cruz (yes, there are enough of us to form a group, lol), I made the acquaintance of some solid women, who have been a wonderful support system. (Superwomen, Unite!) I also have standing dates with some of my favorite girls, and look forward to them each and every week/month. Spending ample time with women has been the key to bringing my life back into balance, and I plan to continue this trend in 2012.
Health is also a priority in 2012. The stress of 2011 did a number on my health, and this is another area that desperately needs to be brought back into balance. I’ve been seeing an acupuncturist weekly since July and am SOLD on the powers of Chinese medicine. I have seen amazing results and feel so blessed to have access to so many wonderful alternative health care professionals here in Santa Cruz. We only get one life, and I want this one to last as long as possible!
Now that we’re in the 3rd month of the new year, I’m definitely seeing some themes emerge… Change is big, not only in my personal life, but in the world at large. Rather than entertain doomsday predictions about the end of the world, I tend to view the coming waves of change with a hint of optimism. I choose to believe that whatever gets broken down probably needs to be taken apart so that something BETTER can be built in its place. I encourage each and every one of you to approach the coming year in similar spirit. :)
Best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous New Year!
by Stephanie Casher on February 14, 2012
Dear Fans,
My foray into the publishing world (in dual roles as an author and publisher) has been quite the whirlwind. I wear many hats (on top of holding down a very demanding day job), and the past year has been quite challenging as I struggled to keep all those balls in the air. But the one consistently bright spot in all these long days and even longer nights is the wonderful response I’ve been receiving in regard to my debut novel, WHEN LOVE ISN’T ENOUGH.
We’re now up to 50 reviews on amazon, most of them 5-star. I get all warm and fuzzy inside whenever I read one, tickled at how engaged folks are getting with my characters, and how moved/provoked they are by my story. I’ve also received a steady stream of emails from fans, wanting to share their thoughts and impressions.
Each and every piece of positive feedback I receive sincerely makes my day, and I cannot express my appreciation to each and every person who took the time to purchase and read my book, and then take that extra step to let me know what you think. I don’t do any of this for money or fame… I do it for the feeling I get when I read your wonderful reviews and notes. It truly means the world for me.
I know many of you are anxiously awaiting the release of SOUL MATES, the sequel to WHEN LOVE ISN’T ENOUGH. The release date for SOUL MATES had to be pushed back to accommodate some other projects (primarily, the release of ONE BLOOD by Qwantu Amaru, the fourth offering from TPC Books). It is my goal to have the book available for purchase and download in Summer 2012. If you would like be notified when SOUL MATES is available, just drop me a line at author@stephaniecasher.com and I’ll make sure you’re among the first to know when we go to press.
Thanks again for all your patience and overwhelming support. You guys are the best! Wishing everyone a blessed new year full of love and laughter.
Stephanie
by Stephanie Casher on December 15, 2011
I came across an article recently on Entrepreneurial Fatigue. I’d never heard the term before, but it is as familiar to me as my last name. It is the result of wearing too many hats, having too much to do, and not getting nearly enough sleep. Any entrepreneur can tell you that it takes a whole lot of work to run a successful business. Add on a full-time job, a time-consuming but profitable freelance editing side hustle, a certificate program, and the promotional demands of being a published author, and it’s easy to see why I’m only averaging five hours of sleep a night.
It’s a Catch-22 — when you’re really good at something, your skills are in demand. And as any hard-working, female, head of the household will tell you, irrespective of capacity, when something needs to be done, you roll up your sleeves and do it. Even though you are exhausted, spent, and depleted. Even though you don’t want to. Even though your labor often goes unnoticed and unappreciated.
My closest friends frequently tell me I’m doing too much, and that I need to throttle back. They advise me to delegate out, or let my business partners pick up some of the slack. I wish those were realistic options, but the reality is – the company can’t yet afford to outsource critical functions, and of the three partners, I’m the one with the most diverse skill set. Not to mention how ridiculous it is to pay someone xxx amount of dollars to do something I could have done 8 times better for half the price. So where does this leave me? Signing off on substandard work done by others, or barreling toward burnout.
It shouldn’t surprise you that my Superwoman self more often than not chooses the path that leads to burnout.
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