2020.

Well, at least it’s over, right Pack Mates?

For some, this year was devastating. Many of you may have gotten sick, lost work, or worst of all, lost someone you loved due to this terrible pandemic. As we move into 2021, the usual reflection on the previous year comes into our collective minds and we try to find some meaning in what happened during our previous revolution around the sun. I try to be an optimist, but this year definitely challenged that for me as well. There is hope in rebirth, in the turning of the calendar and the clocks. The sun is coming out sooner again. Winter will melt into spring. Life goes on. But there is no doubt that even as 2020 comes to a close, we still have a lot of challenges to overcome in the year ahead.

I won’t linger on the sad things that happened this year. Like many of you, Pack Mates, I lost my full time job back in March. I’m back to substitute teaching again, and while I am grateful to have a long term position at the moment, I worry about what happens when that teacher decides to return to their position once again. There’s a lot of uncertainty, but I also have a lot of hope thanks to the accomplishments that came out of 2020.

For one, the audio book releases of my series have been absolutely incredible. I never would have imagined how well they would come together thanks to my incredible, talented narrator Torian Brackett. On top of that, the covers got a new look. I was planning on rebranding and updating the covers for the fifth anniversary of Tainted Moonlight, which is this October, but with the audio book’s release it seemed like the time was right. My usual budget for conventions was used to invest not only in Torian’s amazing voice recordings, but in a fresh look where I could finally share my vision of Korban and Sophie with all of you. Thanks to reconnecting with my former teacher and professional illustrator, Jonathan Hunt, I was able to commission a new look for the covers, which will be used moving forward into the fourth book.

Which brings me to the elephant in the room… book four, Awakened Moonlight. Those of you who bought the 2019 edition of Infected Moonlight may be wondering why it wasn’t released in 2020. With all the chaos going on in the world, I wasn’t able to finish the manuscript in time. I apologize immensely for the delay. Like most things, it has been pushed into 2021. I am hoping to have the new release in print by April 2021, but I’ll let you know if that changes. I want to make sure that this story is complete, edited, and has its brand new cover before it is released. I have been hard at work on this story and I can’t wait to share it with all of you. I promise the story will be worth the wait.

Especially because I am also working on a prequel, that will be released in serial format, prior to the release of Awakened Moonlight. This is an experimental story format for me, but I think the prequel will work great in this format. It’ll be exclusively available on Kindle for its initial release, though I think if it does well I’ll offer it as a print publication in the future. I’ll be giving you more tidbits on that in the very near future, so look forward to that! The prequel will focus on what happened the night Korban was attacked, and be told through different character’s POVs, including some insight from some characters we haven’t seen much of before. I won’t spoil too much, but I have a feeling you will really like it Pack Mates.

Anyway, as this year comes to a close and we move into 2021, I look forward to the new release, and the new beginnings ahead for the world. May you be safe and always spread kindness, even during these turbulent times. I’m here if you need me, Pack Mates.

Until next time, see you around! More to come soon.

~ Erin Kelly