Official Cover Reveal: Black Dog Blues by Rhys Ford

State of the Rhys

So damn, we’re reaching the end of the year and I swear to God, I feel like I haven’t even started doing what I’ve needed to do. But here we are, looking at what’s coming up in the next year and well, I’m all…hell, is there enough time in the year?

So let’s start with… Releases and Cover Reveals!

Down and Dirty

On Jan 2, Dreamspinner Press will release Down and Dirty, a contemporary set in the Cole McGinnis series. This book focuses on Bobby Dawson, Cole’s best friend, and Ichiro Tokugawa, Cole’s half-brother. I’d have to say the hardest thing about writing this book was not killing people. I didn’t realize how damned hard it was not to have a murder along the way. Not even a small one. It’s all about people! Relationships! Now I know why I’m so sketchy on my own relationships. Talking and developing those connections are damned hard work. Death’s easy. Love’s a bitch and a half.

Black Dog Blues

Next on the release list is actually a re-release! After many months of being off in the ether, Black Dog Blues returns to pixel and print on February 3rd under Dreamspinner Press’ new imprint, DSPP (DSP Publications). There’s a bit of history with Black Dog Blues for me. I released it as a self-pub about a year? And a half? Ago. Sometime back there. Why a self-pub? Because the book is an urban fantasy, not a male-male romance. There are romantic elements in it, but its bones and flesh are firmly in the urban fantasy bucket.

When I wrote Black Dog Blues, I was in an odd mental space afterwards. Mostly because a few people read it and said, “You should quit writing because really, this sucks.”

Kick to the teeth and soul kind of thing there, no? There’s something that dies inside of a person when they’re told things like that. Or at least, in me. It hurt and I pulled back to sort of scribble away at things on my own before venturing out again.

Dirty Kiss was that first venture. Followed by Sinner’s Gin but see, Kai… Kai was a part of what I’ve written. So I made the decision to put him out there and damn the consequences. I was proud of the book. I was happy with what I’d written. So there you go. Out it went. The only reason I didn’t ask DSP if they wanted it was because I knew it wouldn’t fit the publishing house’s specs.

Then DSPP, their mainstream imprint, happened, and Kai found a home. And I am eternally grateful to Elizabeth for giving my broken elfin hunter a place to be. Since BDB would be playing in the mainstream, I embraced getting a different cover for it. It’s a different vibe for mainstream and after working with Anne Cain, this is what Black Dog Blues will be launched with. Tres cool and totally within the feel of the genre. I’m looking forward to seeing what Kai can do.

There are only a few editing clean ups that were done so if you’ve already purchased the book, please know there’s no new material. I am so damned grateful for all of you and really, I could not have asked for a greater gift than your support. Finally, in the Kai Gracen news, since DSPP is offering me a vehicle for Kai and his world, I’ll be able to work the sequel into my timeline.

The Four

This is another DSPP imprint release but unlike Kai, this has never been released. DSPP will be releasing it on July 7, 2015. The Four is a dark urban fantasy tale of the fight for mankind’s survival, and stars the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and a human tattoo artist who can see the shadowy creatures beyond the Veil.

The Four Blurb:

 
The Four is probably the rawest thing I’ve written. Raw, as in scraped open and cut close to the bone. I loved writing it. I’ll love writing a sequel because I think there are definitely things afoot in the book I want to explore. And, oh yes, Death and War used to be/still are lovers. No cover yet but once again, I’ve gone to Anne Cain to do her magic.

Coming Off My Keyboard in 2015:

Murder and Mayhem: Rook Stevens, former thief and now pop culture collector/Dante Montoya, Cuban-Mexican LAPD detective. This is a new series and one that’s turned surprisingly gritty. It’s a third person POV with alternating perspectives. I’m right now at the halfway mark, which is the time I start wishing everyone in the book would die a fiery death. Check in with me after I finish. And am drunk. *nods* But it’s been a good write. Like a plunge my hands into the guts of this book write.

JP Barnaby Cowrite: This will have the same set up as Creature Feature 2 but with the AIDS Life Bike Run as a backdrop, so we each will be writing a novella but intertwining them. I’ll be using a character mentioned in Sinners, Chance Delaney, former adversary of Morgan boys and ex-dancer. He’s been… interesting to write. I have to angle him the right way in this. His love interest is a son of Russian immigrants and, of course, a cop.

Sloe Ride: This is the fourth book in Sinners Series and features Quinn and Rafe. Because the Sinner’s Gin boys need a bassist, but ah, will they want a washed-up addict no one can depend on? And really, does Quinn need the kind of complications Rafe will bring into his life?

There will be a fifth Sinners book after this. Centered on Miki and Kane, it’ll focus on Miki’s (un)willingness to seek therapy, and the dangers of digging up dead bodies from his past.

Dirty Hearts: Okay. This guts me. Really. Like a knife in the belly and turning around gutting, but ah, I shall write the final Cole and Jae book in the series arc. It is time, my loves. It is time to discover why Ben murdered Rick, shot Cole, and then killed himself. Cole and Jae will be back in one off mysteries, but oh, the series will end.

The Maybe Whens in the Bunch:

These are the books lingering right off stage and will be slid in, but I don’t know what I’m doing with them or when they’ll be folded in. They are all valid projects and will be worked into the mix at some point. I just have to figure out who’s on first and what’s on second.

Hellsingers Three [Find clever name]: Cin-centric perhaps, although I’m leaning towards Wolf and Tristan after the Harker introduction. This one is up in the air because, well, Hellsinger books are a bitch and a half to write, and I have to figure out which way I want to go here. And I really mean Find Clever Name. Ah the puns! They burn so hard.

Standalone: Here’s the problem. I want to write a standalone. Like a single book. Start, Middle and End. Everyone who knows me is aware I have a problem doing this. It’s a sad state of affairs but one I shall attempt to do. I have a couple of options I want to explore. One of them is… what if Parker had a brother. An assassin but not as cray-cray as his brother. If cray-cray at all. But definitely a killer who’s retired and is dragged back into the game. But that’s a maybe yes book. Yes? Maybe? Heh.

Kai Gracen Sequel: I’ve already started this. It’s there. Waiting for me. Lingering! Heh. And I’m excited about it. And a bit terrified. Because dudes, another urban fantasy! And well, Kai’s kinda grumpy but oh so fun.

So that’s what’s on board for the coming year. Thank you all for letting me into your lives, and I hope to keep you entertained in the following year and beyond. Haato and many hugs!

Rhys Ford