Friday, July 11, 2008

Out with the old, in with the new: A New Series!

Should I change the name of my blog???

I've got a new contract for a new series!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, books 4, 5, and 6 of the Annie Kincaid Art Lover's Mystery Series will not be coming out anytime soon. (This despite the fact that Feint of Art was nominated for an Agatha for Best First Novel, and is being translated into Japanese even as we speak... what can I say? Publishing is a cutthroat business these days.)

Believe me, I'm sad about it...Book 4, Arsenic and Old Paint involves a mystery at an exclusive men's club, tunnels under Chinatown, and a secret collection of paintings...not to mention lots of progress on the Annie/Michael/Frank romantic triangle. It's way too much fun not to publish!

In any case, the Art Lover's Mystery series is on haitus for the near future. We may find another publisher, or Signet may relent and continue the series at a later date. For now, the books are still available and in print, so if you're a fan please remember they make great presents for Mother's Day...and Father's Day and Groundhog Day and Christmas!

About the new series: Secondhand Spirits features a woman, Lily Ivory, who owns a vintage clothing store, Aunt Cora's Closet, in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco...and who just happens to be a witch. And no ordinary witch, at that. For one thing, her familiar is a shape-shifting gargoyle marquerading as a miniature Vietnamese Pot-Bellied pig. For another, Lily attracts demons and spirits like flies to honey, even though all she wants is to finally settle down, run her vintage clothing store, and develop normal human friendships...and maybe even find a man. Too bad the most interesting guys around are an arrogant male witch on the one hand, and a dedicated "mythbuster" on the other.

The new series is a bit of a departure from the world of art forgery. But I've had so much fun writing it, I hope even those of you who don't normally venture into the paranormal might give it a try! Beyond the fun San Francisco setting, the beguiling mystery, and the engaging characters, I get to delve into the history of witchcraft, the study of botanicals and herbs, the history of healing...and plenty of fascinating tales of contemporary folks who call themselves as witches. It's a truly captivating world of its own.

Secondhand Spirits will be coming out July 2009, under the pseudonym Juliet Blackwell. I'll be writing more about the pseudonym, and what's in a name, very soon. So please do check back!

9 comments:

Dana Fredsti said...

Sigh...I'm totally bummed about the Art Lovers series being on hiatus now that I'm hooked on it...but I'm totally delighted by the description of your new series. That being said, may we nag Signet?!!!

AnnaC said...

Please, do feel free to nag! I'm hoping the more they hear from readers, the more they'll feel compelled to keep publishing...thanks for your sweet support!
--Hailey

Dana Fredsti said...

Cool! Give me contact info for nagging and I'm on it! I need to find out who she ends up with, dagnabbit...

Anonymous said...

I really liked the Annie Kincaid series and was eagerly awaiting your fourth book. I do hope you find a way to publish it because we want to know what happens to Annie/Frank/Michael triangle.

Anonymous said...

I'm very disappointed as well and have wandered around the Penguin/Signet site trying to figure out whom to email. I'm sure you don't want to give a name, but is there a general email address you could provide?

AnnaC said...

Hi Leslie,
If you email me directly at hailey@haileylind.com, I can give you a name and address to contact. Not that I'm asking for a mailing blitz or anything, but it would be great for publishers to hear directly from readers!
I'll look for your email...
Thanks for all your support!!!

Heidi said...

The new series both sound interesting. But I really love Annie.

Barbara

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Don't change your website or blog site. Fans will want to keep up with the news on both series, and I sincerely hope we will be seeing books in both.

Thanks, Elizabeth Varadan

Hailey.Juliet said...

I'll be keeping up the Hailey Lind website, and the blog -- though as is probably obvious, I'm not a frequent blogger! Still, I'll keep my Hailey Lind presence because, among other things, I have too many great fans to just disappear! Besides, Arsenic and Old Paint, the fourth in the series, will be coming out in 2010!