Since several people have asked me on the book’s Facebook page, I thought I would deliver an update on progress for the sequel to A Soul to Steal.

The release date is Tuesday, Oct. 2.

Q: So is it totally done?

As we speak, the final manuscript is in the copyediting stage. There is still work to do, but we’re really close. Barring some last minute disaster, Band of Demonsshould be ready on Oct. 2.  

Do you really want me to tell you? I’m one of those people who dislikes reading jackets for books that I know I want to read because I’m afraid it will give away plot points. As a result, I’m reluctant to say anything in my own book description. I also have trouble boiling down my plots to a few succinct lines. Let’s put it this way: Band of Demons continues the story of Kate and Quinn and delves deeper into the legend of the Prince of Sanheim.

Yes and no. One of the driving questions of A Soul to Steal was: who is Lord Halloween? Because I feel sequels should be different and not rehash what worked in book #1, there is no equivalent question in Band of Demons. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a mystery, however. You may know which characters are committing certain acts—but you won’t know why. Overall, there are lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end. If you liked the ending of A Soul to Steal, then I think you will enjoy the sequel.

There is a trend among indie authors to write short because we can crank out more books that way. While I agree wholeheartedly with this as a concept, unfortunately for me, I’m a tad verbose. Band of Demons is about the same length as A Soul to Steal, though I think it reads much faster.

The price will be $3.99.

I have specifically designed Band of Demons so that it reminds readers of what happened in A Soul to Steal. As a result, I suppose it’s possible that you could jump into book #2 without having read A Soul to Steal. That said, I don’t recommend it. You are likely to be at least a little confused and, more importantly, it will ruin all the important plot points from A Soul to Steal (like the identity of Lord Halloween, etc).

Yes, very much so. As you might imagine, releasing a book is a strange endeavor. I’ve lived with this novel for most of the past year, thinking about it every single day. I’ve spent nearly all my free time working on it. As I get ready to release it I’m excited, but nervous too. It’s the same fear I had the first time: what if readers don’t like it?

The difference is that last time, nobody expected anything from the novel. When it was released, I had to work hard to convince anyone to give it a chance. Now I’ve received messages on my Facebook page, Amazon page and elsewhere asking when the sequel will be out. Don’t get me wrong—I live for those messages. But I’m also feeling the pressure. I hope fans of A Soul to Steal are as happy with Band of Demons. So yeah, I’m nervous.

Please spread the word! I’m really looking forward to releasing this into the wild. Just like A Soul to Steal, this is the perfect novel for Halloween, so now will be a great time to read it.