The Long Story: Part 4

Because so much of my identity has shifted over the past few years, I need and want a fresh start with my writing career. I’m willing to lose a boatload of reviews and ranking to achieve this, because I feel confident that dismantling and reassembling my author platform will be truer to who I am and what I write in the long run.

Part of the fresh start I’m making is changing my author name and opening a small publishing company. The publishing company will not only serve as a platform for republishing my books, but I will also take on one writer at a time to help them develop their writing in a mentor-based publishing process (more on that later).

There are tax-based reasons for republishing my books under my new company (DelSheree Press LLC), but more than anything it’s about treating my writing as a professional career and consolidating everything I do with books, writing, coaching, teaching, etc. into one space where I can represent myself and authors I work with in a professional manner.

My plan for my own books is to go back through all 34 of them, series by series to reevaluate the stories and characters for structure and craft issues, ideas and values that don’t sit right with me, relationships that need revisions, and cover art that needs updated.

Here’s a look at what I have planned (in order) and issues I know I need to work on:

• Date Shark – relationships, representation of sex, possibly cover updates
• Eliza Carlisle – relationships, depth of mystery, revise/expand novella, cover updates
• What Had to Be Done – relationships
• Torino Dreams – relationships, clarify setting
• Memory’s Edge – relationships, clarify setting, possibly update covers
• Handbook – relationships, humor, new covers
• Aerling – clarify setting, fix plot issues, intentional revision of relationships, new covers
• Some One Wicked – relationships, psychology of characters, series title change, address drop-off in readers between books 1 & 2 (?), new covers
• Destroyer – review plot for continuity, relationships, new covers
• Escaping Fate – relationships for sure, review plot for continuity after planning out remainder of series ideas/world concept, new covers
• Ghost Host – rename individual books, plot continuity, relationships, realism of connection to FBI, new/revised covers
• Life & Being – plan out series concept/world and revise as needed, relationships, cover update and series plan
• Twin Souls – revision of setting/cultural aspects, review plot for continuity, new covers
• Child of Destruction – build out world and revise, relationships, potentially get rid of love triangle aspect, new cover, actually publish this one and decide whether to write book 2 or wrap in one standalone book

Ideally, I would like to have this done by the end of 2026, but I know that is probably unrealistic. It will depend on how much rewriting I end up needing to do on individual books. Then there’s time to actually do all of that and funds to pay for various services I’ll need along the way.

Most likely, it will take me two years to get through all of these. Even though I look at writing much more seriously than I used to, I have many other aspects of life that also need my attention. My two children are now in college, but I have learned that adult children still need you just as much as they did when they were little. I also have three wonderful and busy step children and I try my best to be there to support them in their interests and activities as much as possible. I’m married to a wonderful man who has his own goals and interests that I want to support those however I can as well.

I teach also high school full time, host a weekly radio show called Write On Four Corners (which I love but takes quite a bit of time), coordinate a monthly lecture series called Write to Publish, and will be adding the new adventure of opening DelSheree Press in 2026. Time is at a premium for me right now, and my goal is to use it wisely to balance time with family, work, and, my writing/publishing pursuits. This has never been an easy thing for me, but I’m getting better at it the more I make balance a priority.

I am working on several fiction projects right now, but the first book I plan to publish in 2026 is a nonfiction book based on a workshop I have taught several times. I don’t have enough time to teach extra class right now, but I want to continue to help authors. This book will help me do that. The working (maybe final?) title is “Start Here: An Introduction to Indie Publishing.”

After this post, I’ll return to posting monthly-ish or when I have something interesting to share.

I’ll share more in the future about my current fiction projects, which started as one book and has split into two. That’s also a long story of reassembling a deconstructed idea.

What have you had to reassemble in your own life?