Latest Book Deal News!

I've been waiting to announce this for what seems like ages-- though it really hasn't been. But I've been excited, and time always seems to drag when you're waiting for something! So without further ado, here it is:



I am so excited to have sold my 8th contracted book! This one is a little different-- a twisty dark contemporary. As the title, taken from Macbeth, would suggest, UNNATURAL DEEDS is also a story of obsession, desire, and betrayal. It's about a shy and awkward girl named Vic who meets the suave, effortlessly popular new boy at school named Z and gets in way over her head.

My path to this book deal wasn't easy. I had quite a few starts and stops while writing it, and many people told me it wouldn't sell. Not to mention, the market for YA is ever-tightening as more and more YA books crowd the market. So I'll be honest and say I had little hope for the book when it went on submission this March, despite the fact that several people were VERY passionate about it. I had amazing readers who are also amazing authors in their own right-- all of whom were very positive about the book. But most positive of all was Mandy Hubbard, who has been my critique partner for over 10 years and is also now my agent. When was considering shelving the book, she looked at it and said, "Pfft, I could sell this," and gave me a list of changes to consider.

So I made her edits and I'm happy to say that I had interest from editors and sold UNNATURAL DEEDS faster than any book I've ever put out on sub, in a little over one month.

Which just goes to show you how subjective this business is, and why you should never give up. It only takes one person to fall in love with it.

So now, instead of waiting for the announcement, I'll switch to waiting for the day I can finally share the finished book with you. Fall of 2016 will be here in a heartbeat!

News In Nichola's World

Hi!

Just a little news to let you know about.  When I sold my post-apocalyptic fantasy series to Harlequin TEEN, I did it with the knowledge that the original title I'd chosen (DREAM KINGDOM) would not be the title for long.

I am not sure why . . . maybe because that title sucks.  It doesn't really fit the book at all. Yes, that is probably why.

Anyway, after much deliberation, that book, which I'd started referring to as THAT BOOK, as well as its sequel (once called THAT BOOK PART TWO), now have titles!

They are:

DROWNED  (2014)

and


BURIED (2015) 


Rejoice!

For those of you who liked the titles DREAM KINGDOM or THAT BOOK, I'm sorry it didn't work out.

Hey, Good Looking.

I really don't know what to call this post, other than the "my-husband-checked-my-blog-and-called-it-pathetic-because-I haven't-updated-in-so-long" post. So really, that title is for him, since he snoops on my blog. But also for you. You are quite attractive as well.

So let's see.  News.  DEAD RIVER is releasing in only a few weeks!  Are you excited?  This will be my fifth book and I'm kind of shocked I've lasted this long. (Okay, I almost didn't.) 

Anyway, it's based on a whitewater rafting trip I took with my husband and his friends on the Dead River in Maine.  (Side note to Mainers: I am sorry to disappoint you if you thought this was a book about the gas station). We lived in Maine, once, a million years ago, until the madness set in. Being quite timid and completely unadventurous, it's a wonder I even made it out on a river called The Dead. What was I thinking?  I will tell you three things I learned during that trip:

1. I look like a black garbage bag filled with potatoes, in a wetsuit.
2. If you give me a life-saving paddle AND a granola bar during the trip, expect that I will drop the life-saving paddle AND hold onto the granola bar for dear life (it's food! and it has chocolate chips in it!) if we should fall out of the raft.
3. If I am with you, we WILL fall out of the raft. I think because dirty, freezing water with gross things in it likes me a lot.

My husband actually texted the poor guy who arranged the whole thing and made the mistake of inviting us. He was excited to be mentioned in the acknowledgments and promised to "single-handedly make Dead River a bestseller in Maine." After he gets over the trauma of reliving that terrible event. So if you live in Maine, please do not let this guy down.

This is the cover blurb:

My friends and I are spending prom weekend at a remote wooded cabin on the Dead. The Dead River.

I thought it was going to be just us.

I was wrong.

Nothing is what it seems in this creepy paranormal thriller by Cyn Balog.

I know!  Doesn't it sound like Jason will be involved? He isn't, but that would probably be just my luck if I ever decided to go rafting on the Dead again. Jason shows up in his freaky hockey mask, or creepy hands come out of the water a la the cover. Trust me, you do not want to go with me next time.  Which, there will NOT be a next time. For the above reasons.

If you would like to check it out, go here.  And I can't lie, I would love if you would buy a copy, too.

Also, Nichola Reilly, that little vixen, is working on her 2014 edits and just gearing up to write the sequel! Gosh, I hate talking about myself in the third person. No wonder writers are crazy.

A Tale of One Author, Two Names

Today I'm announcing some very exciting news (well, for me, anyway!).

Children's: Young Adult
Cyn Balog writing as Nichola Reilly's DREAM KINGDOM, set in a future flooded world in which the heroine and her island people must all climb onto a precarious platform at high tide or be swept away and drowned -- or worse, attacked by deadly ocean predators -- and the secrets kept by the ruling class may be the end of their dwindling society, to Annie Stone and Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen, in a two-book deal, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel & Goderich Literary Mana gement.

This is big news for me, and makes me probably more proud than any other deal I've made, because last year was really tough on me, personally. I'd written this book many years ago, but it took awhile before it felt ready for the world.  Also, despite being published, which I always thought would make me feel like the Queen Master of the Universe, I still felt like a poser who knew nothing about how to write. There were many times I never thought I'd ever publish again, and I even tried to walk away. But in the end, I realized that if I just need to do what makes me happy, and accept whatever happens after it, good or bad. This is one of the good things.

People have asked why I am writing under a pen name, and there are a number of small reasons that made it the best choice. The biggest of those is that it's a departure from paranormal and supernatural romance. It's post-apocalyptic fantasy, about a girl named Coe who has to overcome enormous odds to save the remaining members of her diminishing society. It is a very odd thing, though, to be writing under a pen name, and so I am sure people may wonder if they call me Cyn or Nichola or what, but hey, just don't call me big fat loser, and I'm good. :)

Also, it will be my very first series. I do not know why I'm so late to the series party... actually, I do. It's hard work. Series writers, you have my kudos! I'm hoping that both books from the series will be released in 2014, so you won't have to wait too long between them, because that drives me crazy, too. Well, I suppose I should just hope that you'll WANT to read the second book. Like I said, writing series = crazy hard. And I have not even really delved too deeply into the second book, yet. I am going to have a busy summer!

Thank you for reading my news. And it would mean a lot to me if you'd follow me on twitter and facebook, where I will be posting more updates about this book (I'm not calling it anything right now because the title is undergoing reconstruction!), Twitter: @NicholaReilly (I'll follow you back), or like my fan page on facebook.