Another new world? Yes, but this one is different

​There are some authors out there who struggle to come up with ideas. I know because I hang around with them on the internet (and in person sometimes). They’re always fascinated by me because I have so many ideas I will never be able to write them all.
I’m the person who can see a photo on a site like Shutterstock and have an entire series geared around it in about two hours. I’m not saying that to brag. It’s simply the way my mind works. I have too many ideas and not enough time to write them all.
In October, I went to a writing conference and hung around with some cool authors, most of whom I already knew from hanging around together on line. We got to talking one night around the tiki bar (I’m now obsessed with tiki bars and totally want to include them in every series I write) and started hatching a world. I don’t even think we realized we were hatching a world until we were already knee deep in rum runners and laughter.
Who are those authors? Annabel Chase and Leighann Dobbs. We spent a lot of time together and had a great time. In fact, if you ask people hanging around with us, some people will say that Annabel and I were laughing so hard we sounded like cackling witches. We all had a lot of ideas that started flying fast and furious … so many so that it became obvious we needed to work on a project together.
As we got to talking, one of the things we knew right away was that we needed a fourth writer. We wanted someone who wrote outstanding witch books – because it will be a witch shared world – and we all decided Gina LaManna fit right in with our plans. It wasn’t even a debate. We all agreed on her right out of the box. We reached out to her, she accepted, and now we have four witch writers building a world together.
It’s been a learning experience. Much like Avery Shaw, I worried I wouldn’t work well with others. Surprisingly, that part has gone well.
The benefit of a shared world is that we can create a special place (in this case it’s an island called Eternal Springs) and share overlapping characters. Basically, we each created our own witch, came up with a backstory, and then let our imaginations take hold. Another benefit of a shared world is that with all of us working in it, there will be four books quickly and yet we don’t have to take time away from our other series to explore the shared world. It’s basically the best of multiple worlds.
So, right now, the plan is to debut all four books in the Eternal Springs series in July. We’re steadily working on world building now. If people like them and they do well, we will continue the world. If they don’t do well, each book can stand on its own and serve as a complete story. Each author will mainly focus on her witch but we will include the other witches as side characters so there will be tons of overlap.
Right now, it’s an experiment, but it’s one we’re all looking forward to. I will keep you updated as we get firm publication dates and I hope everyone enjoys the ride … because we really are having a blast coming up with the world and I’m sure a lot of people think we sound like real witches when we’re talking with one another.
That might be part of the magic, which makes it even more fun.

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