Show & Tell - The Little Story that Could

by Seleste deLaney

When I first wrote Of Course I Try, I was quite proud of it. The story won the little competition I entered it in, giving me bragging rights for a couple months until the next competition.

Re-envisioning it as something bigger than a piece of flash fiction was a challenge, but I jumped on it, thrilled by the prospect of delving deeper into Max and Jocelyn’s twisted relationship. When Decadent signed the story, I was all kinds of excited…until it hit me that getting reviews and readers for a short story was going to be a challenge.

The response when I sent inquiries shocked me a little. Most of the reviewers I asked were more than happy to take a look at it. I knew going in that acceptance didn’t mean I’d get a review, much less a good one, but I sent Max and Jocelyn on their way into the hands of the people readers listened to. At the time, I figured if I could manage a fifty percent return rate on review requests I was doing good. The book blogger community blew me away. To date, I only have two outstanding review requests. Everyone else posted, along with a couple I didn’t know about. And to make matters better, they’ve been really favorable (only one rating below four out of five stars, and a couple fives in there for good measure).

So, it is with great joy that I get to announce that a sequel to Of Course I Try is coming out for the holidays! The Ghost of Vampire Present picks up about seven months after the events in Of Course I Try. Jocelyn’s life has changed a lot, or so she thinks, because in her messed up corner of the world, nothing is ever as simple as it seems.

I’m really geeked about this story. It not only gives another glimpse into the mysteries that surround Jocelyn’s life but also provides a really good bridge to where I want to go from here. I’ve announced it elsewhere, but Jocelyn’s stories are now a bonafide series titled Blood Kissed. I’m hard at work on the first novel-length installment and I hope people are as excited about that prospect as I am.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed Of Course I Try and that you’ll pick up The Ghost of Vampire Present when it becomes available.

I mean, come on, look at that cover. How can you not want to buy it? ;-)