“Brrrrap-brrrap!”

Yo, w’sap, homies?

Yeah, I know. I have no idea what I just said either… 😉

So, welcome back. It’s been a while.

A lot has happened since we last spoke:

The sun finally came out here in the good old Kingdom of the United, in fact, rumour has it, that this is the longest period of temperatures above 25 degrees for more than three days since 2006. Who knew eh? There was a time when we would call that Summer and not a heat wave, or a ‘sustained period of consistently high temperatures and sunshine’. *shrugs*

A Brit finally won Wimbledon (yay) and a new Prince has been born. Yep, it’s all going on here in our fair isle. In fact, the UK seems a pretty cool place to be at the moment. Welcome Prince George Alexander Louis – you have no idea what you’re in for!  🙂

Yep, it seems that contrary to popular opinion, the more things change, the more they stay the same. We just stop noticing that they’ve changed. We’re good at that, kids are good at that. They are pliable and easy to mold. They will alter their thinking and their shape (and size!) in the blink of an eye and take it all in their stride. Remember when you used to be like that?

But, as much as we resist it, change is inevitable and change we must. There comes a time when despite our best efforts, things move on. A new job, a new house, a change of scenery to recharge the batteries. Time to sell the old rust bucket in the drive and upgrade to a newer model? Everyone does it. It might happen without us really thinking about it, but sure as eggs are eggs (except when they’re chickens) it will happen.

The good thing is, when you realise that it’s time for a change and you can control how it comes about.

That’s what happened to me.

I have been at this writing lark (officially) now almost three years. I have seen the publishing industry change and evolve, I have seen new writers burst onto the scene and sadly, I’ve seen one or two of them depart; some shuffling off this mortal coil forever, but leaving a million words behind them in their wake – a legacy to inspire the next generation.
Yes, things have certainly moved on.  The literary landscape is very different today than it was back then and I suspect, will be a different animal altogether in another few years and if we want to still be seen on that horizon, then we have to be prepared to alter with it.

A few weeks ago, Mark and I did a bit of shape-shifting and made the decision to put ourselves in the hands of the mighty ‘Zon for a year. Sure, we were doing quite well on other platforms here in the UK and around the world, but we’re still not sure how great the competition is from the other digital contenders and we figured that it was the right time to take a punt with the big boys whilst the others sorted out how they were going to compete in the future.

We put all of our crime titles in an exclusive program with Amazon and pulled them from all other retail channels. We’re sworn to secrecy about this program (but I am sure that you all know what we’re talking about) and we wouldn’t want to have to hunt you down and terminate you, so for the purpose of this blog, we will refer to the program as Operation Dust Check. or ODC.

ODC is an agented-books-only program that allows UK authors some extra visibility across the waters by way of specialist listing on certain Amazon pages and increased promotional activity, in return for you selling your soul to the devil for an agreed period of time. We have heard good things about ODC from a handful of authors, whilst others remain unconvinced. I guess it’s like everything you get with Amazon – you just don’t know. So we will wait and see what happens. Our promotions start next month and it remains to be seen whether they will have a huge impact or not, but either way, it was a chance we decided to take. Move with the times or get left behind…

Personally, I also decided that now was the right time to move in a different direction as a writer.

You may have read in some of my other blogs from waaaay back that my first love as a writer was fantasy/paranormal. That hasn’t changed. In fact, the Dark Halo series that Mark and I will be releasing at some point, fits nicely into that box – if you’re gonna label it. So when Mark and I started discussing our future plans and life after the ODC deal, I decided that it was time for me to veer off in a different direction.

Let me just make this clear: Saffina Desforges (as in Mark Williams and myself) is still very much alive and kicking (or writing). We have NOT parted company. Sure, he drives me insane sometimes (more insane?) and we have our cyber-spats now and again, but we are still 100% team Saffi and will remain so for many years to come. We will still be releasing titles in the Rose Red Series and as I said, Dark Halo will appear at some point in the near future, but we have agreed to work separately on other projects.

That’s where the new kids on the block come in.

No, not the eighties group – the INDIGO KIDS. Here, meet them. Come and say hello…

As you can see from the cover, I am now writing as STEVIE JORDAN.

You can find out more about the kids and the other books in the series here.

This project is another (but very different) collaboration for me. My crazy-but-lovely friend Karen Osborne would rather spend her time horse whispering and talking to the stars. What better person to write a sci-fi/paranormal fantasy trilogy with?

Jax – Book One of INDIGO KIDS  was released yesterday and this morning, it charted both here and in France.  Happysmiley face.

Needless to say, we are very happy and we hope that you’ll check out the kids and the series if you get chance.

Moving in this direction is a leap of faith for me. I am following my heart (and my characters) and going where my pen takes me. As a writer, we learn and grow all the time and STEVIE JORDAN is just another one of many paths that have to be explored.

For more information on STEVIE JORDAN and the new CRIMES IN WONDERLAND series featuring DI Andi Lincoln (set in my home town) too, check out the blog.

So it’s onwards and upwards. Another journey into the unknown, another new chapter. After all, that’s what writing is about, right?

Hell, that’s what life is about…

Saffi