Well, I bet you guys thought I fell down into an ice cavern or something, that’s how incommunicado I’ve been the last few months. But I promise, it’s all for a good reason. I have so many great books coming out for you guys this year, it’s gonna be crazy. You’re gonna get sick of me, that’s how many books I have coming. So the dry spell is over.

Which wasn’t a dry spell for me at all because I have been writing nearly every day for over a decade now. Rarely do I take a day off from writing. I have to be VERY sick (which has only happened once or twice – I almost never get sick) or I have other commitments happening.

I just got on this kick after writing the second Vampire book that I didn’t want to release any more books in 2023. I felt like my releases were being rushed out instead of celebrated. And I don’t need to write like a maniac like I did in the early days of this career. All the hard work has paid off and I could stop writing all together and be just fine for years if I wanted to.

But I don’t want to. I love writing stories. It’s where all my joy lives. So I don’t have plans to ever stop. But when looking back at all the releases, I suddenly realized that I always had to pick and choose which ones got “all the attention” and which ones I decided to relegate to “side project” status. There was too much going on. There were too many things to do. And I don’t have an assistant. I do absolutely everything myself. The only thing I outsource for is editing. I do my own covers, I do my own marketing, I do my own social media, I do my own formatting (both hardcopy and ebook) I do ALL my own graphics and I make ALL my own videos.

And I LIKE doing it this way. I don’t want anyone else doing any of this stuff. There is joy for me in all of it. So that’s why I came up with “Side Project” status many years back. It was an excuse for me to have a soft release. One that is less celebrated because it wasn’t going to make as much money. And I knew that going in, side projects are stories that I just want to write. And this whole “Side Project” label was a way to justify the time it took away from the “Money Makers”.

I imagine a book relegated to “Side Project” status is a little bit like the Island of Misfit Toys. The Throwaways.

And you know what? They’re not throwaways. I put an equal amount of effort into each book. Every time. I agonize over every name choice, and every plot point, and lose all the sleep when writing every single ending. The only thing that’s different is that “side project” books typically have a smaller audience or I’m dipping my toes into a brand new audience. It’s got nothing to do with the quality of the book.

So last year, after I finished Blood Brothers (American Vampires #2) which is 100% a side project, I decided that I would not release another book until I had the time to give it Star Status. Whatever that means, it’s gonna be different for each book, but I have promised myself that every single book I put out from now on will get the Star Treatment, regardless of how big or new the audience for it is or how much money it makes.

I am doing just fine financially. Some years I make enough money it can be measured in the shit-tons. Some years I make a lot less. I really don’t care about the money. (as long as I can pay the bills, and I can). So I really don’t write stories for the money. I just like writing them. I’m never going to retire (as long as I’m in control of that decision). I will never run out of ideas, so why stop?

SPARKTOPIA, which is the whole point of today’s post, was most definitely a side project when I started it. But by the time I finished it was an entirely brand new world that I have no intention of ever leaving.

It’s not a side project.

From now on, there are no more side projects. They are all Stars.

So I would like to introduce you to this world with the title and blurb reveal. I hope you love reading it as much as I loved writing it.

SPARKTOPIA

By JA Huss
Romantasy
Publishing September, 19, 2024

Tropes:
Morally Grey
Enemies to Lovers
Found Family
Duty and Honor
False Gods
Ultimate Betrayal
Love Redeems

Amidst a fantasy dystopian world’s intrigue, two couples find unexpected love as their paths intertwine in rebellion, sacrifice, secrets, and the quest for freedom.

Spark is light, Spark is magic, Spark is power.

Spark is everything and it blooms inside the bodies of Tau City’s young women. Once a decade, in exchange for enough power to keep the city modern and comfortable, a Spark Maiden must be sacrificed to their mysterious tower god in a ritual called The Extraction.

Ten Maidens are Chosen, but only one enters the tower as a sacrifice, never to be seen again. The nine leftovers are elevated to celebrity status and spend the next decade living in the luxurious Maiden Tower, wearing couture gala gowns, and partying with the city’s most interesting and beautiful people. Every young woman in Tau City wants to be a Spark Maiden because the odds have always been in their favor.

Until now.

One by one, the greedy god has summoned the leftover Spark Maidens into sacrifice. When Clara Birch, Spark Maiden number nine, gets the call, she fully expects her fiancé, Finn Scott, the Extraction Master’s son, to save her.

Spoiler alert: He’s not going to.

At the same time, a rebellion is brewing. The forgotten underclass is plotting the end of the god and his tower with strategically-placed Rebel spies that will bring it all down. Jasina Bell is a young woman on a mission to make history and she will stop at nothing to get the fame she deserves.

When Clara is forced into the tower against her will, she makes an unexpected discovery. There is no god—just a man, one willing to do what Finn Scott wouldn’t: save Clara Birch.

Even if it means destroying the entire world to do so.

Sparktopia is an upmarket, genre-bending, multiple first-person adult fantasy romance that spans worlds and cultures.  It’s packed with morally-gray characters with extraordinary powers ready to be realized and includes the themes of duty and honor, false gods, ultimate betrayal, and redemptive hero.

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Thanks for stopping by!

Julie