It’s official. I have my rights back for my first two novels: Syphon’s Song and Enchanter’s Echo.

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What does this mean for you, dear reader? If all goes well, it means more books to come because (hopefully) I can increase profits from the sales of these two books. And that means I can continue to fund my writing business. In the meantime, I’m giving both books a polish. Especially Syphon’s Song. A task underway now.

Syphon’s Song was my first published book. I feel I’ve become a better writer since then. But putting the book through a gentle edit has been rather painful.

I only know one or two fellow authors who enjoy reading their old books. Those rare authors can lose themselves in the story just like readers. There’s a part of me that wishes I could do this. Instead, reading my old books is like looking at myself naked in the mirror.

All I see are the flaws.

I shared this with my current editor. She said she’d heard such sentiments from many authors. She pointed out that an author’s debut novel is a huge learning experience. And when it’s all done, there are probably things an author would have chosen to do differently if they’d known what they know now. A bit of a Catch-22.

Also, for better or worse, times have changed since I wrote and published Syphon’s Song. For instance, there’s one point in the story when the hero’s mother says to her family that they need to be on the lookout for a wife for the hero’s brother. She says, “we need someone liberal. Open-minded. One who doesn’t mind a syphon in the family. Keep watch for that type of energy.”

When I wrote this book seven years ago, the word liberal was not the hot button it is today in the United States. Should I take it out? On one hand, I know my books won’t please everyone. Heck, often they don’t please me. On the other hand, I want readers to be able to escape into the world of my mages and leave the trying bits of the real world behind. But maybe that’s not a realistic expectation...maybe we have to bring the tough times with us when we slip into a book, but characters offer us a different way of seeing the world.

I’m also questioning if Vincent is too much of an alpha-hole for a #MeToo world. I’m wrinkling my nose as I write this, because as a reader, I kind of like reading alpha-holes sometimes.

Ok, not kind of. Definitely like.

And not sometimes. Many times. Most times?

All I have to do is look no further than one of my favorites…Mad Rogan in Ilona Andrew’s Burn for Me. There’s no doubt that he’s an alpha-hole, and he’s My #1 Book Boyfriend Ever. Mad Rogan is bossy and overbearing, and he kidnaps the heroine in their first encounter. (But Nevada is tough enough to take it.) If Ilona Andrews went and changed him, I’d be pretty darn upset!

Darn upset!

As a side effect of updating Syphon’s Song, I’ve renewed my acquaintance with Bronte’s sister, Selene, and I think I’m ready to take on her story. She’s a complex person, a rather angry one, but I’m up for the challenge of writing her.

I’d love to know…are there Mayflower Mages characters who you'd like to see get their own story? Comment below or find me on Facebook or Twitter.

ANISE RAE