It's time for a Captive of Wicked Souls update!

First, the good news: I finally have the book 100% plotted out!

After discarding nearly three drafts, there was a point where I thought I might never figure out this story (what can I say? I'm an author, we're all a little melodramatic).

I really got into my own head. I've never had so many people waiting for one of my stories before, and my brain immediately tried to figure out how to please everyone.

What if it was too dark? What if the groveling came too late? What if it was too spicy? What if it wasn’t spicy enough? What if there was too much focus on Nessa’s chronic illness?

If you're wondering where Nessa got her extreme anxiety from, look no further😅

I wouldn’t say I’ve conquered the fear of Book 2 bombing spectacularly, but I’ve finally gotten back to a place where I'm writing for me. And that was all I needed for the puzzle pieces to fall into place. I'm so, so excited for you to read it.

The bad news: this all took a little longer than anticipated.

When I originally estimated a mid-2026 release, I didn't realize how hard it would be to find the story... or the time to write it. If you remember my early 2026 update, this year had a pretty terrible start with back-to-back family and pet medical emergencies. I barely wrote until April because of it.

On top of that, my endometriosis flare-ups are triggered by stress, and there's been a lot of that. I’ve lost more writing days in the last couple of months than I expected.

That is all to say, I'm still aiming for a late 2026 release, possibly in November or December. But, to be upfront, we may now be looking at an early 2027 launch.

I'm aiming to finish the current draft by the end of summer. In September, I'll be able to figure out how much editing is left. Editing takes me at least two months (one with me, one with my copy editor). But if the book needs more work, that could stretch to three or four months, which would push us into early 2027.

I totally get if that’s disappointing news. But I want this to be the best sequel it can be. If that means investing more time into it, then that’s the choice I’ll make.

I hope you'll stick around for it ❤