Important Announcement from Jaid:

It is with a heavy heart and more than a few tears that I need to inform you of my decision to retire. I understand that I have let my readers and listeners down and for this I am genuinely sorry. Please understand that this wasn't an easy choice for me to make; I know thousands of you have been patiently waiting for the continuation of my Trek Mi Q'an series and I feel truly wretched that I've failed to deliver it. Unfortunately, I do not know when or if I will be able to write again.

I have been blessed with the most amazing fans a writer could ask for. Because of the caring and concern you have shown me through the years, I feel you deserve something of an explanation. At this time I am dealing with many personal issues, the vast majority of which are overwhelming and seemingly insurmountable. Even if I am able to triumph over them, it will be a long time in coming.

At this time I am dealing with multiple life-threatening health issues. On top of that, I never fully (or even semi) recovered from the Panic Disorder that has cast a black cloud over my every waking moment for the past decade. Unfortunately, without medicine, I function at the severe end of the PD spectrum; in other words, while most people who have PD only have occasional attacks, without medicine to control my condition I have them every day, multiple times a day. In most cases, this is not life-threatening. In my case, attacks cause my blood pressure to soar so high that I become in imminent danger of having a stroke.

The most difficult and cruel (for a writer at least) side-effect of my medication is a pronounced inability to concentrate. My memory has suffered exponentially, either as a result of the medicine or possibly because of the 5 lesions on my brain. (To date, no doctor has explained to me why the lesions are present or given me even a quasi-diagnosis.) As a result, recalling the many details of Trek Mi Q'an is a daunting, impossible task. I have a huge fear of letting my readers down by making unforgivable mistakes while trying to continue a series I barely remember writing.

The second most difficult side-effect of my medication is constant, disabling fatigue. I rarely feel completely awake; 99% of my days are foggy, unmemorable, and a chore to get through. This reality, coupled with my memory & concentration problems, has made writing even a novella a challenge that takes me months to complete. Once upon a time I could write a full-length novel in a month; for several years now it has taken me multiple months to complete even a short story.

I don't know that I will ever recover. For that reason, I don't want to keep stringing my readers along by making promises to have story X, Y, and Z done on such and such a date. My intentions are always honorable when I make these promises, but I'm rarely to never able to see them through. That's not fair to you. On my end, letting you down only serves to further depress me.

On that note, I want to encourage you to try out some other authors at Ellora's Cave. EC has so many talented new writers who are as good or better than me, but who tend to get overlooked for no reason other the amount of competition on the market today. Two upcoming authors I recently signed after being wowed by their manuscripts are Brenna Zinn and Persephone Jones. In terms of the tried and true powerhouses, BDSM lovers should pick up a story written by the incomparable Joey W. Hill. Those of you who love capture fantasies should check out multiple New York Times bestseller Laurann Dohner. For interracial, Koko Brown, TJ Michaels, and Marilyn Lee always hit the spot. For m/m, the name to know is Samantha Kane. For comedy, try out Mari Carr. And for a cross-genre delight, there is Mari Freeman and Barbara Elsborg.

One final thing I need to mention is that I will not be attending RomantiCon® this year. I hope to be in good enough health to attend in 2013, but at this juncture I simply do not know. RomantiCon® is always a blast and gets better every year, as anyone who's ever attended can attest to. I encourage you to go; there is so much to do and see there that I guarantee my presence will not be missed!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your amazing support these past 12 years. Some of you have become more than fans to me and I am honored to be able to call you friends. I honestly hope that one day I will be healthy enough to return to writing. If not, I can at least go to my grave knowing I made my mark in English Lit & digital publishing history... two deeds I could not have accomplished without all of you. Again, thank you.

With Love,

Jaid