I AM SHIFTING & SPLITTING MY BRANDING
Clean & closed-door fantasy books, like The Midnight Prince, will remain under Angie Grigaliunas.
My darker, grittier, dystopian books, like The Purification Era and its world, will move to a pen name: A.D. Grigaliunas.
This is to separate by violence, language, and romance levels so you can know overall what to expect when you pick up one of my books, and because some will be quite different in these areas. I never want to trick anyone with content.
Unless something changes, all my books will be New Adult (NA) instead of Young Adult (YA). Some will be clean and others less clean, but I will always write from a biblical/Christian worldview and for God above all else.
THE PURIFICATION ERA WILL BE UNPUBLISHED
As of August 31, Sowing & Quelling will be unpublished. Razing’s pre-order will be cancelled, likely within a couple weeks so my pre-order privileges will be reinstated sooner. If you would like to keep your ’Zon review of Sowing and/or Quelling, save it somewhere now, because the product pages will vanish and the reviews will be lost. (I know there are ways to get them transferred, but I am starting fresh.)
Sowing and Quelling will be revised and republished under A.D. Grigaliunas, with new covers. Razing will be on their heels. I currently plan 6 books total in The Purification Era.
I deeply wish I had a solid timeframe for this, but I don’t. I am so sorry for the confusion and disappointment. I never wanted to upset anyone, and I hope I can re-earn your trust.
THE PURIFICATION ERA NEW CONTENT LEVEL(S)
In the romance department, TPE will have PG-13ish/level 2 to 2.5 fade to gray scenes. Open door but non-explicit. I’ve seen some call this style minty. This won’t be spice. The purpose isn’t titillation or arousal. The focus of these scenes will be emotions, intimacy, connection, and healing -- and will only be written this way when necessary for the plot/character development. Otherwise, romantic scenes will fade to black.
Violence and language will remain the same. These books are violent and have foul language. I won’t shy away from violence, but you won’t find gore. Swearing is used as a character trait. Some characters swear. Some don’t. Some swear in certain situations or around certain people.
All of these elements will remain purposeful.
WHY IN THE WORLD AM I DOING THIS?
Last year was a mad rush to finish multiple projects and get Razing out in December. Cover, formatting, and editing setbacks began in July and increased as fall neared, but I was determined to publish. I tried so hard, but within that perfect storm of delays and wicked burnout, God wrenched me to a halt and said in his gentle yet firm way, “Angie, wait.”
I cancelled Razing’s first pre-order. Put up another, against my better judgment but with the determination that surely, within a year, I could have the book ready. I just had to edit it, after all. My betas had loved it. I loved it. My editor had great suggestions. I knew overall how to fix things.
And then, with one prayer, God completely blindsided me.
Sowing placed as a finalist in SPFBO 2018. Nearly everyone ripped it apart, though, bringing its first one-star reviews. Brutal ones. After some distance and a hard, objective look, I trusted my gut and revised accordingly. It was tough and painstaking and took months, but I was so very glad I did it. I had loved Sowing before, and I loved it even more after.
Yet though I had peace, I also swore to myself that I would never, ever revise a published book again.
The growing pains came quickly. My heart for TPE began pushing against my preconceived notions of it, as well as labels I feared, like NA. Where I originally thought TPE was going and where it wanted to go grew increasingly at odds. The series fit nowhere. TPE has always been about healing. Forgiveness. Redemption. Hope in the darkness. To do it justice, something had to change. And I knew what it meant.
It meant another revision. It meant breaking free from the YA label that had held me in its clutches for years but never fit, and from strict “closed-door” romance guides I couldn’t meet no matter how hard I tried, and entering the unknown.
And I resisted. For so many reasons. Plot stuff. Logistics. Fear because “NA” = “explicit content.” And mostly, the fierce determination in myself to uphold the vow I’d made, because I’d promised myself “never again.” I had promised.
But in January, months after ending up in the ER thinking I was dying from an anxiety attack and wholly surrendering to God in a way I never had before, and days after hiring a new cover designer and wishing that I could age Ari up, make TPE more NA, I tearfully prayed something like, “I do not want to do this. I said I wouldn’t. I don’t know how. But if you want me to...then I’m willing to see if I can.”
It wasn’t even full surrender, guys! But it was all he needed. He helped me look at what I had actually written. Not what I thought I’d written. Not what was in my head from the 14+ years of TPE’s multiple and vastly different versions.
In a few hours, I made the changes I had, for several years, feared and avoided and just knew I couldn’t do because it was too complicated, too hard, would change too much. It was...liberating -- beyond liberating. It was healing. It’s almost laughable how effortless it was. And though I thought I was done, it opened a floodgate.
Since then, I have repeatedly given my writing back to the God who gave it to me, and he has blown my mind. Piece by piece, we’re fitting this puzzle together so my writing can be what he wants it to be. So I can be who he wants me to be.
SO WHAT’S NEXT?
As terrifying as it is, I need a break from TPE. This series is my baby, and I can see pieces coming together. But as much as I wish I was, I’m not ready to revise. Think about things, mull them over, pray about them, make small tweaks as I feel led/inspired? Yes, for sure. Dive in fully? Not yet.
For reasons I don’t know, he still whispers, “Angie, wait.”
And I need to listen.
For now, my focus will shift mostly to A Bridge of Starlight, a companion trilogy that begins 12 years before TPE. During this whole crazy transition, when I couldn’t bear to look at TPE, Starlight called to me. There are things in it that I need to figure out, things that will impact TPE. To get TPE right, I believe I need to start at the beginning. And it’s Starlight -- a story so deeply about healing and hope that it breaks me.
A FINAL FEW WORDS
I know this has been long, and it’s likely a bit frustrating and disappointing, for many reasons.
There is so much more that has gone into these last months -- really the past year or so. Again, if you have any questions, you can always message me. I would love to tell you of the physical and emotional healing and freedom God has been bringing me into, the things he has shown me and opened my eyes to in the Bible, things I’ve read but never got...
It is amazing. The most beautiful Truth and Life and Way.
For all those who are still here, those who will stick by me through this transition, and all who will join along the way: Thank you. I can’t wait to share the beauty of these stories with you.
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