Here’s the thing. Even when you’re in the midst of celebrating wonderful accomplishments, sad things can and will happen. I’ve cried more this past month than in the entirety of the prior year. I won’t burden you with the details, but most of my tears came from saying goodbye. No matter how much time I have with those I love, it never seems to be enough.

Why even mention it? Because final farewells remind me to treasure the little things. The small steps I made in my publishing journey this month brought with them a heightened sense of gratitude and appreciation. So while these may not seem like big updates, they were meaningful to me!

1. I reached (and surpassed!) 100 “Want to Reads” on Goodreads! In fact, I’m all the way up to 140 now! Woot!

2. I gained 44 new Instagram followers! Well on my way to reaching my goal of 1000 before the end of the year. I can do it!

3. While I found it hard to focus this month, I revised a bunch of my work in progress (WIP). I should receive my 2nd edit letter for Soulmatch this week, so I’ll be back into edits on that one soon enough. Hoping to finish up the first draft of my WIP by the end of August at the very latest. Whew! Gotta get cracking!

4. With my improved Canva skills, I created a temporary book cover for Goodreads and Storygraph to use until the official one is released. Feeling so fancy!

5. I had my first interview! It was with Writer’s Digest and went great (At least, I think so! It was my first, after all!). It won’t be published until closer to the Soulmatch pub date.

6. I received my first advance payment! Okay, this one isn’t so little.

   You’re probably wondering if I splurged on anything, and yes, we bought a new washing machine! LOL. It arrives tomorrow. A huge chunk was set aside for the IRS (in an interest-bearing account) and some was used to pay off bills. The rest I’m saving for author expenses - like swag, books, and…

7. I hired a digital artist to create my first ever character art! And you get the first look! This is Sivon (pronounced sih-VAHN).

I’m so in love! I can’t tell you how wild it is to see a rendering of the person I dreamed up and wrote a whole novel about.

Now that I have character art, I can order bookmarks and postcards to share with bookstores and libraries!

Book Recs

I had lots of trouble focusing this month, so I only finished two books but enjoyed them both!

Pride & Prejudice & Pittsburgh is perfect for fans of Bridgerton and Outlander! Despite the title, it only has loose ties to Jane Austen’s work and a totally different plot. A little time travel, some scandalous canoodling (but it’s YA, so don’t expect anything too hot and heavy), and an uplifting tale about chasing your dreams. Super cute!

The Dark Place would appeal fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife (or maybe Loki?) and Stranger Things! The main character gets swept back in time to the night her brother disappears, but the world looks more like the Upside Down than real life. Definitely creepy but has a sweet romance as well!

New Release!

I’ve met some incredible authors throughout my publishing journey, and one of them is the award-winning domestic thriller author Claire Stibbe. Today, she celebrates the release of her 9th novel - Play Him, Play Her. Yay, Claire!!

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE novels centered around actors and the uncertainty of whether they’re telling the truth or merely playing a part. Ooh, this is gonna be so good!!! Click the photo below to order!