JUNE 2025

Spring cleaning and summer reading…

Well, hello there!

Me again, back with your monthly update on all things in the JJ book universe. If you’re new around here, welcome! I’m so happy to have you with us.

This newsletter serves as a long ramble covering everything that’s happening in my life, from publishing to personal.

I didn’t send a newsletter in May because, frankly, I forgot. Oops! Don’t judge me. It’s been a bit hectic around here lately. Thankfully, that means we have double the fun to catch up on this time around.

So settle in, grab your beverage of choice (I’m drinking my usual iced chai), and let’s chat, shall we?

You could say that things have been a bit insane in the career realm these past few months. (In a good way.)

My first traditionally published book THE WIND WEAVER hit bookstores worldwide in April, which was amazing and overwhelming at the same time.

On release night, I had a fabulous launch event at Lovestruck Books in Cambridge, MA, where I got to meet a bunch of readers in person, eat cupcakes, chat about my characters, and answer questions.

It was a blast! I swear, I did not stop smiling even once during the entire event. (Proof pictured below.)

Usually, after a book release, there’s what we writers fondly refer to as the post-pub crash out. (That’s how I refer to it, anyway.) There’s so much build up, so much momentum that goes into launching a book. Getting it out there in the world… pushing, pushing, pushing every day for weeks, for months, sometimes for years…

And then, in a blink, it’s over. It’s out there. And you’re left sitting at your desk, mentally exhausted and emotionally deflated.

In the past, that’s always been my experience. Except, this time around, post-pub crash out simply did not occur. There was no time to spiral, because THINGS WERE HAPPENING!

Exciting things.

Life-altering things.

Over the course of April and May, I watched in awe as readers all over the world fell in love with THE WIND WEAVER. I was absolutely flabbergasted when I received some shocking news from my UK publisher…

THE WIND WEAVER hit the No. 1 spot on The Sunday Times hardcover fiction list.

Then, only a few short weeks later, I was flabbergasted all over again when THE WIND WEAVER hit #2 on the Spiegel hardcover list in Germany… where it remained for FOUR STRAIGHT WEEKS.

How crazy is that?!

In my decade-long career, I have never been one to put too much focus on hitting bestseller lists. It’s simply not why I write — and, as an indie author, often impossible to do without vast print distribution at your fingertips.

However, I will admit, it is very validating to know that so many readers are resonating with my story, my characters, and this world I’ve built. I think — I hope — it also helps prove to my publishers that they should support the later books in the trilogy with marketing efforts and solid print runs.

In any case, I consider myself extremely lucky to connect with readers from the USA to the UK to Canada to France to Germany to Brazil to Sweden to Portugal to Spain... Your messages and reviews have flooded my inbox and filled my heart to the brim.

Wherever you are in the world, all I can say is THANK YOU. Thank you for reading. Thank you for telling your friends about this book. Thank you for helping me hit these crazy career milestones, which always felt far beyond my reach.

You are making my dreams come true, one day at a time.

June has arrived, which typically would usher in the first hints of summertime here in New England. But this spring, we seem to be stuck in a perpetual weather pattern of rainy mornings and gloomy afternoons.

I don’t mind. (Much.) Despite the drizzle, the peonies are in full bloom. My vegetable garden is starting to sprout. And everything is very, very green outside my office window, where I’ve spent the past few weeks sitting, staring at a blank screen as my mind tumbles over one terrifying question.

What’s next?

Now that my fantasy trilogy is complete, it’s the first time in nearly two years I’ve been able to ask myself that question. And, I confess, the first time I asked it, I was a little bit intimidated by the answer.

Or, rather, the lack of answer.

I’ve spent years waking up, knowing exactly what I needed to write that day. Which scene to focus on, which dialogue to hammer out. How could I possibly shift gears to something totally unknown, after all that time spent with the same characters?

I felt like my brain had been scooped out, that my heart had turned hollow inside my chest and would never again be capable of connecting with a new story.

…for about four weeks.

Then, not too long ago, new voices started whispering. New ideas started bubbling to the surface. Old ideas, as well, shoved aside during pressing deadlines, cried out: hey! remember me?

Starting over can be paralyzing, certainly, but it also opens up a whole new world of possibility. Maybe, like this gloomy stretch of New England weather we’ve been stuck in, my mind simply required a short resting state before true summer was ready to dawn.

All this to say: I’ve recently spent more time thinking about writing than actually putting words on paper. Developing ideas, not executing them. But I’ve decided not to stress out about it. I tell myself it’s good to have a break from the all-consuming push of release promotion, plus the breakneck marathon that is finishing a manuscript.

In lieu of typing, I’ve found enjoyment in more physical pursuits: gardening, walking, repainting my bedroom the most soothing shade of light green. I’ve conquered all the spring cleaning tasks I put off for months while trapped in the cerebral state of creation. (You would not believe the sheer amount of dust bunnies I found under my desk.)

I also took a weeklong vacation to the beach — WITHOUT MY LAPTOP, please clap! — where I did nothing besides read books and relax in the sunshine. Proof below.

When the right story is ready to be told, I will be ready to tell it. Until then… well, like the weather, I’ll be in a holding pattern.

Hopefully, by the time we check in next month, I’ll have a different answer for you.

My reading tastes lately have been as variable as my moods. I finally conquered the Pulitzer Prize winning Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (wowza, what amazing writing), then flew through Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (my first book of hers, but it will not be the last). Now, I’m neck-deep in the newest Hunger Games installment Sunrise on the Reaping which I just know is going to make me weep like a baby.

My TV consumption has been all over the genre map as well. To fill the romance craving, I watched Maxton Hall on Prime followed by several k-dramas. Then, radically shifting gears, I promptly devoured the dark horror-comedy Sweetpea on Hulu, the equally addicting and amusing mess that is Sirens on Netflix, and the can’t-look-away medical drama The Pitt on HBO. Oh, and just for fun, I rewatched S1 of Game of Thrones to see if it holds up all these years later. (It does.)

Whew, that was a lot to cover, but we made it to the end.

I hope your June is full of wonderful, fragile things. Fresh flowers, baby bunnies, dewdrops on grass, pink-edged sunsets. I’m looking forward to July — my birthday month! — but I’ll try to savor these next few weeks before it arrives.

Once summer finally shows up, it’s over in a heartbeat.

Until next time…