SEPTEMBER 2024

Here we are again…

I’m a day late in sending this monthly newsletter. I know, I know. I’m sorry. Life has been unexpectedly busy since we last caught up, and time simply slipped away from me.

Forgive me, will you?

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, "Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." I’m inclined to agree with him. Something about that turning calendar page from August to September makes my heart so full. Waking up in the mornings and feeling that faint hint of chill, smelling that first whisper of fall that starts to creep into the New England air…

It feels like a new beginning.

A fresh start.

When I’m not busy taking my sweaters out of storage and dusting off my favorite leather boots, my September days are packed with words. In this month’s newsletter, I’ll share some writing updates — I’m finally making some headway, hooray! — and I’ll also steer you in the direction of two different paperback giveaways currently happening so you can win some free books. (Double hooray!) As always, I’ll close out with what I’ve been reading/watching/listening to since we last caught up.

So, settle in with your favorite beverage (I’m currently drinking a freshly brewed cup of pumpkin flavored coffee, don’t judge me) and let’s chat, shall we?

I’ve come to realize that one of the most difficult parts of being an author is keeping secrets. Whether it’s sitting on big book news or patiently biding your time before you can reveal some pretty cover art, it seems you’re always forced to keep quiet about something in this business.

This is especially true when it comes to traditional publishing, where the timelines are muuuuuch longer between the writing phase and eventual publication.

For example: I accepted an offer from Penguin Random House to publish my romantasy trilogy back in summer 2023. But I did not get to talk about the trilogy with you guys until early 2024 when the Publishers Marketplace announcement went out. That means I was sitting on a ginormous secret for about 8 months.

8 LONG MONTHS OF SECRECY!

Despite the fact that I write fiction for a living, I detest lying. I’m generally an open book, pardon the author pun. But I’m going to have to get better — a lot better — at keeping some of my cards close the the chest. Because nearly every day, I seem to have more things I can’t talk about. (Yet.)

And that’s not even including the books themselves.

To clarify: I’m currently writing book three. Meanwhile, you guys haven’t even read book one. Which means, I can’t share a single freaking thing about what I’m currently working on with you. Every scene, every character interaction, every snippet of dialogue… potential spoiler!

That’s a new challenge for me.

In the past, I was able to torture you all with teasers as I was writing. I could, in a sense, market my books as I wrote them, in tandem. Now, I find myself in a strange new author reality, in which I’m promoting the 2025 release of a book I finished writing in 2022, while editing a book I wrote in 2023, and simultaneously writing a book that won’t hit shelves until… 2027?

Gosh, just typing that out nearly makes my head explode.

I will admit, there is a silver lining to stepping back from the marketing aspect of my career. Namely: I get to focus far more of my energy on writing. And that’s really where my head needs to be focused right now, anyway.

Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve started working on book three in my romantasy trilogy. And while I can’t talk about the plot or give you any real specifics, I can tell you that this book has some VERY high stakes and some EPIC battle scenes that will require every last one of my brain cells to pull off in a satisfactory way.

No pressure!

The good news is, I’m making some tangible progress after a few weeks of waffling over the opening chapters. Beginnings are always hard for me. It takes me twice as long to write half as much. Whenever I jump into a new manuscript, I tend to feel like I’m driving a car stuck between two gears.

Uphill.

For miles.

But then, eventually, something just… clicks. My brain slides into gear, and it’s rather smooth sailing from then on out.

With this book, that mental click into gear happened in a very surprising way. One morning, I was doing a short brainstorming exercise before I started writing in earnest for the day — just fleshing out the backstory of a side character with 500 or so words about their upbringing, their personality, their formative experiences… (This is something I sometimes do when trying to get inside a new character’s brain, so they feel like a real person with a real history when I eventually introduce them on the page.)

But as I wrote this particular character’s background, a simple creative writing exercise turned into something else. Before I knew it, I’d written a full chapter from their perspective. Then two. Then three. Fast forward a few days… and, in the end, I sat there staring at a full prequel novella of 20,000 words set in my fantasy world. And it wasn’t hard at all. In fact, it just poured out of me. Effortless.

Now, I know what you’re going to ask.

Will I ever publish it? I have no idea. Was it progress toward my book three manuscript? Technically not. Was it therefore a waste of my time? Hell freaking no!

I may not have added 20,000 to the word count of book three, but I am even better equipped to do so now, as I set aside this novella side-project and shift back to the main story unfolding on my laptop screen.

Because writing isn’t a linear process. (At least, not for me.)

I remind myself that the more I know about my characters, the more authentically I can pen them. The more I understand the places they’ve been, the paths they’ve walked, the more real this big, war-torn world feels to me as I bring it to life.

So, I’m taking it as a win — regardless of what my word count progress bar says for the month. Headway is headway. Sometimes, you have to let your brain off its leash and see where it leads you.

Sometimes, that destination is better than you ever anticipated.

I’ve had a busy few weeks, even when I’m not writing. I love this time of year, and I’ve been trying to take advantage of the perfect weather as much as humanly possible before it slips away.

That means: day trips!

I took several drives up the coast to some of my favorite MA towns — Rockport, Gloucester, Newburyport, to name a few — and wandered around, exploring and shopping and snapping photos.

Here I am on Bearskin Neck in Rockport, where I like to dream of one day owning a little cafe-slash-bookshop…

My small town adventures were coupled with some fun city-based activities as well. I had a chance see the Broadway show Les Misérables when it visited Boston on tour at the tail end of August. I also spent a sunny afternoon in the North End (Boston’s “Little Italy” neighborhood where I lived for half a decade) enjoying one of the legendary “feasts” that take place there every year.

The feasts are essentially street festivals that honor different patron saints, a constant parade of delicious foods and enthusiastic crowds. I try to go to make it to at least one each year. (This time around, I chose St. Anthony’s Feast.)

I took the ferry on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, wandered around the winding cobbled streets outside my old apartment, bought some cannoli at Mike’s pastry (the best in town!), and had a lovely lunch in North Square before hopping on the ferry back homeward.

Lately, I’ve been taking long walks nearly every day, a four mile loop that follows the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Long walks outside always help me clear my head after a full day at the keyboard. More often than not, walking is also where I work through tricky plot points or sort out tangled threads of dialogue.

Every day, I step on a few more crunchy leaves as I stroll. We aren’t quite in full fall yet, but it’s steadily creeping up on us. This in-between time of year is one of the most spectacular here in New England. The humidity is gone, but the summer sunshine remains. The afternoons are blustery but warm. Leaves are beginning to fall from the maple trees.

Cue the Gilmore Girls soundtrack.

Earlier this week, I crossed one of my first fall-related activities off my list. I drove up to one of the local coastal farms (Russell Orchards in Ipswich, for my fellow Massachusetts folks) to pick some apples, purchase a pumpkin for my front porch, and eat a freshly made apple cider donut.

It’s an annual tradition that always leaves me with far too many apples than I know what to do with (send recipes, please!) but I enjoy it immensely and will likely continue to go each year until I’m old and gray.

Now that we’re all caught up on my life lately, it’s time for some fun stuff. And by that, I mean: free books!

Not one but TWO giveaways are currently happening over on Goodreads.

ENTER NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH!

Win an early copy of THE WIND WEAVER from my US publisher:

Win a copy of BAD LUCK CHARM signed by me:

Good luck to all who enter!

Before I let you go, as promised, I wanted to touch on what I’ve been consuming lately to fill the creative void. Though, I fear this section is going to be a bit sparse this month. And maybe next month, too.

When I’m actively working on a project, it’s tough for me to read anything in that same genre. So, for the foreseeable future, romantasy, fantasy, and romance are essentially off my TBR. (Bummer, I know. Trust me.)

One genre I can enjoy is nonfiction. I randomly picked up an illuminating book of essays on the human experience called The Anthropocene Reviewed, by John Green which I thoroughly enjoyed. And I’ve also spent far too many hours pouring through the Smithsonian’s “History Map by Map” collection, which is a fascinating set of tabletop books detailing famous events throughout history.

There are maps of important battles ranging from Thermopylae to Gettysburg to D-Day! I’m using it as a research resource as I plot out the logistics of my fantasy battle scenes. Aaaaaand I’m also genuinely enjoying the deep dive into history. (Yes, I am aware that I am a nerd.)

As for TV, I recently watched — and LOVED — the new Netflix adaptation of Erin Hilderbrand’s The Perfect Couple. A very binge-watchable whodunnit murder mystery with a great cast. (And set here in my home state of Massachusetts!) Highly recommend.

For a less entertaining (but nonetheless important) night of television, I tuned into this week’s presidential debate. (This is my obligatory reminder to register to vote if you haven’t already.)

If you have great book or tv/movie recommendations, please send them my way! My TBR is relentless and all-consuming. You can reply right to this email if you’d like. In fact, you can just say hello, no recommendations necessary.

Speaking of TBRs…

Well, my friends, my coffee cup is now in need of a refill and it’s safe to say I’ve yapped at you plenty for one month. I have a book to write and a walk to take as soon as I hit my word count.

I hope the rest of September treats you well. xx

Until next month…