Hello, MAD Romance Readers!

That’s what I’m calling this group now. Hope you’re all fine with that. I think it’s a bit fun, and I’ve been publishing for nearly ten years and have never come up with a cute name for my readers, so there you go.

I’m going to start off by talking about how ROUGH of a month March was. Truly. At the start, I had my wisdom teeth removed. The oral surgeon made it sound like I’d recover in a weekend, but it was two weeks of a rough recovery.

My husband and I had family in and out of the hospital all month. Some are waiting on critical surgeries that needed to happen yesterday, but the longer they wait for treatment (because the health industry sucks in the US), the worse their conditions get. It’s been a mental and emotional struggle to juggle this on top of working and everything else.

For those that don’t know, I volunteer with a local organization to raise awareness about local events and things that helps uplift people’s voices and inspires them to vote. I missed every single event this month because of one thing or another, which makes me feel wholly UNINSPIRED.

To finish the month off, I woke up Monday morning with food poisoning AND ovarian cyst bursts that lasted a few days. I’m still recovering and have pending doctor appointments to check in because WOW. It’s been just insane, and I have hated my life a few times this month.

I’m thankful for my husband and our family. Here’s a picture of us Saturday evening before my multiple episodes of sickness. It was nice to go out for a bit and be human and not sad about stuff.

In late February, I did a title reveal and added a quote I’d written that day. When Late Flowers Bloom is my working title, but I’m also thinking about changing it to fit the aesthetic of my other titles in the series. We will have to see. But anyways, here’s the post I shared with more details about the book!

(this is my first time embedding something, so I hope it works)

I’m being very slow and tentative about what I share because I’m still writing it, and I need to focus on writing more than I need to focus on marketing.

Not that marketing isn’t important, but I can’t write if I’m spending hours a week making graphics and reels and my time outside of work is already super limited. PLUS, all the stuff from last month, like OMG, can I just finish my project already?!?!?!

I will say I can see the end on this thing, though. I’ve already plotted out the next few plot points, and I just need to sit down and write. Things may change as I draft and decide I like this or that more, but I’m finishing this book.

I always have a tough time with the third act. You have to wrap up all plot points, so it takes a lot of reviewing and keeping track of what happened. This is a little easier when it’s a novella because there isn’t much story to wrap up, but this will be my longest novel ever, so there’s still some drama that needs to happen and be resolved.

I hope you all like it! Alpha readers so far have been super supportive and have called it addicting, hot, and emotional. I’m both scared and excited to share Cami and Aaron’s story.

My old book covers for the Forbidden Flames are leaving! I already have Over the Line back from the illustrator, and I’m waiting on Off the Grid. I’ll announce those two together at the same time and put them up for purchase!

When Late Flowers Bloom (or if I change the title) will be announced later as I draw closer to the tentative release date (late August or early September). I want to finish the book before I post a pre-order link, so I’m hoping that’ll happen before summer starts. I’d love to focus June, July, and August on getting pre-orders and ARC sign-ups ready to go!

I’m also still working on my website so I can have a shop where people can purchase signed copies or just purchase my books directly from me. I’m really pushing for this WIDE thing and not relying on KU or Amazon specifically anymore. Most of you know that, but just a reminder. When I have that all together, I would love to do some signed copies! 🙂

One more update: I’m hoping to get Over the Line also in production for an audiobook, so that will be coming later this year as well! I just have to finish my WIP and replace my covers because it really feels like crunching time on those, and then I’ll feel more comfortable to shift gears into these other things I’m working on.

I appreciate those of you on my newsletter who are keeping up to date with my progress. Sending out my newsletter last time and seeing a pretty solid open rate with low unsubscribes actually gave me the confidence to invest in this more.

I had worried nobody really cared about my writing or progress, but I need to stop rejecting myself before I’m rejected. I’m writing because I love telling stories. I have many more books planned, and I’m just glad to have you all on this journey with me!

Adios!