Hello Friends,

Wow! January flew, didn’t it? Happy February. As much as the teacher in me would like a couple more snow days, I do hope Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow because it’s been a cold winter. I like to hibernate when it’s this cold out. Do you?

I have some exciting opportunities for you!

Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day or both, it’s just around the corner. Since my books tend to pull at reader’s heartstrings, they’d make great gifts. And they are still available for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

Here’s a look at what I’m up to this winter. If you are local, for the first two events (Adelbooks and More and the craft fair at the AquaTurf Club), I do hope you’ll stop by. For the third, you can join The Bookish Road Trip (link at the bottom of this newsletter) to participate in the book club Zoom. You’ll have to register for the Book Club newsletter to have the link delivered to your email.

I’m also thrilled to attend two in-person book clubs this month: one for All That is Sacred and one for Of Lies and Honey. 

I finally finished book three. Well, that is until my editors get their hands on it. But, I do believe it’s in a polished enough state to submit. Thank you to those who took the time to weigh-in on a title. Once I sign my contract, I’ll announce what I chose. I’m excited for the book-three journey to begin!

Speaking of beginning: I’ve started writing a new book already. Book FOUR is in the works. I’ve done my background research and prep, and I’ve already written 5K words.

Background research for this book consists of taking a detailed look at settings (Boston and Cape Cod, primarily), professions for which I need to learn the jargon (venture capitalists, marketing, and law). My first scene is the reading of a will, so I needed the format and technical lingo to make it authentic.

Next, I created comprehensive character bios for six primary characters (and much less comprehensive for a few side characters); this includes finding photographs that match some of the physical features I envision for major characters. I conduct a broad keyword search into actor websites and scroll until I find just the right ones. To give you a sneak peek, my cast list so far includes: Olivia Cooke, Chris Hemsworth, Clive Owen, Jamie Dornan, Allison Janney, and Claire Holt.

I always know where I’ll begin and end my books, but the middle is murky. I simply begin writing and let the story take me where it needs to go. I’m often surprised by the twists and turns it takes, and that’s the fun part. More to come in future newsletters.

Authors Talking Bookish podcast is back in full swing. Upcoming episodes include:

FEB 5th: A reader-centric episode (38) "Best Book Recs from 2024 and Most Anticipated in 2025"

FEB 12th: A reader AND writer episode called “The Mystique of Book Reviews and Blurbs,” episode 39, where we not only talk about the importance of blurbs and book reviews, we also talk about how to review a book and why it’s so important.

FEB 26th: The next episode (40), will be “An Interview w/ Author Sarahlyn Bruck,” whose most recent book is called Light of the Fire.

Click Authors Talking Bookish link below for listening options.

Stay warm, my friends; read a book!

Until next time…