Hello, First name / my friend!
 
It's so funny how January lingers on for--seemingly--years while February cruises by so fast I can barely remember where it all went. 
 
In my defense, I did take an unprecedented break from everything and left town for two weeks in search of sunnier weather, so I missed the meat of this month--and it was great. For the first time in my 10+ years of publishing books, I took a vacation without bringing a manuscript along to get a few words written in the morning before everyone woke up or edits to review during a flight or even ideas for a new project to start scribbling in a notebook. For once, I didn't work on anything or let myself feel any urgency or guilt to work on anything. 
 
It was weird. It really weird. But also really good. I'm excited about the things the rest of this year will bring and (as soon as I finalize some narrator schedules), I'll have some news for you.
 
I didn't work at all but I did read a bunch of books and I have to tell you about them. First up, I had a lot of ARCs from my lovely author friends waiting for me and I cannot wait for you to read them! In order of release date:
  1. This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan, out March 5. As you already know, I love this series. Highly recommend for a layered, emotional journey through life after divorce, motherhood, and discovering yourself all over again.
  2. The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn, out March 26. I loved this book so much. It sucked me in like a tornado. I'm going to talk more about Kate's books the closer we get to this release because there's so much to say.
  3. Only and Forever by Chloe Liese, out April 2. Chloe Liese's writing is smart, spicy, and gorgeously immersive. This is another Bergman family gem. The MMC runs a romance book club! The FMC is a thriller author with writer's block! They become roommates! So good.
A few other books recently read and loved:
  1. Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan. I am new to Rosie's books and this one was a lot of fun. We have a scientifically witchy curse breaker FMC who was hired to clear up a centuries-old curse at a Scottish castle. We have a disgraced archaeologist assigned to the same castle and he doesn't want to be anywhere near anything as foolish as curse-breaking. But neither of them know this when they bump into each other in the village pub. Then they're enemies and they are awful to each other. Alas, they find a way to work together, though it all gets very messy (and steamy) before it wraps up. A fun read with some solid spice.
  2. The Reason I Married Him by Meghan Quinn (KU). Fantastic duet narration audiobook. An arranged marriage with all the typical laughs of an MQ book and quite a few tears. Be warned that it's heavy on the childhood trauma for the FMC (flashbacks to abusive dad).
  3. The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa. An absolutely hilarious fake dating romance (dual narration audiobook) with How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes. Note: This is an Audible original audio and not available in ebook/print at this time.
Finally, I've heard the audio edition of In a Jam is discounted for non-Audible members through the end of this month. Jason Clarke and Kit Swann made magic with that one. 
 
Hope you're doing well, my friend!
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Upcoming Events:
I will be signing at the Sweetgrass Author Event in Charleston, SC on March 23. Let me know if I'll be seeing you there!
 
I'll also be attending the RomCon Festival in Ashland, MA on May 18 with Loretta Chase, Kosoko Jackson, Cecelia Tran, Caroline Linden, and more. Registration is now open for this event! 
In case you missed it:
 
A new look for Shucked! There's a map of Friendship, RI in the front of the redesigned paperback and original orange paperback is still available here. The audio will arrive summer of 2024 from narrators Jason Clarke and Christine Lakin.
 
Completely random thing I'm loving: It's the middle of the winter here in New England but I'm obsessed with this cool blanket. I've been giving it out to everyone I know who likes blankets and/or hates being hot. The fabric is soft and silky, and it is cool to the touch. It will warm up with your body temp though moving it around/turning it over keeps me cool. I slept with it during a summer heat wave when there was no air conditioning, and was really surprised at the effectiveness. It's a thin, cool blanket--but it's also heavy. The weight reminds me of one of my grandmother's heavy afghans. It's nice and grounding, especially when I'm too hot for a lot of layers but still want that pressure. I'm very sensitive to heat and cold, and can never regulate my body temp, so this has been such a lifesaver.

Typos and broken links happen. It's okay. The earth is very hot and fragile, and so are we.
 
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