Hello, First name / my friend!

Authors often say that writing and releasing a book is similar to having a baby. Obviously it's quite different but basic metaphor--growing something for a prolonged period of time and then bringing it to life in an exhausting burst--is solid. 

 

Maybe it's that I'm #1 Context on the CliftonStrengths assessment but I remember everything about bringing all of my books into the world. One in particular, Missing in Action, comes to mind as releasing a book in March of 2020 while the entire world was shutdown and we just didn't know what the next day would bring was not the most ideal situation. 

 

Alas, I'd waited a really long time to share Wes and Tom's story. Readers had been asking about both of them, who appear as secondary/tertiary characters in the Walsh series books, since their first appearances. I didn't want to make anyone wait any longer for this wounded spy recovering from his injuries and the rigid businessman recovering from his upbringing.

 

Here's a little snippet from Tom in Missing in Action.

Dragging myself from my beautifully appointed South End apartment and out of the city to Boston's North Shore on a weeknight was not my idea of a good time. My weeknights were routinized down to the minute and I liked it that way. I'd meal-prepped the week but yet I was hand-carrying sushi to a knife-wielding military operative who didn't bother with shirts or remembering people he'd talked to for a few minutes five years ago. For f*ck's sake. This was not in my macros for the day. But this was what chest hair—and lonely boys with stupid muscles—did to me. Crazy irrational things like eating outside my meal plan and abandoning my sensible bedtime. All of this ignored the fact I hadn't notified Shannon about my second visit of the day to her home. I'd spent the afternoon debating it but as much as I adored the supreme ruler of the Walsh world, I didn't want her to know I was calling on her brother-in-law. Not that I was calling on him. No, we weren't seeing each other. We'd only eye-f*cked each other a bit and now we were eating dinner. Nothing to report here. I was merely skulking up the back steps to the apartment over her garage to deliver some sushi and…and that was it.

 

We'd eat and talk, and then I'd leave. That was it.

F*cking chest hair and sad eyes and stupid muscles.

In case you missed it, I got a little mouthy on Instagram Stories this week and mentioned that I'll have a simultaneous ebook/print/audio release this summer. And that Dr. O'Rourke's book is on my schedule. I know I've promised this a whole bunch of times already but I will have some real info to share soon. Stick with me!

 

Keep reading for more goodies! Hope you're doing well, my friend!

I will be signing at the Sweetgrass Author Event in Charleston, SC on March 23. An embossed and gold-foiled limited edition of In a Jam will be coming with me (reserve your copy here) and Hello Lovely is offering a *gorgeous* embossed limited edition of The Worst Guy (reserve yours here). 

 

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! 

Book recommendation: You need to read Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn. This is an absolutely lovely love story. There's some great spice, incredible banter, and a cast of characters that is wacky without feeling like you're being beaten over the head with the Quirky Small Town hammer. Read in KU/audio on Libby!

 

March freebie for the Romance Read Club selection went out on March 8. The featured book is Beyond The Roses by Monica James. You can still sign up at http://bit.ly/RomRead 

 

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.