The writing life

November Update: His Wayward Bride and Hiatus

By in Life, My Books, Romance of the Turf, The writing life

Thanksgiving is drawing near in the USA, and I’ve got much to be grateful for. At long last, the Romance of the Turf series is wrapped up with the release of His Wayward Bride! Jonah and Irene’s love story released as an ebook on November 5, and a print edition is now available too. It’s mass market sized, so it’ll line up beautifully with the other Romance of the Turf stories on your shelf. (I might possibly be a perfectionist.)

His Wayward Bride is my third book this year–fourth, if you count the reissue of The Sport of Baronets*–which is a pretty swift pace for me. As I mentioned last month, I’ve been on deadline for the eight years since the release of my first romance, during which time I’ve written 20 more novels and novellas.

But over the past several years, a trio of chronic health conditions have worsened steadily, and each book has become harder for me to write. Ultimately, I’ve been proud of every book once I finished it, but my body and brain are worn out.

Which brings us to the hiatus of this post’s title. I’ve been thinking about what I could step back from, and the answer I’ve regretfully come to is social media. I love the chance to connect with readers and fellow authors, but I need to try something different for a while.

So, at the end of this week I’ll begin an online hiatus from my social media accounts. I’m not sure how long the hiatus will be. It’ll be a surprise to all of us! I’ll leave my accounts open, as I look forward to returning to you all once I’m healthier. In the meantime, be sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter for news and exclusives. You can also follow me on BookBub to be alerted to sale prices on my books.

Much love, dear readers, and take care. I’m thankful for you. Truly. <3

*Correction: Er, actually it’s the fifth release! A Novella Collection came out in May.

October Update: The Writer Costume

By in Life, My Books, My delightful family, News, Romance of the Turf, The writing life

The November 5 release day for His Wayward Bride is a mere eight days away! The books are being formatted as I write this, and a digital edition will be out next Tuesday. The print edition always seems to take a bit longer, but I hope to have it to you the following week.

To celebrate the release of His Wayward Bride, I’ll be visiting Vanessa Kelly’s Clan Kendrick Facebook group on November 6. And the following Wednesday, November 13, my Facebook group will have a book club discussion of Sarah MacLean’s Brazen and the Beast. For both days, expect fun chat and lots of giveaways—hope to see you there!

This month has been full of family visits, which has been lovely. My brother’s family visited one weekend, then one of my aunts came to stay the following weekend. I traveled a lot in the first half of the year, and I’m so grateful to be home for a while and still get to see loved ones. We’ll get another visit over Thanksgiving. If you’re in the USA, have you made your Thanksgiving plans yet? If you’re in Canada, I hope you enjoyed a good holiday!

We didn’t buy Halloween candy until this past weekend, which was almost a smart choice. It would have been better not to buy candy until the afternoon of Halloween, since we’ve already opened the bags and started snitching. Little Miss R has decided to dress as Rosie the Riveter this year, which delighted my heart. She’s disappointed in me for not planning a costume as well, but those days were over for me quite a while ago. Unless I can be “writer in a hoodie and PJ pants,” I’m not interested.

Before the end of the year, I’ll begin an online hiatus, the details of which I’m still thinking through. For the past eight years—since October 2011, when my romance debut released—I’ve been constantly on deadline. During that time, I’ve written 20 more books. Some writers produce much more, and I’m grateful to them for creating so many of the books I love to read. For me, though, this has been a lot, especially as I deal with chronic health issues. So I’m thinking about how I can step back in some ways while I begin writing something new.

All just an FYI. I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter if you haven’t yet, as subscribers will always get the scoop whether I’m online or not. Thank you for reading! You’re wonderful. <3

September Update: A Reissue and a Reformat and a Redesign

By in Life, My Books, News, Romance of the Turf, The writing life

Hello again, everyone! My August offline wasn’t really a month off, but it allowed me some much-needed breathing room. Little Miss R started middle school, I continued working on His Wayward Bride for its November release, and I got The Sport of Baronets ready for reissue.

That’s the big news so far this month: you can get Hannah and Bart’s story again. It’s been reissued with gorgeous cover art that reflects the importance of horses to the story—and to the series as a whole, since the Chandler family inhabits the heart of the Regency horse-racing world.

The Romance of the Turf series contains 5 stories:

*The Sport of Baronets, an enemies-to-lovers novella that introduces the Chandler family and gives youngest sibling Hannah her love story.
*A Gentleman’s Game, a road romance featuring younger brother Nathaniel.
*Scandalous Ever After, a friends-to-lovers romance that was an NPR Best Book of 2017.
*The Way to a Gentleman’s Heart, a second-chance romance novella that introduces Mrs. Brodie’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies in a duo of the same name.
*And finally, His Wayward Bride will be coming your way on November 5.

The first excerpt from HWB appeared in Rose Lerner’s Patreon newsletter last Wednesday. I posted the entire first scene on my site last Friday, and newsletter subscribers got to read the remainder of Chapter 1 that same day. HWB is still going through revision and editing, so these excerpts might not be 100% final, but they’re close. I hope you’ve all enjoyed your first glimpse of Irene, the resourceful pickpocketing teacher heroine, and her mysterious marriage to Jonah Chandler.

A new cover is being created for HWB to better represent Irene as a biracial woman. And the promised print edition of The Sport of Baronets is in the works too! It’s taking a while because I requested a custom size for the paperback. I want it to be mass market sized so it’ll match the novels in the series. Picky? Maybe so, but think how pretty they’ll look when they’re all lined up on a bookshelf. 🙂

Hope September is going well for you! What have you been up to?

July Update: Wait, What Month Is it?

By in Delightful me, Life, My Books, My delightful family, News, The writing life

Summer is flying by! I can’t believe it’s already the last day of July. Here’s what’s happened this month:

*My brother’s family moved halfway across the country, and we road-tripped to help them unpack.

*I enrolled Little Miss R for middle school (sob!).

*She had 2340983409 playdates with friends while I continued revising His Wayward Bride based on 9 sets of feedback (only one of those numbers is an exaggeration).

*I joined historical fiction author Julia Kelly and her sister Justine for a very fun episode of their book-recommendation podcast, You’re Never Going to Read This.

There’s just a smidge left of summer for us, and I’m planning to spend it offline. Little Miss R will be starting at a new school, and we’ve got a lot to do to get ready for the year. I’m also working on finishing His Wayward Bride for an October release, and I’d like to get The Sport of Baronets ready for reissue in September.

So, I’ll see you after Labor Day! Hope all is well with you, and that your summer–or winter, if you’re in the southern half of our beautiful world–has been a happy season with many great books.

June Update: New Books and Old

By in Life, My Books, News, Romance of the Turf, The Sport of Baronets, The writing life, Website

Happy June! This month has been…a lot. But in a good way. 🙂

The biggest news is that How to Ruin a Duke is now available! This duo of new Regency novellas from Grace Burrowes and me released on June 11. This is the second time Grace and I have worked together, and I loved it just as much as our first collaboration (the now-retired The Duke’s Bridle Path, which included my novella Desperately Seeking Scandal). My novella features a luthier heroine–she builds and repairs stringed instruments–and a hero who does a little bit of everything, especially avoid his past. Grace’s story includes a duty-bound duke who becomes the subject of scandal–and the lady who just might be behind his undoing.

In other news, I’ve got the rights back to The Sport of Baronets. That novella is the first story in the Romance of the Turf series, which includes HEAs for the talented but troubled Chandler family at the heart of the Regency horse-racing world. The Sport of Baronets is Hannah and Bart’s story, an enemies to lovers tale with a bit of inspiration from the Sherlock Holmes story “Silver Blaze.”

Having the rights back means this: at first, the book was released through a publisher (in this case, Sourcebooks). Since it’s been out for several years, they’ve agreed to return the right to publish the book, so now I can release it on my own. The Sport of Baronets will be unavailable for a while as Sourcebooks removes the current edition from sale and I work on a new one. Look for a rerelease of The Sport of Baronets in September–just in time to get you ready for the final Romance of the Turf story, His Wayward Bride, in October.

Yep, this is finally an update on His Wayward Bride! Jonah and Irene’s story has been a long time coming, as you’ve seen hints in the earlier Romance of the Turf stories about Jonah’s mysterious missing bride. Where has Irene been throughout the Romance of the Turf series? At last, you’ll find out–and there’s a big connection to Mrs. Brodie’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies.

As always, this book will be able to stand on its own for readers who are new to the series. But if you’ve read the earlier Romance of the Turf books, you’ll notice that all the ongoing plot threads are tied up. I’m planning on either October 15 or 22 as a release date for His Wayward Bride. If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you’ll be notified when the release date is set and the book is available.

Outside of the book world, Little Miss R turned 11 this month (!!). That’s not particularly little anymore, but I’ve become used to calling her that online, and Medium Miss R doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. She’s home with me a lot this summer, which has delayed the deadline for His Wayward Bride but has been a delight. She still likes me and wants to be with me, which I’m not taking for granted as we move through the tweens!

To spend as much time as possible with my girl this summer, I’ve stepped back from regular posting on my Facebook page. I’m still active in my readers’ group on Facebook, and I’d love to welcome you to be a member there for weekly giveaways and new posts nearly every weekday. I’m also popping up on Twitter sometimes, but in August, I’ll take a complete online hiatus.

That’s all the news for now! How’s your summer going–or winter, if you’re in the southern hemisphere?

May Update: Summer, New Releases, and That One Print Edition

By in Author interviews, Delightful me, Guest post, Life, My Books, My delightful family, News, The writing life

It’s summer! At least, it is according to the school calendar here. Little Miss R has finished elementary school (!!) and begun her summer break, so I’m in a scramble of day camps and playdates as I work toward my next deadline. (It’s for His Wayward Bride, and I should be able to share more info soon.)

This month marked the release of A Novella Collection, which pulls together four stand-alone novellas at a discounted ebook price. I’ve just reviewed and approved the final proof for the print edition, so I’d expect that to go live early next week. The print edition is going to be a lovely trade paperback–I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

I’ve also just received the ebook edition of How to Ruin a Duke, beautifully formatted by writing partner Grace Burrowes. For this title, the print edition will go up first–maybe even early next week! Then the ebook will come out on the official release day, which is June 11.

For self-published works–which this is–it’s not possible to put up a print edition for pre-order. It’s available for purchase as soon as the link goes live. So that’s why I don’t have a print link for you yet, but as soon as I do, you’ll be able to order the print edition.

Yesterday I recorded a podcast with author Julia Kelly and her sister Justine, the co-hosts of You’re Never Going to Read This. Every episode is warm, fun, and a little cheeky. I heartily encourage you to get caught up! My episode with the sisters will air sometime in June, perhaps around the middle of the month. We talked about everything from my new releases to the book club I’ve accidentally founded within my family, and there are LOTS of book recommendations.

And finally, my Facebook readers’ group enjoyed a book club discussion of Lisa Kleypas’s Devil’s Daughter earlier this month. The book club is a quarterly affair, but I’ll be offline in August (see above re: summer and the child care struggle). So the group voted to wait on the next book club until November rather than cramming in another discussion ASAP. Apart from our formal quarterly book club, we share weekly what-are-you-reading recommendation posts, and I post giveaways and sneak peeks at what I’m working on. If you haven’t yet joined the group, I’d love to see you there!

March Update: Planes and Automobiles, but No Trains

By in Life, My Books, News, Research, The romance genre, The writing life

Dear readers, I feel as if I’ve spent half the month of March on an airplane! This has been a month of much travel for me, with two trips to North Carolina. In between, Little Miss R had spring break, so there hasn’t been much of what I’d call a “normal” schedule this month. Now that things are a bit calmer, I can happily report that it’s all been lovely. Here’s what’s up.

The first trip to NC was purely for family, while the second was to present at Duke University as part of the UNSUITABLE lecture series. Check out the official-looking poster for the event! Using my novella “The Prodigal Duke” as a sort of case study, I spoke with a fabulous, engaged audience about historical research methods–especially Vauxhall Gardens and tightrope walking. The tightrope-walking heroine of The Prodigal Duke was inspired by a real-life wire-walker named Madame Saqui, and we all had a great time looking at historic images and talking about the balance between history and fiction.

What else happened this month? Why, something new has popped up for pre-order: my June novella duet with Grace Burrowes, called How to Ruin a Duke. Grace and I worked together for the now-retired novella duo The Duke’s Bridle Path in 2017 (Desperately Seeking Scandal was my novella in that duo), and I’m so glad we could write together on another project. With all my travel, I’m not quite done with my novella yet, but Rowena and Simon’s story is coming together nicely. I hope you’ll all enjoy meeting them in June, along with Grace’s couple!

Also coming soon: a boxed set reissue of some of my older novellas. Reissuing a collection will allow me to create a print edition for those of you who prefer that format, and the collection will represent a discount over buying each novella separately. This box set will be posted soon on my site and my social media accounts, so check in on Facebook and Twitter and you’ll get the latest scoop. You can also subscribe to my newsletter for big news like new releases.

Thanks for reading–and if you’re traveling this month, may you be safe and well!

February Update: Books and Travel

By in Delightful me, Life, My Books, Roguish Runners, Royal Reward, The writing life, WIN

Well, it’s official: winter has arrived. The calendar said it was here in December, but only in February have we had the kind of chilling, biting cold that calls for hot chocolate and school cancellations. Little Miss R recently had a day off school due to wind-chill temperatures. (My sister’s family lives further north and has had SIX off this year. As in, 2019.)

Working from home as I do erodes the boundaries between “at work” and “away from work,” so when Little Miss R has an unpexpected day off, I feel pressure to get just as much done as ever. But she wants to play! She’s far too extroverted to settle with a stack of books all day. We compromised on some playtime, then some worktime for me while she snitched a device and FaceTimed with her friends (the modern equivalent of stretching the phone cord from the kitchen down the hallway, as I did so many times).

Speaking of work…one change since last month’s update is that I’ve regretfully bowed out of one of the planned novella projects for this year. I hated to do it, because I knew I’d love working with the other authors. I felt like I was letting them down, and myself too.

But I’m trying to be more realistic about what I can do, given the limitations of my energy. I need to think about what I can get done, not what I want to get done or what I think I should get done. It’s an ongoing process of reality checks and realizations. Perhaps I’ll get there one day.

Anyway, you’ll still be getting a new story from me in June and again later on in the fall—maybe October. And before then, of course, is the release of Lady Notorious on 2-26. I’ll be around the Internet in a few places to share excerpts and giveaways, including Limecello’s blog, The Drawing Room Facebook group, and Vanessa Kelly’s Clan Kendrick Facebook group. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, I’ll always post the latest hops and stops there.

Looking ahead to March, I’ll be going twice to North Carolina. The first trip is purely to be with family, to attend my littlest niece’s baptism. The second time I go, I’ll be presenting for Duke as part of the “Unsuitable” series examining the role of women in popular culture and fiction. I believe these events are open to the public, so if you happen to be in the Raleigh-Durham area on March 22, I’d love to see you! More info here: https://sites.duke.edu/unsuitable/events/

And now, I have a giveaway to offer. As I looked through my stash of author copies, I realized I have one print advance copy of Lady Notorious without a home. I’d love to get it into a reader’s hands before publication day on the 26th!

If you’d like that reader to be you, just leave a comment on this post. In accordance with the site privacy policy, please note that your email address will be stored, but it will never be shared, and the only reason it will ever be used is for me to contact you if you win. 🙂 I’ll choose the winner at random from among all comments left by Monday, February 18, at noon ET and will leave a comment myself to name the winner. International entries are most welcome. What other fine print should I add? Void where prohibited, must be 18 or over, must love books…all right, I’ll leave it in your hands now.

Thanks for reading, gang. There would be no books without you, so you’re all my Valentines.

January Update: New Year, New News

By in Delightful me, Life, My Books, News, Royal Reward, The writing life, Website

Or maybe it makes more sense to say “New year, new approach”? I hadn’t realized how much time had slipped by since I updated my blog, but it’s been six months, which is not too good. Especially since I released a book during those six months. My deepest apologies to Mrs. Brodie’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies.

What happened over the last six months? Well, I’ve been triaging. I have chronic health issues that limit my time and energy. Unfortunately, over the last year, the problems have gotten more severe. If I only have the ability to update one site, I’ve chosen to post news on Facebook (I now have a readers’ group as well as an author page) rather than here on the blog. It’s easier to interact with readers on Facebook. Talking with readers, to put it in Marie Kondo terms, sparks a lot of joy for me.

But I do want my website to be the ultimate source for news on my books, which means I need to do more with it. Which also means I have to be smarter about how I work, since I’m unable to work more.

I’m trying out some methods to help me be more mindful of how I spend time. Tracking my reading. Chunking projects rather than working for tiny pieces of time. Getting help with graphics. Creating more detailed plans for my works-in-progress.

In a lot of ways, I suspect the year itself will be a work in progress.

Regardless, I’ll keep you all posted, and in several different ways:

  • For of-the-moment news like sales, follow me on social media. I’m mainly on Facebook and Twitter, though I do hop over to Pinterest to make boards for each of my books. And if you follow me on BookBub, you’ll get alerted to sales and new releases, as well as recommendations of books I’ve loved.
  • For big news like new releases or a whole flock of sales all at once, be sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter. Subscribers get exclusive excerpts, trivia, and giveaways. Just sayin’. 🙂
  • And here on my blog, I’ll post about bigger picture stuff. What’s in the works, whether any plans are changing, all that good stuff. I don’t want to overcommit, so let’s say once a month. How’s that?

Ta da! That’s the goal and a plan. And here’s the big picture news as of today.

My final Royal Rewards novel–Lady Notorious—is coming out next month, on February 26. This is the love story of Cass and George, both of whom appeared in the previous book in the series, Lady Rogue. I’m very happy with how their story turned out; they strike sparks on the page as they solve a murder mystery and fall in love.

But since I’m being frank, I’ll admit: I’ve never had a harder time writing a book. I didn’t feel well the whole time I worked on it, and I had to ask my saintly editor for an extension on the deadline. (She really is a saint, and I love her, and I hope her fondness for Lady Notorious means readers will love it too.)

It’s become clear to me that I can’t keep working at the pace I was attempting, but I’m not sure what that will mean going forward. For 2019, you might not notice any difference at all! I have two novella projects lined up for this year–a duo with the wonderful Grace Burrowes in June and an anthology in October with some of my other dear writer friends. In late spring, I might be putting out a box set of previously published novellas, to give you all a chance to grab these stories at a discount.

Another project, His Wayward Bride, is taking a while as I began a major rewrite at the end of last year. The new direction is working well, but I don’t want to promise a specific release date yet. It’ll be this year, I’m 99% sure…but saying 100% seems like tempting fate!

So, that’s what’s up with me. How are things with you?