Of Ice and Men

What am I doing writing about 2020 when we’re already one week into February? Well, y’all, let me tell just how crazy everything has been lately! Let me just recap my January for you: On Friday, January 3rd, I had my on-site interview with a company down in Pittsburgh for an open position. On Tuesday, January 7th, I got the offer from HR that, pending a satisfactory background check and drug test, I was hired. On Friday, January 10th, I got the call from the hiring manager that I cleared everything, and we scheduled my first day of work. On Monday, January 13th, I turned in my two-weeks notice at my now former job. And on Tuesday, January 28th, I began my first day of work in downtown Pittsburgh. As you can see from that list, this all happened so fast . My last two weeks at my prior job were spent trying to get the entire  office organized and everyone informed on my responsibilities and what they’d have to take over. After 11 years, 7 months there, the list was long...

After releasing two books in the span of two months, I've been doing a bunch of different things. Some of it is working on what I've been calling my "Top Secret Project." I think it's gonna be a trilogy, taking place on a new team. I'm trying to get the entire trilogy ready for a quick release schedule. If I can manage it, I'll have it out by the end of the year, but no guarantees! I've also been enjoying my summer! Last year, I felt like I had wasted my summer. I didn't want that to happen this year. So I instituted Pool Day, which was every Wednesday at the community pool (weather permitting, of course). I went to see one of my favorite bands, Jimmy Eat World. I went to the zoo with my friend and her little one. I've already been to the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival once, and I'm sure I will be going again. What else? I've tackled a huge project that's been sitting on my shelf for far too long. What's that...

Y'all. May was a crazy month. I had so much fun in Niagara Falls and Gettysburg, attending those two author events (Romancing the Falls and Rockin' Romance Readers, respectively). Mama J came with me, and we had a blast hanging out with  Lisa B. Kamps  again, meeting Christine and Victoria of Sweet & Sassy Reads , and loading up our shelves with books by new-to-us authors! Oh yeah, and I had a book come out, too. :) So even though May was awesome, I'm a little bit glad it's over. I'm still celebrating my latest release, but I'm also getting to work on what's to come. Things I'm up to: Proofing the paperback copy of  Dump and Chase  before announcing that paperbacks are for sale! Working on getting the paperback for  "Christmas Crosscheck"  up and hopefully available for pre-order (I hear it's kind of complicated; for those in the know, Amazon changed their paperback process and I hear some people aren't able to have pre...

It's been a while since I've blogged, mostly because I had nothing to say. But I'm happy to say that now that I do! I've hit a major breakthrough with Dump and Chase, book #5. It's almost done! Just a few more chapters to go, and then it goes out to alpha/beta readers, and then it'll go out for ARCs. (Are you a member of my ARC team? If not, you can still sign up !) What does that mean as far as a release date? End of May, early June. I'll know more once the chapters are done and I get back the initial feedback. You guys have no idea  how good it finally feels to have a more concrete idea of when this book will be out (I've only been writing it since... 2017!) I've fought through a lot of impostor syndrome along the way; it's hard to feel like a writer when the writing isn't happening like you want it to. I've barely been on social media as a result. And just in time! Because "Christmas Crosscheck" is releasing on i...

Listen. New Years always  freaks me out. Any occasion that encourages me to look back at the past while simultaneously looking toward the future is just... super stressful. I've said it before (I say it at the end of every year!) that December is crazy between work and the holidays and social engagements. My natural tendency is to think about all the things I didn't  do and chalk it up as failing to accomplish my goals. As I reflected on my 2018, I went back to read last year's blog post about my 2018 resolutions, and I kept it simple last year: rein in my spending. And, in some aspects, I accomplished that. I cut down on ordering pizza when I felt too lazy to cook, I didn't add (very much) to my TBR pile by buying books I knew I wouldn't immediately start reading, and I only saw a handful of movies in the theatre (of course I made exceptions for Marvel movies, and my mom and I went to see Book Club  because it looked too good). But I totally fell flat on the w...

It's November! And while I usually refuse to celebrate the holidays until after Thanksgiving (which is my favorite of the US holidays, and I think it's truly underappreciated!)—but this year is different. Why? Because 'this the season for Hockey Holidays ! He's sooo pretttyyyy... I've joined a team of hockey romance authors to bring you this epic anthology. And my contribution is "Christmas Crosscheck," which tells the tale of Georgiana and Bryan 's first Christmas together. And—spoiler alert!—there's a proposal. You'll have to read it find out the rest! The anthology, for which all proceeds will be donated to a hockey charity, will release on November 13, so there's still plenty of time to pre-order to make sure you get this book on your eReader ASAP on release day! And we'll be celebrating like crazy next week. First up, on the 13th, we'll be in the L. Woods PR Romance Room starting at 7. And then the party continu...

It's been months since I've blogged, and I'm not really sure why. It's not like I haven't started any posts; I have. And it's not like I don't have things to say, either. I spent the summer working hard on a novella and a short story. The novella is included in the Holiday Hockey Romance Anthology (releases November 13; pre-order now!), and the short story one of the 33 in Shades of Pink , a breast cancer charity anthology, available until the end of the month with a donation. We're so close to hitting our goal! Please consider contributing. And although I worked hard to meet my deadlines for the anthologies, I had some fun too. In August, I went to D.C. with my cousins for a long weekend, and it was an amazing time. I'd never been before, and I had fun checking out all the monuments, eating so many different (and new to me) things, and had a general blast with my cousins. Supreme Court Eating Alligator... tastes like chicken S...

May has been... an interesting month so far (and we're only one-third of the way through. Phew! ). If you're friends with some authors on Facebook or Twitter ,  you've probably seen the insanity and the accompanying hashtags. It's not my intention here to go into the matter; there are plenty of places online to get the details. And while I did a little rage-venting on my own profile, I don't want to publicly feed into this riotous frenzy while the courts and attorneys are working toward a resolution. I do, however, want to take a moment to say that the indie author community is a supportive, close-knit group that I'm proud to be a part of. And it's because of readers like you , who choose to support not only myself but so many authors who work hard and try to give you the best possible books. Okay, moving on. So, what have I been up to? Well, I've been buzzing around, prepping for my trip to Philly this weekend. I'll be at Unmask the Romance ...

Autism Fact:    People from all nationalities and cultural, religious and social backgrounds can be autistic, although it appears to affect more men than women. I figured I’d be doing a good thing by participating in RJ Scott 's Autism blog hop and raising awareness about autism and living with the disability. But then I realized I didn’t know much about autism at all; I’ve never personally encountered someone who I knew was autistic or even on the spectrum. So how could I help raise awareness when I myself was barely aware of the stats and facts about autism? Realizing my ignorance, I reached out to a friend of mine who has a Masters in special education and has worked hands-on with autistic children—and she had tons to say about the developmental disability and how we approach it. Autistic individuals often are judged and even pitied. Adults blame meltdowns and tantrums on bad parenting. They are teased by their peers and ridiculed. Strangers stare at them. D...

This month has been insane! I can't even believe we've got only a week or so left in March. We started off with a bang at the Angels & Sirens event. I got to hang out with some amazing hockey romance authors! Sometimes writing can feel very solitary, so it's always a great experience to hang out with other writers. And these ladies are AWESOME! It's been a long time since I'd laughed so hard. From L to R: Melody Heck Gatto, RJ Scott, Lisa B. Kamps, Katie Kenyhercz, me, V.L. Locey, and Stephanie Julian. Sitting at my humble table, awaiting the readers! The next weekend was St. Paddy's Day —and my cousin's wedding day! I had a great time with family, and helping my beautiful cousin get ready for her big day. I hosted an out-of-town cousin for the weekend, and we had such a blast catching up and growing closer. Of course, not everything in March was all gold and rainbows. Flynn had another flare-up of his stomatitis, meaning an emergenc...

I've run out of adjectives to describe my recent trip to Dallas. Amazing. Delicious. Incredible. Fun. Educational. Beautiful. I'd never been to Texas before—surprising, considering my series is set there, right? But that was a happy accident, that the Comets became a whole unto its own. While I researched locations and vocabulary online, I knew that I needed to experience it in person so my books could be as authentic as possible. I'd thought many times about going, but it never seemed like the time was right. So when my cousin was getting married outside of Dallas, I knew that the universe was telling me to go! I bought my plane ticket, booked an Airbnb, and started planning. Of course  I had to go see a Stars game! Then I did my research to see what Texas and the south had to offer. Sightseeing One of the very first things I knew I needed to do was to hit the Texas School Book Depository, the Sixth Floor Museum, Elm Street, Dealey Plaza, and the gras...