And I’ve already tried to give up on it several times.

Cross-posted to Substack.

I had only one goal this year, and like the subtitle says, I’ve already tried to give up on it several times. In my defense, January felt like a whole year in and of itself, so actually…

No. We’re not making excuses, we’re making progress. But today, I want to talk about that goal as it pertains to writing and *gasp* politics. But first…

Literally no one gives a sh*t about coffee right now. There. I said it. I don’t care about coffee. I mean, I care about coffee in that it is a vibe and a necessity, but I’m drinking it because I must now. Sometimes as a little treat, but I only treat myself when I’m also very tired.

But you know what I do care about right now? Resistance. Staying informed about things you can do. Taking some of that extra rage money coffee money and donating it to excellent causes elsewhere. So these coffee breaks are going to turn into resistance breaks for a while.

First up, call your reps. 5calls.org is an excellent resource that you may have seen floating around Threads. It tells you the most important issues to call about, who to call (if you put in your location), and gives you tips for what to say. I know making phone calls can be nerve-wracking, but it’s seriously so easy. And remember, the people on the other end of the line get these types of calls all the time! So pick an issue, pick a rep, and make a call. That’s my challenge for you this week.

You know that episode in Bluey where they’re playing with a magic xylophone and they trick Bandit into getting frozen with the garden hose in his face, and then the girls unkink the hose and it sprays at him, but he’s frozen so he can’t move?

That’s what being a romance author feels like right now. And not in the fun, innuendo kind of way. (Yeah, I saw it.) In the “the water is pummeling me and I can’t breathe and I can’t move or turn it off and I’m also not sure what problem to deal with first” kind of way.

I mean, we’ve got book bans, and open-door romance potentially being illegal (???), and piracy, and Amazon boycotts (which… great but also it hurts my bottom line), and Meta burying organic reach, and TikTok might get banned in 90 days or whatever.

I’m also a teacher and a parent, so… you can do the math there. There’s a lot going on.

Oh, and don’t forget the general state of the country.

See? The hose is on, and I don’t know how to turn it off.

Now, I am someone who has done a lot of work to manage my anxiety. But those tactics really only work well when there’s a trickle coming at you. Maybe a faucet is on somewhere. Not a hose. And not when it’s coming at you from all sides and blasting up your nose and in your mouth and eyes. My body literally cannot tell the difference between being chased by a bear and what is happening in my life and the world. You should see what my Garmin says about my stress levels. It’s not pretty.

And I’m supposed to write heart-wrenching love stories on top of that? (Forget even trying to be funny right now. I have to process the trauma for that.) For what? So they can not sell unless I spend thousands on ads or get pirated or get banned and I can get labeled a criminal or or or or…

Frankly, everything feels pointless. And I don’t like saying that. I like being realistically positive. (Not toxically, I just prefer the glass half full.) It’s who I am in all of my jobs. I want to believe everything is going to be okay. And, right now, I don’t know if that’s true.

But I had this one goal. I set it at the end of 2024, and at the time, I thought it would be a really powerful reminder to me.

And you know what? Dammit, it is hard. I am sad. It does feel pointless. I haven’t been rejected yet, but my book is on submission so I imagine that’s coming.

To be fair, I wrote this knowing my book was going on sub, and so that’s really what it’s about. This was also after the election, but I didn’t see this coming.

And yet, the goal is to keep writing, both because of and despite it all. So that’s what I’m going to do.

This is my promise to you: I am going to keep writing. If they ban spicy romance, I’ll take the spice out. If they pirate my books (ahem… they have), I’ll do what I can to get it removed. If they kill my reach on social media, I’ll write more Substacks. (And if they shut down Substack, I’ll shout somewhere else.) I’m already releasing my next book wide, so hopefully people who don’t want to read it on Amazon have options.

But I spent forty years of my life working up to being an author. Everything I’ve ever done has, in some way, led me here. I am a storyteller above all else. (Ask my students. They have to listen to a lot of my stories. We always make it back to the lesson; we just take the scenic route.) If you take out everything terrible I’ve mentioned in this post so far, I am happier than I’ve ever been in my life when I’m sitting in front of my computer, just me and my words.

So, I’m going to keep writing. Yeah, it’s hard. Yeah, it’s sad. But so are a lot of things, and it hasn’t stopped me yet. I don’t know why it should now.

But, if I could add one more action item to your weekly resistance… it is a hard time for all authors out there. Please buy their books. Ebooks, paperbacks, ask libraries to stock them, listen to their audiobooks, do re-reads of your favorites in different formats so they get paid twice. And then, leave reviews everywhere you can. Add our characters to your book boyfriend posts, stack our books with other famous ones. My team posted about The Write Choice for its anniversary last month, and my page reads on that book doubled for a couple of days. These small things really add up. What you do makes a huge difference. And even if it’s not a huge boost in money, it’s a boost in morale, which is usually enough to keep us going.

Love in the Time of Conversation Hearts is out, and I’m seeing a bunch of people post pictures of their gorgeous, pink paperbacks! I love it so much.

If you have read it and loved it, please, please, PLEASE leave a review! Anywhere is great, but Amazon is best if you have the ability.

I’m about 65,000 words into Not a Strong Enough Word. I had a breakthrough about a sticky plot point on my way to work the other day, so I am excited to dive back into it after a little break. Lorissa has sent me cover drafts (THEY ARE STUNNING… y’all are not ready for this), and I have an editor booked for March! If all goes well, ARC sign-ups will be coming soon, so look out for those.

I am also toying very seriously with adding a paid tier to this Substack. All of my new release updates and coffee breaks will remain free, but I’d love to have a special place for readers who want to support me in this way. So, I need some ideas! What would you like to see? First looks? Exclusive art? The cover drafting process? (With Lorissa’s permission, of course.) Bonus content? Coupons for signed copies? Giveaways? If you have any ideas, please let me know in the comments!

And then, just one last shameless plug for my YouTube channel. If you think I’m clever over here… want until you see me on camera. haha

That’s all for now! Thanks for being here. There are so many new subscribers lately that I’m feeling really blessed. I really am so glad you’re along for this ride. And if you haven’t checked out my books yet, you can get more info about them here.

Happy reading!
Allie