Y’all. I have been deep in the muck this summer. I am grateful that I can schedule this newsletter so I can take a breather with my family as we are on a little end-of-summer vacation this week, but I finally feel like a fog is clearing away from my brain, and it is so refreshing to be on the other side of it.
Which also means I figured I should talk a bit about mental health today.
You all should know by now that I am a sucker for all things coffee and romance. So when Megan Becker released her debut novel, Coffee Dates, last summer, I was definitely intrigued! AND it’s a slow burn? About an aspiring writer? Sign me up. I’m very excited to have her here today to tell us a little more about her books and her writing process. So, without further ado, here’s Megan!
Hello and happy Friday afternoon, fellow readers. I know it’s late for a coffee break. We have officially hit that point in the summer when I am only vaguely aware of what day it is, and I wisely decided to take yesterday off for a bike ride and swim with my kids. Buy the time I realized it was Thursday, I was in that state of delicious summer exhaustion that simply cannot be interrupted by a little thing like writing a newsletter. And, here we are.
But I’m going to make it up to you with the sunshine vibey romance playlist of your dreams. Cool? Cool.
I’ve been seeing this sentiment a lot lately. People won’t or have stopped picking up indie books as a general rule. There are obvious reasons why I think that’s a bad policy to have (I mean, hello, I’m an indie author trying to sell books here), but I can also admit there are some issues with the industry right now. However, I do think if you don’t read indie books as a rule, you’re missing out.
And now on to your daily dose of feminism. Long before I ever fell in love with romance novels (pun intended), I was a feminist blogger and op-ed writer (under my real name… you won’t find any of that stuff if you search for Allie Samberts), so this is my wheelhouse, and something I feel passionately about.
*tips head back and forth and hops on her feet like a fighter getting ready to enter the ring* Here we go.
Ambar is a new indie author who you are definitely going to want to have on your radar. She’s not only an amazing writer of swoon-worthy romance, but she’s also a teacher and an awesome person. She and I connected on Instagram a little while ago, and I personally cannot wait to meet her at Romance Con this September! She’s here with us today to talk a little more about her debut, her work in progress, and her writing process. Without further ado, here’s Ambar!
I’m an author with a pretty thick skin, but I don’t typically read reviews of the books I write. That said, I had a really wonderful PA this time around (hi, Brooke!), and she combed through the reviews so I didn’t have to. I wanted to share some of those awesome reviews with you today! (And make sure you get to the Updates section because I have a few reminders there, too!)
Listen. I cannot spell “Millennial” with any consistency. There are entirely too many Ls and Ns, and I kind of feel like half of them are unnecessary? I did a quick search for this post to double check the spelling, and I *think* I caught them all in Common Grounds, but it’s a word that haunts me. A lot. As a Millennial, you’d think I’d know how to spell it (but, as an English teacher, you’d also think I’d know how to spell “plagiarism.” I struggle with that one, too).
Alas, it is a sticky word for me.
I’m not really sure why I felt you all needed to know that. But thank you for joining me in my Millennial misery. Don’t go anywhere, though! There’s more to this Millennial love-fest today, because we’re talking about writing (and reading) older characters.
It’s a late coffee break today, readers. It’s the last day of school! This week has been kind of messy, so I honestly forgot what day it was yesterday. And all of a sudden it’s Friday, and I hadn’t scheduled a newsletter.
But, better late than never, right? Since it’s the last day of school and I am releasing a book in less than two weeks, I thought it would be fitting to talk a bit about saying goodbye. (Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.)
Hannah Bird posted a teaser in her newsletter, and I thought, What a great idea? I should do that. But then, I couldn’t decide what teaser to post, so I put it to Instagram. Waffles and coffee were neck-and-neck for a while there. But in the end, coffee pulled through as the clear winner. I tried to pick a teaser that wasn’t too spoiler-y (which wasn’t terribly hard because there’s coffee EVERYWHERE in this book), but this is at just before the mid-point, so, you know, if you like to be totally surprised, CLICK AWAY NOW.
