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.
It’s playlist day! I love this day. Music is such a huge part of my writing experience, and I think having the playlist really rounds out the vibes while you’re reading. So you’re in luck; you can listen to my book playlist below!
I love the cover of Common Grounds. It’s perfect. It encapsulates the city background—even though Baker’s Grove feels more like a small town in that way of midsized Midwestern cities—as well as Emery and Trevor in a passionate embrace on the front. The colors evoke coffee and dusk and romance. The characters are perfectly representative of the couple in the book, down to Emery’s red heels and blue-black hair, and Trevor’s yellow slouchy hat and cuffed chinos.
I’ve never been happier with a cover, honestly.
Kelsey and I connected because we both read ARCs of each other’s debuts, and they released at about the same time last year! I feel so fortunate to have connected with Kelsey as a colleague and a friend, and I’m so excited to feature her today because she has a new book coming out! So, now, she has THREE books out, and they’re all awesome. I’ll let her tell you all about it.
I’m not going to lie to you all. I’m about to do a hard sell on the Common Grounds paperbacks. If you don’t like spoilers, you may want to scroll to the end real quick, or at least not look too closely at the images. There will be pictures of the paperback interior in this post (but I’ll block out what I can). Because it’s awesome. Seriously.
