Surprise! I have a lot to tell you

Patience

First of all, I am going to make this letter today a little corner of joy and fully embrace the escapism because I know I need it and I’m assuming after the last two weeks so do a lot of you.

SO, what’s this nonsense about being patient?

Well, we all know I… do not possess this virtue in anything that would come close to being called a “quantity.” I’m sure I have some. You know, buried deep somewhere. But it certainly isn’t a major gift of mine.

However, in this case, I am not going to be terrible, because I 1000% understand… there is a minor delay with the full cover for book 5 of Cinders in Midnight Glass, After Glass Shatters. 

That means I can’t reveal the entire thing to you today and I am unsure if the preorder will be up for that book when book 4, After Midnight Strikes, goes live on May 31st.

But it’s okay. My cover designers are in a war zone. I may not have patience naturally, but I don’t entirely suck as a human being. And it will happen. It just might be a little longer. No big.

So, you might be wondering, what could my surprise be?

Mwahahahaha

It’s a good one!

Surprise!

I hinted at this, and I was still unsure of what was going to happen because publishing, BUT… ta da!

Officially, I am going to indie publish Cultivating Marigold because I believe in this story and the need for it to go out into the world with a quickness. After you all read the blurb, which I did not write by myself because that is a whole specialized skill, I think you will understand why now is the right time.

Yes, I wrote it years ago, and no, I hoped it would never be so topical, but… here we are.

With that said, I want you to know a few things about this book.

1: It is currently with an editor. Yes, I did a quick rewrite to reflect the current world before I sent it, but I did hire an editor. Did you think I would really publish anything that an editor had not put their eyes on no matter how many times I revised it over the years? I will never do that. I go word blind to my own hot mess moments just like everyone does occasionally.

2: Has this sort of thrown a wrench in my already jammed bookish schedule? Yes. Not going to lie. Everything will still happen, but it will be a squeaker if everything happens exactly on time!

3: No, I don’t know exactly when it will be released, but as soon as I get a better idea on how long all the rounds of edits will take, I will put it up for preorder and keep you posted on updates.

4: Yes, it will have a short story free prequel for those on the newsletter!

5: And yes, I have a cover! I know, it’s weird that I ordered the cover before it was done with the editor, but sometimes things happen in a strange order. For example, this book was written before Heart of Cinders and is coming out only now… Publishing.

6: I’m not going to tease you about this cover







I’m going to show you right now!

This will be the cover of Cultivating Marigold, a contemporary Young Adult novel, and I will show you when the text is finalized as well. For now, here is the blurb and the cover designed by Ced:

“Maybe if we had good sex ed, I wouldn’t have an appointment scheduled for an abortion the week after school gets out.”

For Marigold, hiding between the words on the page is more comfortable than speaking her truths out loud. That only becomes truer as her mother gains notoriety for an ambitious rise through the ranks of the national anti-choice movement while the group pushes for a national ban after Roe is overturned. She can’t escape her connection to her mother, even though she believes the opposite of what her mother so publicly stands for.

A little over a year stands between her and freedom from her toxic home life. Seven poems stand between her and winning a college scholarship. Some drama swirling around her friends and her boyfriend stand between her and all the things he wants from high school.

But so close to getting through it all, Marigold finds out she has the mother of all problems.

She’s pregnant.

Making the right decision for her means either lying, or facing the crushing weight of her mother’s judgement.But sometimes we don’t really have a choice, and sometimes decisions are made for us.
What do you think?

I love this cover. 

Also, this story is about a lot more than a single thing that happens in Marigold’s life, so don’t be shocked when there are… things you might find surprising. Maybe even in the first chapter. 😉

Updates!

Now that you have some idea of the giant list of what’s happening with Cultivating Marigold, I will also have a bit of a firehose coming at you this summer about 

Crossroad Inn – working on adding a bit of a surprise for you for the book version of this and then, voila! it will be available. I just like giving you all fun things.

Song of the Piper – this one may actually kill me… no, I’m fine. Just thought it was going well and headed in the right direction, veer hard into the wall! It’s fine. I’m getting it all done. And when I do, it will be out with no preorder, just boom! Surprise!

Brewed Anew – yay! This one is coming later this summer and I’m excited for you to read Marcus’ story.

After Midnight Strikes – it’s with the arc readers and getting the first reviews and I’m super excited for it to go live on May 31st! Remember, this one is only $.99 during the preorder so now is your time.

After Glass Shatters – we are going to make the release date on time in September, I have no doubt, and as soon as the cover is finalized, i will update you all with the preorder details!

ALSO: Am I working on another book? psshhhttt! Of course I am! There will be more coming on this front, so keep an eye on this blog and I will keep you posted when I can give you all the details.
Ta da!

Remember, the fundraising I’m doing for #ReadForOurRights with the sales of Heart of Cinders and Heart of Shattered Glass in May is still going on!

And next week and it will finally be the release of book 4, After Midnight Strikes!

As always, happy reading!

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