I've been getting into the groove with drafting Lennox Valley Chronicles BOOK FOUR (how am I on book four!?) and I wanted to give you beautiful humans an early look at my very work-in-progress draft...
But first, a look at the last two weeks:
I went back to work and back to school (🎉/😩)
I finished that secret project (👀)
I drafted more of book #4 (✍️)
I made a self-editing tutorial to share with fellow authors using my "rainbow document" strategy to find crutch words! (🌈)
I got to try Empress 1908's Indigo Gin (🤤) scroll down for my fav gin cocktail recipe!
Indigo gin! It gets its bluish purple color from butterfly pea blossom! IT'S SO COOL and VERY tasty!
Here's how to drink gin like Hannah Brixton:
Fill a glass approx 1/3 to 1/2 way with ice
Add a generous shot of gin (or two, let's be real)
That's it! Super simple, and low sugar/low cal but still has a bit of sweetness thanks to the stevia. And if you use indigo gin, it's PURPLE. (I swear I'm not affiliated, just low-key obsessed!) I think the lime juice turned it from blue to purple somehow.
Anyway, I know what I'm having tonight! What are you drinking? A cocktail? Mocktail? Whatever it is, I hope it's FUN. I love me a dopamine drink.
ALRIGHT OKAY ALREADY, HERE'S THE SNEAK PEEK:
“Hey,” I say, dropping to kneel beside the couch. Placing a hand on her upper arm, I gently shake her. “Hey, wake up, sicko.”
I feel her forehead with my wrist. She’s running a fever and this blanket is pitifully thin. She yanks it up around her neck, shivering—then frowning when it pulls away from her bare feet.
Another croaky groan leaves her throat, and she blinks slowly a few times before she finally registers that I’m there and startles slightly. “Gus? What the fuck?”
“Nice to see you too.”
Are you getting excited for book four? It's gonna be a while before it's ready for you, but I hope to share more as I keep working away at it. And, in case it's news to anyone, yes, obviously this one is Gus' book! You ready for a hot firefighter who loves to sing? You ready for more Lumpy? More Miles being a dork with Lumpy?? 🐈⬛
Who do you think the FMC will be? Did you catch any of the setup hints at the end of Sweet Caroline!? 👀
Books Books Books!
Alright, y'all, here are some sweet sweet indie romances for your TBR!
[e-book and paperback cover graphic of Two Worlds Apart by Lenora Cade. Tropes: Slow burn, strangers to lovers, travel romance, closed door, one bedroom, opposites attract, comtemporary romance & women's fiction blend]
Blurb:
Their paths weren’t supposed to cross - but fate had a different idea. Mallory has everything mapped out: a carefree summer in Europe, living life on her terms before her first ever nursing job begins—no strings, no distractions. She’s ready to escape her close-minded, small-town home and conquer the world, one passport stamp at a time. Then a threatening encounter with a dark stranger sends her careening off course, and she finds herself lost in an unfamiliar place. Amidst all of the uncertainty, she bumps into Emil. Steady and kind, but stoic enough to be mistaken for a brick wall, Emil is definitely not part of Mallory's plans. In fact, he’s a sledgehammer who has demolished them completely. Is this a blessing in disguise or just another misstep in her wrecked journey? She’d wanted to use this trip to test herself, to go it alone, but now? She has a choice to make: stick to her agenda or risk it all for a connection that feels uncertain, but possibly meant to be? Life rarely follows the itinerary. In Two Worlds Apart, a chance meeting builds into a passionate romance between two opposites who never saw each other coming, igniting a romance that’s equal parts witty, real, and full of unexpected twists throughout an unforgettable European road trip adventure.
[cover of Bottle Shock by Michelle Naomi Mosley (A Red Mountain Novel). "He's after a house. She's the key to getting it."]
Blurb:
An out-of-work actress and her best friend’s brother enter into a marriage of convenience—only to inconveniently fall for each other—in this spicy small town romance from the author of Rare Blend and Double Barrel.
He’s after a house. She’s the key to getting it.
Scotland “Scottie” James swore she’d never end up back in her small hometown. But with acting gigs drying up and the city spitting her out, Red Mountain is the only place to go—and the last place she wanted to be. Taking a job at her parents’ real estate firm is meant to be a detour on her way back to the stage. But when she’s asked to help her best friend’s older brother find a lake house, she accidentally lands her biggest acting role yet: Gavin Ledger’s wife.
For Gavin Ledger, winemaker and devoted single dad, life revolves around his daughter. The perfect lake house could help her feel closer to the mother she’ll never know—but there’s one problem: the seller will only sell to a married couple. His solution? The one woman guaranteed to test his patience. Scottie is dramatic, glamorous, and nothing like the steady, quiet life he’s built, yet being her husband—on paper—feels dangerously easy.
The longer they play house, the more it stops feeling like an act. And when the final curtain falls, Scottie will have to decide if chasing her old dream is worth losing the best thing she never saw coming.
Like bottle shock, love can take you by surprise—but the best things in life are often the ones you never planned.
Falling for her dad’s best friend is a recipe for disaster. Tessa Cordeiro never planned to move back to her hometown. But when her estranged father offers her a chance to kick-start her culinary career, Tessa makes herself a promise: she won’t fall in love with the town of Aster Bay—or her father’s best friend. Even if he was the most unforgettable one-night stand of her life. Jameson Chase has called Aster Bay home for nearly twenty years, but despite owning its most popular restaurant, he can’t fight the feeling that he doesn’t belong. Chairing the local food and wine festival is his chance to make a mark on the small town, but when Jameson’s new co-chair turns out to be the woman he couldn’t forget, his social standing is no longer the only thing at risk... As late-night texting becomes rooftop rendezvous, can they keep the heat in the kitchen—or will the sparks between them send both their lives up in flames? Whisking It All is a standalone, steamy father’s best friend romance featuring trash-talking grandmas, found family, You’ve Got Mail vibes, and a guaranteed HEA.
RITCR! I'm in love! My lovely Lovelies, I'm freshly home from a whirlwind trip to Banff, Alberta for Romance Invades the Canadian Rockies 2026! It was such an incredible experience, and I can't say enough gushy good things about how the two rock stars running Slow Burn Books (sisters Shannon and Nicola) planned and executed this event. It was seamless and fabulous. Do you know how much work goes into running an event that size with no hiccups!? THEY FUCKING SMASHED IT. [Photos from RITCR...
F*ck Me Sideways! It's a cover reveal? My beautiful Lennox Lovelies, You may remember that I was involved in a charity anthology that came out back in November (two days after Sweet Caroline because I plan my life real good-like 🥴). Well, as of tomorrow, Mistletoe Moments will have spent its six months out in the world and will no longer be available through retailers. We've raised a good chunk of money for Food Banks Canada and I couldn't be prouder of our little (well, not so little) group...
Miles & Caroline character art!!! My gorgeous Lennox Lovelies, What do parenting and authoring have in common? It's the LIES. Stick with me here. 😆 When I had babies and then very young kids, I was always told it would get easier. At the next milestone, the next age, when this growth spurt ended or that tooth finally came in. Heck, even when the weather changed. "It gets easier," more seasoned parents would tell me. Aaaand it was horseshit. Look, it's true that the relentless, soul-crushing...
