July Newsletter! 📚
Hi there!
Have you realized that we're now halfway through 2021? Does this opener make you want to unsubscribe from my newsletter and delete the rest of this unread? I sure hope not! Digital icebreakers are hard. I promise not to make you think about the nature of time and our fleeting existence for the rest of my July newsletter, at least.
What I'm Writing
My debut novel Love From Scratch still comes out on April 5, 2022! And most excitingly, I just learned that it will also be released as an AUDIOBOOK, in addition to ebook and hardcover!!! Audio is my favorite way to read, and the idea of hearing my words read by a professional narrator just blows my mind. THRILLED!!!! I also recently finished going through LFS's second pass pages, which come in PDF form and show what the book pages will look like when they're in an actual, physical hardcover. A proofreader reviews them with a fine-tooth comb and leaves me some comments, and then I get to make any final changes. It's exciting and also weird to be nearly past the point of being able to alter anything about this book baby before it goes out into the world! I'm like a mother pushing her baby bird out of the next and whispering softly, "I hope the world laughs at their jokes..."
Anyway, you can add Love From Scratch on Goodreads, and COMING THIS MONTH, you'll be able to pre-order a copy! I got the very exciting news recently that I'll get to host a newsletter-exclusive sneak peek at the cover and pre-order access, just a couple of weeks from right now!!! So if you have friends who like book covers and/or book pre-ordering and/or, I don't know, receiving emails, direct them to my website to sign up for my newsletter ASAP! I cannot WAIT to have some more tangible things to point to when telling anyone about my book, such as "here is what it looks like" and "please buy it right here at this link yes right now I'll wait." !!!
In other exciting bookish news, I have finally finished a dang draft of book two, Not Here to Stay Friends! I've been in love with this Bachelor-inspired rom-com idea for a long time, but boy has it been a hard year+ to write a whole new book! Some people gave managed much better than I have, but with a lot of ups and downs both related to the pandemic and not, my mental health has been all oooverrrr the place. I definitely go back and forth with giving myself grace and understanding versus feeling like I should have accomplished so much more with all this time to work. But today I'm just feeling relief at being able to switch from writing all brand-new words to molding and tearing up and shaping anew some existing words + plot. I completely prefer revising to drafting. And hopefully before too long, I'll have this puppy in a state that actually seems readable to any human who is not me. In the meantime, you can add Not Here to Stay Friends on Goodreads!Â
*the David Attenborough voice was a hit last time so imagine it again*
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"...the author has moved habitats, acquiring her own writing cave within the new dwelling. She continues to prefer the company of fictional characters, as seen overhead, to non-fictional..."
What I'm Reading
A few of my recent favorite reads:
OFF THE RECORD by Camryn Garrett - a teen reporter gets to cover this fancy multi-city movie premiere and ends up uncovering some dark truths about a beloved, famous actor. Has so much of what I love most about YA and badass girl protagonists, and you can get it here! TW for dicussions of sexual assault/harrassment.
THE WISTERIA SOCIETY OF LADY SCOUNDRELS by India Holton - if you loved Bridgerton or The Princess Bride or, I don't know, humor and romance and fun?! then you need this book. Lady pirates! With flying houses! Who save themselves! But kiss some charming rogues on the side! You can find links to buy here!
THE OTHER BLACK GIRL by Zakiya Dalila Harris - I've seen this one described as a "literary thriller," but it's also more complicated than that in ways I can't spoil! About Nella, a young Black woman in a publishing house whose world is shaken up when suddenly another young Black woman is working closely with her, and there's just something off about her that Nella can't put her finger on... ooh it's so twisty and good, and I really didn't know where it was going until the end! You can order it here.
What Else I'm Thinking About
My wedding registry. All the time. I really relate to that part in Mean Girls where Cady is like "I could hear people getting bored with me but I just couldn't stop" - that is me talking about things I want to buy for my new house, things to put on my wedding registry, how I can bamboozle people into buying me gifts for a wedding almost a year away, etc. I'm insufferable.
Relatedly, amazing family and friends who have been so ridiculously helpful with the move that I don't even understand it! How are people so generous with their time and their arms that can lift more than my spaghetti noodle appendages? I don't know, but I feel very lucky!
The podcast Dolly Parton's America by RadioLab, which I am, oh, two years behind in listening to, but wow so good!!! A deep dive into the life of a superstar who I think of as my extra-bedazzled grandma, having half grown up in Tennessee and gone to Dollywood alllll the time. I feel like I understand her better than I ever have, beyond the girl-boss-ified-modern-icon kind of way. Highly recommend!
Have a dancing Kermit for the road. See you in two weeks for a special mid-month COVER REVEAL edition!!
Have I told you about my wedding registry?
Kaitlyn