Last Newsletter of 2021! đ
Happiest of holiday seasons to all...
...and welcome to my final newsletter of the year! What a weird one 2021 has been. I doubt I could write a take about These Unprecedented Times that you haven't already heard, and end-of-year reflections feel daunting even in normal times. But I am me, and can't not get all introspective (+ retrospective?) every December.
Much like 2020, this year has been a lesson in letting the highs and lows coexist. There have been so many moments of joy right next to the most intense sadness, neither cancelling out the other but rather making each day an emotional tilt-a-whirlânot as fast-paced as a rollercoaster but way more dizzying. I've found myself at the beginning of an exciting, unpredictable, dream of a career; gotten to watch in awe as my baby nephew smiles, laughs, walks, exists; been planning a wedding to my best friend/soulmate. At the same time, loved ones and I have experienced loss and grief, along with so many other people in the world these past couple years, and I don't know how we handle the gigantic collective tragedy of it all. I think about mortality too much and worry about everyone I love when they're out of my sight. Anxiety and depression are still the little devils on my shoulders that can make me both hyperaware of all the stuff I need to do and incapable of doing any of it. I feel helpless as people in power use it to worsen the lives of those with a different skin color or country of origin or sexuality/gender identity and it seems like my voting, calling, marching isn't making much difference.
So what do we do with all this? Great question! I sure don't know. Uplifting newsletter, huh? Have a great Wednesday, bye!Â
But really, life is messy. The whole world is, and if you're anything like me, you think a lot about your place in it, what you're doing to make it better, how you cope and keep your sanity through it allâespecially in the past couple of tumultuous years. You might also feel like a little sponge who soaks up all the tragedy and hardship out there until you feel so weighed down with it, you're stuck to the bottom of the kitchen sink, waiting to dry out and lighten up. (Weird analogy but I committed.) I hope, whilst knocking on all the wood, that things lighten up for us in 2022. If hard times are supposed to build character, I hope we all come out on the other side, wherever it may be, with the strongest, most compassionate effing character that humans are capable of. I hope for more highs than lows, and that the balancing of the two gets easier to manage with practice. I hope you have things like cute baby smiles in your life to help you through, and if you don't, I'll let you borrow some of mine.
Precious tiny human of a nephew :)
What I'm Writing
On the note of smiles and laughs, I'd love it if you allowed me to once more ask that you pre-order my debut novel, LOVE FROM SCRATCH! I'd like to think this fun, foodie rom-com can bring some more light to your world when it comes out on 4/5/22.
My next most exciting writing news is that I've turned in book 2! Revisions are complete on my reality show rom-com NOT HERE TO STAY FRIENDS, and she is off to copy edits now. YAY!!! I'm so proud of this book and can't wait to talk more about it. I've also seen an early cover sketch recently and it was too perfect for words. I feel so lucky to be doing this romance writing thing!
What I'm Reading
A couple of my recent favorite reads:
WEATHER GIRL by Rachel Lynn Solomon - will every RLS book make it into my newsletter at some point? Probably yes, because she's easily one of my favorite authors and gets it right every time. This book comes out in January and is SUCH A TREAT! Romance between a TV meteorologist and a sports reporter as they scheme to get their divorced bosses back together. Excellent depression rep in the heroine! Get it here.
THE FASTEST WAY TO FALL by Denise Williams - I was obsessed with Denise's debut, How to Fail at Flirting, and am somehow already loving this one even more?? The heroine, Britta, and her personal trainer, Wes, are disgustingly cute, I might be in love with them both. And I love that fitness for the sake of feeling good (rather than weight loss) is at the center of the story. Find a copy here!
LOVE AND OLIVES by Jenna Evans Welch - contemporary YA following a teenage girl who goes to visit her estranged archaeologist father in Greece for the summer and helps him as he films a documentary about searching for Atlantis. Welch writes the most vivid settings and made me want to go to Greece immediately, and the romance in this one is super sweet! Check it out here.
What Else I'm Thinking About
Pre-order treats! I'm working on a little something something to send to everyone who pre-orders LOVE FROM SCRATCH (and submits their receipt to a google form I'll send out). More to come, likely in the next newsletter, so tell your friends. EXCITING! Almost 3 months out!!!
Formula 1, my biggest obsession of this year that no one (least of all me) saw coming. The final race of the season was Sunday and it was Controversial and I could indeed talk your ear off about the reasons why, if that was a thing you wanted for some reason. But rly, it makes me so happy and I have asked for F1 merch for Christmas and I hardly recognize myself for how excited I am for next season. Shoutout to my writer bestie Elora who was also an F1 fan long before me (and most other Americans) and tolerates my ridiculous newbie fandom and will break down everything that happens with me. ILY LOLY.
Christmasssss, which I am feeling so lucky to be able to celebrate with my family starting this weekend! Gonna eat many cookies and get lots of hugs.
Thank you for reading and for being so supportive of me this year. I am so grateful for every one of you and hope the end of the year treats you right!
xoxo,
Kaitlyn