I often fall in love with authors way before I read their books. I may find them through groups, or other readers, or as in the case with Jess Bryant, through social media. I originally found her on Instagram, then started following her on TikTok and Facebook. And I was kinda hooked. For one, Jess’s sense of humor is awesome.Plus, she has a pretty wide range of subgenres in her backlist. Everything from Small town, to Male-Male, to Paranormal, and Protectors. And I love me some variety in an author’s library.

I know I am a shameless TBR (to be read) enabler. I own it. I should probably have a shirt that says it. Or at least stickers. But anyway (squirrel!). I’m not the only one responsible for helping to create TBRs that will outlive us.

Consider if you will…. How many times I’ve mentioned the Protector Romance Reader Group (PRRG) in my blogs. Yeah, there’s a reason for that. And this week’s spotlight author, Patricia D Eddy, is another example of how that group just keeps pulling us in to new authors and leading us down a seriously deep binge dive. You know what’s even funnier? This week’s guest blogger, Julie, found Patricia D Eddy through PRRG, a group Julie helped create and admins on the daily. So, I guess you could say, Julie is her own biggest TBR enabler.

So, I learned something very interesting over the past year. There are authors who are actually co-authors who write as one author. Instead of placing both of their names on the cover, they use a single pen name. What a great way to maintain your individual identity as an author, but also work with someone you vibe with to create a completely new persona for your work together.

Fiona Davenport is one of those authors. In this case, Elle Christensen and Rochelle Paige are the brilliant and talented brains behind Fiona’s books.

I am amazed at authors who effortlessly spanned romance subgenres. And Reina Torres is definitely one of them. When I sat down to grab her titles for a backlist binge I noticed two things: 1- I need a year to catch up. Reina has over 50 titles to her name. And they all look amazing! 2- they run the gamut from protector romance, to paranormal, to sweet historical westerns. So, yeah, there’s something in there for everyone.

Sometimes I become aware of an author through something book related, but not the books they write. That’s the case with Kaylee Rose. My first introduction to Kaylee was through The Redhead’s Book Blog. In addition to blogging and writing novels, Kaylee puts her creative brain to work designing amazing author swag, which I absolutely love. Since I haven’t read Kaylee’s books (yet!), I reached out to another bookish friend and Kaylee fan for some insight into Kaylee’s novels.

Well Bookwyrms, as part of my commitment to my Word of the Year for 2023—Intention—I am making a very bold and scary step with my TBR.

I am going to shelve it.

Yes- Audrey II is going into a hibernation of sorts

As I spend more time in Romancelandia, I become more and more convinced that this is where I’ve found my tribe. And I’m seriously grateful author Maryann Jordan and guest blogger Wendy Simek are part of it. I met Maryann through the amazing Protector Romance Reader Group on Facebook. And I know I met Wendy through a book group as well, but I honestly don’t remember which one. Because it could have been one of many.

Like me, Wendy is a voracious reader of all things romance, and she’s become a wonderful friend. As I continue to include other readers’ voices in my author spotlights, I reached out to her for all things Maryann Jordan.

The week between Christmas and New Years is a huge time of reflection for me. I tend to look back at the year with the intention of setting goals for the next one. I don’t do resolutions. Just goals. And they’re more like guidelines anyway, so they are flexible.

And one thing keeps coming back- the connections. The people who really resonated with who I am, what I enjoy and appreciate, and found the same joy in supporting and uplifting others as I do. Because let’s face it, I truly want people to succeed. I believe a rising tide floats all boats. I believe that we are always stronger together. And I believe finding your tribe is the ultimate key to happiness.

Finding a way to recognize and share new and upcoming authors has been a top intention for me throughout the last two and a half years. And I Iove when I connect with others who are doing the same thing.

Social media has become a huge avenue for new authors to promote their books and build their readership. Groups play a huge part in that. And in 2022, I started to find my footing with those connections.

You know that feeling that no matter what or how much you do, it will never be enough for some people? What happens when that “some people” is you?

We have a tendency to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do all the things. But how realistic is it? And are we expecting more of ourselves than we would reasonably expect of others? Probably. And how is that okay?

You wanna hear a meet-cute story? Cheryl was attending her first romance convention and was a total basket case (her words). Nervous, excited and terrified all rolled into one big ball of "freaking myself out!" (We’ve all been there, right?) She got registered, and came out into the mind-melting Florida heat and saw this lovely lady sitting outside. She instantly went fangirl crazy, walked up to her and said, "Please don't think I'm a total crazy, buuut.. are you Jaime Lewis?" She looked surprised that Cheryl recognized her! Cheryl is pretty sure she actually went "SQUEEEEE!!!!" when Jaime confirmed that’s who she was!

Cheryl found out it was Jaime’s first convention, too. How fun is that?

It’s not unusual at this point for me to start following an author I haven’t read yet. Usually I’m drawn to them through other readers, other authors, or their social media. Something about them just resonates with me and I add their books to my TBR, often buying paperbacks I haven’t even read yet for them to sign. Golden Angel is one of those authors.

Well, I needed to do some research first of course, and found Golden’s TikTok. And fell down the rabbit hole. Again. Her TikToks are fantastic. And not only are they fun and book related, but I was even more impressed with her series of videos called Just the Tip.

Sometimes those social media platforms can be pretty effective. I know I use them to spread the joy and love I have for authors, narrators, photographers, models, even other hype girls. And last year, one I avoided for a long time (TikTok) came through for me in a big way! Not because of something I shared, but because of the things someone else did.

I’ve written before about why authors should not read reviews of their books. You know who else shouldn't read reviews, at least not the bad ones? Their editors.

*sigh*  Yeah, sooo… recently I went through a bit of a bout of professional depression and some serious imposter syndrome. It was brought on by one thing, spurred on by others, and then brought to a beautiful head by reading the reviews of a book I edited. And I fussed, and sulked, and turned to my st@lkersisters, some close author friends, my bestie Fran, and my inner bad@$$ for advice, insight, and reassurance.

And one thing kept coming up: stop reading the reviews!  Dude, taking your own advice is hard!

I know we’ve all heard the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover.” And I know we all have done that and bought a book based on the cover alone anyway.  And, yep, I did that recently because to be quite honest the cover is stunning.  Have you seen the covers of Hannah McBride’s Mad World series?  Because if you have, you probably own those books too. 

And even though I bought the books for the covers, I haven’t had a chance to read them yet. But I know someone who has. And that’s why I’ve asked St@lkersister Rhon to co-write this week’s blog with me.

While a lot of the time I spend on social media is frivolous simple pleasure enjoyment, the other more amazing part of it is finding someone you connect with because of their booktok account.

One of those amazing connections appeared in hilarious form when I stumbled across Jami Albright’s December TT about her Brides on the Run romance novel series. The image of her in a bridal veil, lipstick smeared, leaves in her hair, look of panic on her face. OMD! I just kept scrolling through her videos!

So, I’m sensing a theme here. Apparently, I know a lot of people who love Protector Romance books. And there are a bunch of protector romance series I have on my TBR that are just screaming out for a bingeread. One of those authors is Anna Blakely.

I was lucky enough to meet Anna at a recent book event, and she is seriously one amazing human. Now, since I haven’t read Anna’s books (yet), but I know so many awesome readers who have, I reached out to my friend Cheryl Bowers for all the details on Anna.

While I love reading all the things, I know I can’t read all of them at once. So I’ve reached out to another of my book besties for help with this week’s author spotlight. Rhon House is not only a reader, she’s a writer and author PA. And one of my top TBR enablers. Trust me, Audrey II eats really well thanks to Rhon. And several of my top TBR reads, courtesy of Rhon, are written by the amazing Megyn Ward. Contemporary romance with chosen family chaos, a little angst and plenty of steam? Yes, please!

If you’ve been following me at all, you know I am a serious romantic suspense junkie. And my goal is to read as many romantic suspense authors and books as possible. Unfortunately, the Universe has not granted my wish of 36 hour days. Yet. With that in mind, I reached out to fellow romantic suspense junkie, and StalkerSister (if you listen to my podcast, you know) Susy for this week's Spotlight Blog Post. Because she is a serious Cara Carnes fan.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be spotlighting several authors on my TBR, whose books I have only scratched the surface of. So, like a good hypegirl, I’ve called in my hypegirl squad for help, and enlisted the brains and bookshelves of my reader buddies.

One of those readers is Marie Evans. And she fangirls PJ Fiala hard! I’ve read some of PJ’s books, but not as many as Marie, so I asked her all the questions I know I’d want the answers to when finding a new author to read.