I first got a chance to hang out with Golden a few days before Shameless Book Con in 2022. She joined several authors in all stages of their careers to talk about books, family, life in general, and I was instantly impressed with her amazing efforts to share her knowledge of writing and publishing with other authors, to help make the indie romance community even stronger and more connected. I love her passion for what she does and how she does it.

Last year when I wrote a spotlight blog for Charissa Gracyk I tried to keep the personal side out of it. I failed, because there is no way to keep the professional blogger/ reviewer side, the professional editor side, the rabid hype-girl side, and the friend side from overlapping. Because that’s what happens when you work with someone on twelve books, developing a friendship along with the appreciation for the incredible work they do. Things overlap. And it’s absolutely wonderful.

I love when readers point the finger at me when someone asks who their biggest TBR enabler is. Because, let’s face it, I love to share the authors and books I love. So, when I can return the favor and accuse a book bestie of filling my TBR with amazing books, I’m gonna take that opportunity. And when Julie Collier recommended I read A.M. (Amanda) Johnson’s Let There Be Light, she created a TBR spree of epic proportions.

I often ask for input about what to blog about. Because, let’s face it, I only have space in my head for so many new ideas, thoughts, inspiration, squirrel….

And sometimes I get requests to write about things that hit just right. Sometimes, it’s crickets. Other times it’s something relevant but controversial and I sit down and wind up typing up a rant. And, let’s be honest, there are plenty of people out there doing that. I really don’t want to be one more. So, most of my rants either stay put in my docs, get written and erased, get shared with a select few (usually the St@lkerSisters), and never make it to publication. And, that’s okay.

I’m not saying people shouldn’t rant. Or share their honest thoughts. I’m just saying that’s not where my headspace is right now. Could that change at some point? Absolutely. I’ve published written rants before. It’s just not where I need to be right now. It’s not that I’m not passionate about things happening in Romancelandia. I definitely am. I’m just choosing to make my feelings known in other ways.

Keep reading for more of my thoughts and current mindset

If you’re new here, before reading this you should know I am a mom of 2 lgbtq+ spawns. They are out and proud and happy for me to share that info about them, so I do. We celebrate pride every day around here. Partly by simply being. But also by filling our lives and space with things that represent them.

And while we joke about pride being an all the time thing here, and I've seen posts reminding people they can read lgbtq+ books any time of the year, I also see and appreciate the value in a month that celebrates and advocates for awareness by encouraging people to try reading something new. If reading a book or author as a result of a monthly challenge, book club, or awareness post gets you to dive down the lgbtqia rabbit hole and read those books year round, mission accomplished.

Just because your stride isn't always even, doesn't mean it's broken.

It took me a long time, hell around fifty years, to finally start pulling together all the things I love and truly find my stride. And it’s still not even or unbroken. And that’s actually pretty perfect.

As one of the St@lkerSisters pointed out recently, “Readers, bloggers, authors all have strides that include lots of rhythms. So when you have hit your reading stride, maybe you’ve stumbled in your physical one. Or when you're stepping up as a writer, you trip over your TBR.” And well, damn, if that ain’t valid.

Peopling is hard. And when we’re surrounded by so much additional stimuli and our brains freeze up, things can get awkward. As I prep for some upcoming bookish events, I started thinking about how to make them more comfortable. For me, for the authors I love, for other fangirls I fangirl. Because, let’s face, being socially awkward is something I will always deal with. And I know I can’t be the only one.

One of the most wonderful things about the indie romance industry is the opportunity for collaboration.  The opportunity to work with people who seem like the most unlikely of partners, but actually fit perfectly together.  And I’m not even talking about the opportunities I’ve had to work with authors, promotional experts, graphic designers, or narrators. This time, I’m talking about an author and a cover model.  But wait, that seems like a perfectly logical collaboration, right?  And for part of the project it was. You see, Joseph Cannata isn’t just the image on the cover of The Lost Letters, this time, he’s also one of the authors.  

It’s Spring. Ish. The weather in Maryland makes its own rules, and we’ve yo-yo’d from 80s to 40s to 60s in just a week. But Spring is coming, and it brings that wonderful idea of clearing out spaces and bringing in light.  In theory, a great way to spend time—opening windows, circulating air between inside and outside… we’ll just ignore the pesky pollen that comes with it.

But anyway. I always get excited to clear space, purge things we no longer use, reclaim areas that can be better used. And every year that enthusiasm wanes quickly. Because, let’s face it, there are so many better things to do. Reading. Knitting. Bingewatching whatever’s new on HuluDisney+NetflixPrime…. 

But this year, I have a goal…

A rising tide lifts all boats.

Somehow my mind has altered the phrase a bit to “a rising tide floats all boats.” But, either way, the meaning and intent is the same, so whatever floats your boat ;-)

Success for one can mean success for all. And we all do well when one of us does well. It's become an anti-competition catch phrase in my life. I'm not sure when or from whom I first heard it, but the one that sticks in my head is my Sensei, boss, and friend Monique. While she has applied it to martial arts training and business networking, in my life I most often reach for it in my role as a hype girl and author mentor within the indie romance community.

This phrase/concept/feeling has been showing up in my feed routinely for the last several months. Even more so in the weekend leading right up to and just following Charm City Romanticon. The spirit of fellowship and camaraderie amongst the authors in attendance was sublime. Authors were fangirling other authors, making plans to cross-promote with their new friends, sharing their books and groups. It was a stunning and concrete example of the rising tide concept.

Check out this week's blog for more of my thoughts on this:

I cannot believe I read eleven books in March! And I honestly loved every single one of them. In fact, I rated every one of them 5 stars. I don’t often feel the need to justify my reviews or ratings, but something came across my feed recently that made me stop and think about how I rate and review the books I read.

Check out this week's blog for my thoughts on that:

I am still riding the high from Charm City Romanticon. Are you tired of hearing about it? Sorry, not sorry. I’m talking about it again. But for a different reason. Today I’m reflecting on the number of people who came to CCR 2023 who had never been to a book event, con, signing, etc before. And why they chose Charm to take that leap.

I feel like that little white rabbit of Alice fame. I feel like I’m late for everything. Ok, to be fair, I am not late for everything. Just a few things. But of course, they’re eating away at me.

Why am I late? Because life sometimes has different plans.

I typically think of downtime as time when I’m doing nothing. It could be literally sitting in a comfy spot staring into space, or knitting, or watching a movie while knitting, or listening to an audiobook while knitting, or just reading for fun.

And then there’s downtime when you’re actually actively doing a shit-ton of stuff but it’s all fun stuff and relevant to a sense of recharge and reset. It’s strenuous and exhausting but doesn’t really require you to be “on.” It’s just for funsies.

And then there’s this upcoming weekend.

There’s a certain amount of badassery that comes with many of my favorite romance novels. Most often it’s in the form of an alpha hero in a romantic suspense or protector novel. But sometimes, there are those gems where the female main character takes front and center as the fierce, feisty, force to be reckoned with.

I have several favorites and so many more I want to read, but beyond reading about it, I have the honor and privilege to train with and work with some real-life badass women.

The more new authors I come across, the happier my mind becomes. Having such a varied library of romance novels to choose from means I am truly never ever bored. And I love that my Kindle library and TBR are stocked with established favorites, new favorites with huge backlists, and new favorites who are also relatively new authors. 

One of those baby authors I’ve fallen in love with—Kacie West—is actually another author duet. A.J. Ranney and Jenni Bara started writing together at the end of 2022.  And while I’ve read A.J.’s books I haven’t started my Jenni binge yet. But, I have read both of Kacie’s books.

I reached out to them for this Author Spotlight to get the details of their collaboration in their own words. And now, I’m bringing that info directly to you, in their own words, with a few of mine thrown in here and there, too.

So, this is really cool. Remember in my last blog how I said I love when authors read and recommend other authors and fangirl each other? The trend continues this week. Because I found out Reina Torres (who I flove) reads Tarina Deaton’s books. And Tarina is a new-to-me author. So I needed to get all the info from Reina. And since Reina is a writer, I’m going to bring you that info in Reina’s own words.

Writers writing about other writers is a pretty wonderful way to learn about a new-to-you author from people who appreciate and understand writing on an entirely different level. In fact I love it when authors fangirl/guy each other, because quite often they can express what they love so much better than I can.

When I found out authors Suanne Laqueur and A.M. (Amanda) Johnson fangirled each other, I reached out to Amanda for help with Suanne’s author spotlight blog. And Amanda delivered. So this week's blog is in Amanda’s words (because her words are some of my favorite words on the planet). I cannot wait to dive into Suanne’s books. And I have a feeling you’ll want to as well.