September, I hardly knew ye
Are we going to make this a monthly thing?
Hey friends,
It’s been just over a month since my deal announcement was revealed to the world and about the same amount of time since my last newsletter. In theory, I would love to make this a monthly endeavour. In reality, I can barely manage to put my laundry away after I wash and fold it. Which is to say—I’m not excellent at keeping up with my responsibilities.
To my credit, though (“toot, toot”, went her own horn) I am getting this newsletter out in the midst of doing my development edits. This speaks to priorities! To consistency! To a desire to connect with my audience! (And certainly not to the level of procrastination that only comes from abject avoidance of a pressing task).
All jokes aside, I did want to put out this newsletter to say hi, confirm proof of life, and also share some information about my most frequently asked question: How The Heck Did This Happen?
My Origin Story
So, as I’ve already mentioned, tucked away in my website bios and some of my Instagram posts, writing has been a constant in my life for almost as long as I can remember.
I was a voracious reader as a kid and that translated into writing short stories about friends and the characters in my various faves (Babysitter’s Little Sister, anyone?) on whatever lined paper I could find. As I got older, the stories took on a decided romantic turn based on whatever my current obsession was, which unwittingly led me into fanfiction: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Buffy + Angel 4eva), Legolas x Reader (I know, I know—but the real tragedy here is my naive preference for Legolas over Aragorn), and the occasional “She lived!” ending of whatever romantic teen tragedy I was into (A Walk to Remember, looking at you). I also took every English course known to man in high school, where I would write short stories and longer pieces that I tried to make more “literary” by experimenting in horror—the genre that critics pretend is nobler than romance. (Joke’s on them: love stories are scarier to write.)
I took a long break from writing (and posting writing online—yes, there may or may not be evidence in the annals of fanfiction.net) in my mid- to late-twenties. Went to university (more English courses and bad short stories!), then teacher’s college, got married, had my kids (at 27 and 30, but now it feels very child bride + teen mom-ish) and, in postpartum with my second, started to get into reading Romance again. In the year 2017, this happened:
There was a point where I felt a clear connection to these works and not in the “Wow, I’m really enjoying this!” kind of way, but more in the “Huh. I think I could do this.” kind of way.
So I did.
Now here is where I must insert a brief interlude. Not exactly a redaction, but more an acknowledgement that I’m about to skim over a somewhat integral part of my lore. I will talk about it one day, but it won’t be here and it won’t be today. Those who know, however, know. And what they know is where I really honed my writing chops from 2018 to 2021, what I wrote, and where it is (may or may not rhyme with Mayo Tree).
But, as I said, it’s a story (or a Substack) for another day.
2023 to Present Day
The writing practice I got in those years did me enough of a service to be able to take a 30,000 word short(er) story and turn it into a 93,000 word novel from 2021 to 2023 (I was busy, okay?!) I was then lucky enough to query that novel in the Spring of 2023 with several agents from several different agencies, including my dream agent, Thao Le at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
To my everlasting shock, awe, and amazement, she requested a full!
Even more shocking and amazing, after an in-depth video call and discussion of plans for that 93,000 word novel (which would ultimately become my second book) and the possible creation of another novel for my debut (which would become The Matchmaker’s Cottage), she offered representation! There are no words to adequately describe the feeling of my life shifting onto an entirely new trajectory, with my literal childhood dream steering the ship.
Manifestation works, you guys. ✨
It took me about eight months to write the second book (not bad, considering the first took almost two years!), another few months to edit, and then, hoping to ride the wave of Cozy Pumpkin Autumn (like Hot Girl Summer, but for the Laurie Gilmore crowd), we went on sub in the fall of 2024.
Enter Sarah Blumenstock and the wonderful folks at Berkley.
I never know how in-depth to go with all this information—we are talking about real people doing their real jobs here—but I will say that I had the pleasure of hopping on the second life-changing call of my 30-odd years, this time with Sarah, where a 30-minute scheduled discussion turned into an hour of laughter, romance chit chat, and a tangent on the richly-deserved ubiquity of Pedro Pascal.
By early 2025, I had baby’s first publishing offer, and then a millennia later1 the contract finally came through (I would say “no one tells you how long the first contract takes”, except many, many people did—shout-out to all my author friends and sympathizers, especially those at the Hopeless Romantic Bookstore’s Bookworm Bash this past March who held my hand and told my sentient imposter syndrome that everything was going to be alright) and then, last but not least, the coveted Publisher’s Marketplace deal announcement entered the chat.
I say “last by not least”, as that takes us to right about Now in this journey. Some exciting things are on the horizon—Cover reveal! Pre-order info!—but as far as this newsletter is concerned, you are all Up To Date.
I hope this has helped to answer some of the questions I’ve had on the hows and whys of my journey. I’m always open to doing some sort of Q&A in the future, where we can really take a deep dive on all the pressing things you want to know. For now, that’s a wrap on my September newsletter! I have a feeling October will bring more fun updates, but no matter how busy things get (or how often I’ve already shared), I’ll try and keep popping in at the end of each month just to say hi. That’s my goal, anyway and I think I can stick to it (I’m surprisingly good at that when I want to be…)
Back to editing!
Oh, and just before I sign off, I want to acknowledge that September 30th (today) is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. While some may see it as a day off, as an educator in Ontario I believe it’s more powerful to use the time we do have (at work, in schools, and in our communities—both online and offline) to reflect, have conversations, and to remind each other of its significance. Today is a day to listen to and honour Survivors of Residential Schools, their families, and their communities. If you’re interested in learning or doing more, here are some resources I’ve compiled:
🧡
approximately six months