Dear Reader,

I'll bet you never thought you'd be having growing pains after the teen years, did you? If you're like me, you figured that awkward phase was over once you hit your early twenties. While that may be true -- though given all the aches and pains I'm feeling at this point in my life, that may also be incorrect -- the kind I'm referring to in this newsletter are the kind you get from learning to do something new. Until you get the hang of it, there's no avoiding a sometimes painful learning curve.

I've been experiencing growing pains since I started on this publishing journey in 2018. I've had to learn not just about the art and craft of writing, and despite my being a former English teacher, I had a lot to learn! I've also had to learn about marketing, about publicity, about branding, about networking...all things that together work to make a successful writing experience. It's not easy and it demands daily attention to the things that will bring me the rewards I desire. And one of the things I'm learning is surprising. It's really simple and yet really profound.

Not everything is for everybody.

That's true whether you're talking about story genres or types of characters or ways to market your product. And it is so freeing to recognize that I am allowed to choose not just characters and settings and plot points, but that I'm also allowed to decide how much or how little I want to do to get my work in front of readers. I get to decide where I put it out for you to read. I get to decide how I will engage you with my story.

So, this weekend, I'm choosing not to write. In fact, I'm choosing to give myself a much-needed emotional break by reading and leaving my house (not something I do very often). The leaving part already happened. I went to a picnic at the Center for the Performing Arts in Rhinebeck, New York, which was held in honor of the life of one of their own, a well-loved actor and director, Kevin Archambault. It was great to reconnect with the people I knew through my older daughter, whom I went to represent as she's the one who started at the Center and now works on Broadway.

When I send this off to you, I'll start an ARC for a book set to come out in a week or so by one of my favorite MM authors, Tal Bauer. I'll settle in with a favorite treat and something to drink and I probably won't put it down until I finish reading it. If you love romantic suspense, you'll love Tal's work. Here's one of my favorite books of his, Enemies of the State, the first novel in his Executive Office series. Click on the link to get to it and the others in the series.

Is there an author whose work you can't put down? Share his/her name, please...I'd like to check them out as well.

Before I go, just a reminder that I have a new novel coming out on July 4. Back To Love is Book 2 in my Serendipity series. You can find it and book 1 on Amazon or your other favorite buying platform. You'll find it here. And here's a little snippet to whet your appetite:

I hope to hear from you about your favorite authors. Until next time, dear Reader!

À bientôt,

KT