Happy New Year, dear Reader!

Can you believe it's already 2023? Where did a whole year go? Tempus fugit -- time flies -- for real, yeah?

Last year was one full of challenges, some well-managed, others not so much. But as I keep telling folks who ask, I'm not pushing up daisies, so that's a blessing.

The drink in the picture is, of course, not champagne, but sorrel. It's what Jamaicans call 'poor man's wine', made with the petals of a plant related to the hibiscus flower. It's delicious and is a drink we make specially for our annual Christmas and new year celebrations. Depending on where you live, you can get the dried version in a store, and of course, from Amazon (who's surprised by that, eh?). Here's a link to find out how to make it: https://www.seriouseats.com/jamaican-sorrel-hibiscus-drink. There are other links if you'd like to see the range before you decide which recipe to go with.

So, I wanted to share that with you to kick off something new I'd like to try this year in my newsletters. Once a month, I'll share something unique to my island culture, and look forward to you sharing something unique from your heritage with me, as well. Let's make this new year one of connection around things other than books, shall we? Not that we won't talk books, but it'll be nice to get to know each other in other ways as well, no? I can't wait to see what you'll all share with me!

This brings me to my publishing praise moment. In 2022, I completed five stories in this pen name: Ties That Bind, Back To Love, Back At Last, A Very Pregnant Christmas (in the Wanted: Mistletoe anthology), and The Surrogate. Three of these are already for sale and one is available for pre-order for publication on January 5 -- The Surrogate -- on Amazon and other platforms. One -- Back At Last -- will go into pre-order in time for a March 2023 publication date. Click on the titles to get to where you can find them.

I did a lot of work last year, including completing my first MM story in my own pen name -- a new one -- after years of writing them for a client. I learned a lot from that ghostwriting work, and I hope to unveil this new project soon.

This year, I'm starting a new series -- more on that in the next newsletter -- and starting a second trend in this newsletter. In addition to a monthly culture feature, I'll be sharing a book recommendation and review with you all. The genre will, of course, be romance, though if I find another book that I think you all might enjoy, I will certainly mention it. and I will be doing a few newsletter swaps with other authors, so you all can have a wider cross-section of novels to choose from, and I will have a wider potential audience for my stories.

Are you as excited about this new year as I am? What plans do you have? Have you already begun to work on them? I'd love to hear about them. In the meantime, blessings, love, and light to you this year!

À bientôt,

KT