You have spoken (and it's gloriously unhinged)

Hello ,

You spoke, and oh, did you speak. 🤣

Two weeks ago I invited you to chime in on the next romance I write. The one that I'll give to Laurie, my shiny new agent, before the end of 2027 so she doesn't fire me!

Option 3—the dark rom-com about a psychic heroine who will not tolerate misogyny (many men die...)—won with over 20 votes. The other two options got one vote each. One. Each. I love a decisive readership.

So it's official: I'm writing Betsy's book.

And Betsy is a familiar face. She's the antagonist/villain from my very first published novel in 2016, Mother Teresa's Advice for Jilted Lovers. But people change! Betsy has seen the light, and she's decided to focus her immense power only on being a good citizen. Her idea of civic duty is... distinctive.

A little behind the scenes: I've been trying out some trial reels on Instagram to introduce Betsy's story to the world. If you're active on Instagram, I'd love a like or a comment to help the reel that's done the best so far reach more readers like you:

Watch Betsy's reel

Now I need your help again—because the country Betsy lives in needs a name.

Here's the plan: the issues Betsy tackles will be 100% real—things like revenge porn and deepfakes, the gender pay gap, incel radicalization, reproductive rights rollbacks, coercive control. But the world she lives in will be entirely fictitious. (A girl needs plausible deniability.)

So, which country name would you choose?

1 — Fraternia (carries the root of an elite, male-only brotherhood)

2 — Virilis (not even trying to hide the nature of the power seat)

3 — Agnatia (kinship is traced exclusively through the male line)

4 — Kyrios (term for lord, master, or the male head of a household)

Hit reply with the number of your favorite. Or, give me a name you think would be great! You've already proven you have excellent taste. 🤩

And to be clear, this is going to be a contemporary, slow-burn romance. The set-up for the world isn't funny, but the story itself will be 100% paranormal rom-com.

I'm spending November doing all the planning and will start writing Betsy's story in December! So if you have ideas, I'd love to add them to my collection of crimes and "appropriate" punishments!

xo,
Danika

Danika Bloom

USA Today bestselling romance author

DanikaBloom.com

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With respect and gratitude, I operate on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nation.