Hey awesome,

Time continues to make absolutely no sense, and the world is a mess, so I've been digging deeper into what I can control - writing, spending time outside + with people I love, spoiling the dogs. Olive's current self-care is stealing sticks at the dog park and sprinting away when we try to grab them. What are you doing to take care of yourself these days?

Two weeks ago I emailed you from just before the start of Liberty Con, and it was an amazing time. How amazing? I wrote all of this about it and still didn't catch all the awesomeness.

I also finished a short story while I was there, turned it in, came home, and wrote 15,700+ words in six days. For some people that's no big deal, but for me - whew. I wrote every day and was genuinely stunned by how it all added up. It's like when you make progress every day...it...progresses. Wild!

Who would have thought? Because of who I am as a person, I'm trying to beat that over the next six days. If I do - and keep up some measure of momentum like this - I'll be on track to get a whole bunch of projects done. (Also because of who I am as a person, there are...several of those on my plate. Ahem.)

Speaking of projects! A new 4HU novel will be coming to you soon - like, August 12 soon (aaaaaa!).

In Lyon's Pride, Chris Kennedy (the Factory Boss himself!) and I get to bring the Lyon's story to the forefront - it spans several decades AND, fun fact, is one of the two books we're writing this summer. Those two books kick off the Phoenix Initiative, the new storyline in the 4HU that also serves as an entry point if you don't currently have time to read the 78+ books in the universe (though, fair warning: you'll probably want to!).

Meanwhile, Bill Webb and I are back to work on The Spider, for maximum Hit World shenanigans, and if you want a little hit of Hit World: The Valkyries Initiative in the meantime, you can check out the latest Valkyries author interview - this one is with Kristi Bradley! The video interviews with authors are posted every other week, leading up to the September 16 release of the kickoff Valkyries anthology.

If you want something to read right now, how about some free reads? Check out all the variety at the links below. Which of these need to move to the top of my TBR mountain??

https://books.bookfunnel.com/tpykyh4567/gi8p9ri8od

https://books.bookfunnel.com/bookspry-scifi-free/3fhbnzmgyi

https://books.bookfunnel.com/beyondimagination2/l8lk27by0n

https://books.bookfunnel.com/scifiandfantasysalespromo/vtdgw993vl

https://books.bookfunnel.com/trynewfantasyscifiauthorsfreeinjune/iy8ja2ziup

And on that note, gotta get back to the progress-making writing habit. Wish me luck?

Til next time,

Marisa