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Hey, amazing humans!

I've had a really pleasant, busy week. I’ve had fun finding silly little things to share in my (almost) daily Instagram posts, and seeing some of you in that space. If you're on IG and we haven’t connected, let me know your username so I can follow you!

I'm so thrilled that this list has continued to grow, but as it does, I am making adjustments with my service provider to better accommodate all of you. While that's happening, you may receive oddly timed or duplicate emails from me (though hopefully not!), and I hope that you're willing to be patient if that happens, and definitely feel free to give me a heads up if you discover a problem so that I can address it.

A couple weeks ago I promised kitten pictures, but my sad cell phone camera fails to capture the full adorableness of these little guys. I couldn't resist this Pride-themed scratching pad I found at Target, but the perfect pictures I wanted to take never really materialized... :(

Still, it's kittens in a rainbow box, so worth sharing, right?

What I'm reading

I read a really wonderful debut mm romance last week: Beauty and the Bro, by Norah Belle. The book was fun and light while also having a lovely, nuanced depiction of bisexual awakening that I found really realistic and relatable. If you like contemporary romance and femme boys in makeup, you'll adore this one.

What I'm writing

Since June 1, I've been working exclusively on Burning Season, and it's coming along pretty nicely. I keep calling my mother to ask questions about the 1970s, like, "You know those little branded pads of paper that you find in motel rooms? Was that a thing in the 70s?" Unfortunately, she doesn't have the crystal-clear memories of her early twenties that I wish she did for my research purposes. (To anyone who went on roadtrips in the 70s, did the motels have those little pads of paper?!)

The second edition of Jaywalking, which will be roughly twice the novella's length, is resting in advance of its date with the editor on June 21, which is... oh my gosh, one week away. So, um, yeah! I'll be pulling that back out this week and giving it a final pass. And, I'll be circulating the form for ARC readers in my next email too!

Last chance for the MM Class of 20/21 Giveaway!

The MM Class of 20/21 Giveaway is brought to you by nine emerging authors of mm romance (including me!) who were all first published in 2020 and 2021. I have read all the stories and recommend each and every one!

My contribution is Sweat, Leather, and Lipstick, the prequel to Burning Season, and I hope you'll love it! If you do, would you consider showing it a little love on Goodreads? It could use your help over there. 😅

Extremely belated giveaway announcement

I completely forgot to do last month's drawing for a book from my backlist... but the winner was Suzy! Suzy wins on behalf of all the Suzys, because I don't have a last initial for them. If you're a Suzy, any Suzy, respond to this email with the book you want and I'll hook you up!

I hope you all have a great week.

xo,

Rachel