It's that time of year...
Back in August 2018, I posted about my future plans. At the end of March, I made an update on my goals, and I will continue to do so quarterly.
Below is an assessment of the state of my 2019 goals and updates.
Goal #1: Finish Billie's Story
There’s only one more book in the Billie Dixon Series, plus a companion novel set four years after the series, and I have officially moved the publication date of book four, EVERY TIME WE FALL, to early 2020.
This poor book has been postponed way too many times, but finishing the series will be a priority in 2020. I already have a decent amount of it written, but per usual, the plot decided I was wrong and will focus on an aspect of the story that wasn’t supposed to happen until much later in the story. This means that much of what I’ve written will be rearranged or cut, so there’s still a lot of work left to do.
Unless things change drastically, it will release sometime between February and April of 2020, and the companion novel will release near the end of 2020 or early 2021.
STATUS: Goal officially moved to 2020.
Goal #2: Publish True Love's Wish Series
The extended version of STILETTOS & STARDUST finally released on April 26th after some fun (read: NOT fun) mishaps with the preorder. Books two and three will release in Quarter 3 and 4 of this year respectively.
Book two, ROSES & REVELRY, will release as part of the KINGDOM OF MIRRORS & ROSES box set on August 1st, and the individual ebook will release on August 7th after a second proofread. The paperback book will follow as quickly as I can get it formatted. This book is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I’m super psyched about it.
Book three, SPINDLES & SPELUNKING, a Sleeping beauty retelling, will release in mid-October.
STATUS: Goal on target.
Goal #3: Bring You More Awesome Box Sets!
After KINGDOM OF GLASS & ASHES was a success, I signed up for a few more box sets with the organizers, including the KINGDOM OF MIRRORS & ROSES set to release August 1st.
I’ve signed up for a couple more box sets, but I can’t reveal any details just yet. Expect to hear more about them in July and August.
STATUS: Goal on target.
Goal #4: Friends-to-Lovers Novella
After signing up for the Cinderella box set, FOOLS LIKE US was moved from my original release date of October 2018. For a while, it was postponed indefinitely because of the unmovable projects I’m working on for 2019, but I am officially moving the release date to early 2020, probably early February.
STATUS: Goal moved to 2020.
Goal #5: Start a New Series
STATUS: Goal technically met. True Love’s Wish took the place of a different YA contemporary romance series.
While this goal has already been met, I have an addition! In mid-November, I will be releasing the first in a new YA science fantasy series called THE GIRL WHO BROKE THE SKY. A huge thanks to the folks on my newsletter for helping me pick which fantasy series to work on!
Expect a cover and blurb reveal sometime in the next couple months!
UPDATED STATUS: Goal already met, but new series in progress and on target to release in November.
Goal #6: Get Organized
After my husband lost one of his jobs, I spent a decent amount of time organizing my basement office so I can work from home and save us the money of a coffee drink every other day. I have a very nice office put together downstairs now, and I am really enjoying having the ability to work from home.
Now that I have the office organized and usable, though, we realized the desktop needs some work so it can be in the best condition. My laptop is in good shape, but it’s over a year and a half old now, and the typical laptop only lasts approximately three years. I want to have the desktop functioning as best it can so I can switch to only using the laptop occasionally and prolong its lifespan.
STATUS: First part of goal complete. Second part in progress.
Goal #7: Post Regularly on the Blog
The IF WE HAD NO WINTER chapters just finished posting, so anyone can read the first five chapters or members of my free book club can read the entire book right here on my website. In fact, all my published books have at least the first five chapters available to read right here on my blog.
This is my second quarterly blog post, and the following two will be posted on September 30th and December 31st. In January, I’ll share my 2020 author goals.
I have a few more cover reveals for the rest of 2019–FOUR ACTUALLY! I’m pretty excited about that. And then, there will be a few free chapters of ROSES & REVELRY and SPINDLES & SPELUNKING and a side project I’m working on.
My first YA Scavenger Hunt in April was a huge success, and I had so much fun during the process. I will definitely try to participate again in the future.
STATUS: Goal going strong.
Goal #8: Join More Book Cons
As I said in my last quarterly report, this goal was postponed till 2020. I know 2020 is still six months away, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to join a bunch of book cons then either. A lot of personal and family things came up over the last couple months, and I have a long way to go before I can make book cons a priority.
STATUS: Goal postponed till 2020 or 2021.
Bonus Goal!
This is a project I decided to add recently. If you know me well (or not very well really), you know I love planning and organizing and have a tendency to come up with way too many books to write. Because I have so many books planned, I decided to add on another release to 2019.
The book, A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO GETTING NOTICED, will be a short story, only 15,000 to 20,000 words long, and it follows two best friends realizing how much they mean to each other after a loved one dies. This is an LGBT romance and also features my first attempt at magical realism, and it will release in mid-December. Expect a cover reveal in August or September.
STATUS: New! Goal on target to release in December.
