Overcoming my own fear has been one of the biggest hurtles I find myself facing in my life. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. A few weeks ago, I had been come again consumed by this fear. I had been in denial all summer about my plans for the fall and how I would manage this new job while keeping up with my writing.  Then as September approached I was wondering if I should back away. I was certain I was in over my head. I was so close to quitting it was ridiculous. I'm glad I didn't.

Two weeks in and...its okay. *insert this is fine gif here :P * 

But really everything is manageable for now and I'm glad I didn't quit because this was something I had been considering doing for a long time. 

Fear has stopped me in the past in my professional and personal life. It's insane to think of the opportunities I have missed out on because I was too afraid. I haven't always let it stop me and that's a good thing or I would never have even tried to write a book. It is so cliche but don't let fear stand in your way. 

On that note however, I think my publishing schedule will slow down a bit. I have two more books coming out and two audiobooks being made but that will be it for this year. Next year I have only 4 books planned as I will be focusing on my new project - also in an effort to not avoid burning out too quickly. 

This has been a busy week! 

The audio book is nearing its conclusion. It has definitely been an interesting process from start to (almost) finish. 

I would like to announce that I have re-edited Lady Carey & updated the cover. It will match more with the audio book cover and the rest of the series.

I am currently hard at work on my next book in the Royal Court Series!

Clearly, there's no rest for me this year. Thyra is still with the editors but the cover has been finalized. That's all from me for now...back to writing I go.

I hope you are all staying well.

Thyra is coming along! I hope to have it available within the next month or so.

In the meantime, I have decided to re-do the cover of Fortuna's Queen to help it fit into the Forgotten Women of History series. I heard having cohesive covers in a series is something to strive for (ha). ​

Keep in mind these covers are works in progress. 

So far this series has gone from the 13th century to the 300BC's and now to the 10th century. What a trip. 

Seeing as life has not been exciting enough recently I decided to try to get a dream project of mine started...

That project is seeing some of my books turned into audio books. The first book will be The Lady Carey which should come out sometime in September 2020. 

I would love to have a solid release date in mind but with the state of the world...I am finding having flexible dates on releases until closer to the date is a better idea. 

I will be posting updates more frequently on my blog and Instagram. 

My other news involves my latest historical novel: Thyra. It is well underway and I will be sending it off to the editor soon. This year has been rough in many ways but I seem to have been able to focus on my writing in a way that I never could before and for that I am grateful. 

I also plan on making the Lady Carey available on other platforms once the audio book is ready. It will be an interesting experience so read it on Kindle Unlimited while you can! 

Take Care!

Lately, I haven't been doing much besides writing whenever I can. I'm losing myself in my work instead of managing other things in my life that deserve my attention too. 

That being said I am more than half-way done my latest novel: Thyra.  

At this point I don't want to give away too much. The story has taken an unexpected turn but I'm pleasantly surprised with the results. I hope to have it in the hands of my editor by mid-August the latest.  

Some of you may have received a newsletter this week for July. In the email I included a short story related to my novel: The Stars Above. It's a short snippet about what happened to Luke and Anne-Marie once they left Canada for Florida.  If anyone is interested in receiving it please sign up for my newsletter before the end of July. 

Happy reading everyone! 

Within the next little while, some changes are coming to my site and my novels. 

I have decided to re-publish my book Snowed In under the pen name: Olivia Oakley. The next book in the series will be released soon as well. I am doing this to make it easier to separate the genres I wish to write in. I hope everyone understands. 

Personally, I have always found redemption arcs compelling but never gave them much thought. In a recent discussion with a friend an interesting point was brought up; what is redeemable? 

In recent shows, largely geared to the YA crowd I've seen a lot of redemption arcs where the character in question is not only redeemed but rewarded in the end. The crimes they had committed seemed to have been forgotten. Crimes which include murder, acts of violence/abuse, and many more. Should someone who had murdered several people including family members of the main protagonist, gain their redemption? Often times they basically get to walk away having won the protagonist's heart over. Their hands wiped clean of all their bad deeds with an apology. It doesn't seem right. Nor, does it seem realistic even in a fantasy world. 

I simply can't get it out of my head that terrible acts such as, brutal murders are simply brushed under the rug. It is interesting to see a bad guy turn good but depending on what they did or the circumstances surrounding their actions I don't agree that they should get that fairy tale happy ending. Of course, that's just my personal opinion.

In the end, media featuring these redemption arcs from TV shows to movies to books are works of fiction written for enjoyment. But I'd love to hear what you think...

What is redeemable? 

More recently, you can now find me on Instagram at the link below...
I will be posting updates and my many writing adventures there. 

I've been trying to keep up with my writing challenge set for myself at the beginning of the year but unsurprisingly I have stalled. Life has stalled. 

It feels as though the world is waiting. Waiting to release that in-held breath. We are waiting for time to pass and inevitably it will. We shall settle down to a new redefined normal. In the meantime, I am pressing on hoping to be as productive as I can. One thing I am most afraid of is wasting time. I don't care where you stand on the events of the last few weeks. What I think we can all agree on is how fragile our world is and has always been even if we didn't realize it until recently.

Now we must pick ourselves up and begin again. Hopefully, we will mend and come out stronger. 

Upcoming Projects: 
- Contemporary Rom-Com: Coming in May or Early June. 
- Historical Fiction: I have been working on another book in my Forgotten Women of History series. Stay Tuned. I shall be posting more about it soon. :)