A Happy August to Everyone!
I'm always excited when this summery month rolls around because One, it means someone's got a birthday coming up and I LOVE any chance to celebrate something, pop some bubbly, eat cake--be it birthdays, holidays, when a new season of one of my binge-worthy shows comes out on Netflix!
August also means the height of summer and sunshine, and that means cute dresses, shorts, flip flops, and peonies...cold tea, open windows, longer nights, and more smiling faces. (People just seem happier when the sun shines.)
This year, August is already shaping up to be particularly interesting and fabulous...the whole summer is, in fact! The other week the hubs and I got back from a brilliant vacation in Paris. It may have included some lost luggage and food poisoning, rendering me useless for a couple of days, but it was still as heavenly a week one might imagine in the City of Light! (Here are a few photos documenting just how much fun we had.)
The other night the hubs and I watched Midnight in Paris for kicks and reminiscence (since we walked Paris at midnight). Even under illness, with a very thin wardrobe, and hit with rain and chill at times, Paris is truly a magnificent and magical city. It's hard to complain, even with your head in a toilet bowl, when the Eiffel Tower unexpectedly peeks round charming buildings during your strolls, and when it glitters at the top of the evening hours for five magical minutes, making you stop whatever you're doing, pause your trek to wherever you're going, and simply absorb and admire its sparkle.
It's hard not to fall in love with a city that is alive in the day and alive-er at night! Notre-Dame in the evening? A-MA-zing!!
I have come away from our trip, as expected, inspired to tackle a Paris-based chick lit. How can I not?! I so enjoyed "going" there in some of my When Girlfriends novels in the past--I even found the hotel where Sophie and Jackie stay, as well as the tapestry of The Lady and the Unicorn where Sophie and Chad have a little moment in When Girlfriends Find Love. And, of course, I frequented the Champs Élysées and Ladurée, just like my girls, more than my wallet and stomach cared to! I can't wait to visit Paris again someday, and I can't wait to "visit" it in a future novel soon!
And speaking of future novels...it's about time I share an update about my writerly world. In case you haven't noticed I am a terrible blogger. You wouldn't believe me if I said for nearly ten years blogging was my part-time day job, would you? In any event, here I am, at long last, and with some exciting bookish news! Actually, there's quite a bit of bookish news I need to share, which is why this summer is shaping up to be a whirlwind of FUN! But first, THIS news:
As many of you know, last year Lake Union Publishing brought me into their publishing family as one of their women's fiction authors. (I am still pinching myself at my luck!) They bought my standalone women's fiction novel A Sister's Place. They also bought a future women's fiction that I was to write, and I am pleased to announce that that baby is in the heavy stages of production! The novel has been written--that's right, The End has been written!--the developmental editing stage is complete, and we are now in the home run stretch of copyediting and proofing!! (Where are the party hats and champagne, right?) With so much done already that means there just may be a title...and a synopsis...and a RELEASE DATE!!
“Writer Halley Brennan couldn’t dream up a better love story than her own. Married for eleven years, she and her husband, Adam, are still living their happily ever after. They both know what they want—and don’t want—for their life together. And that includes being child-free. But when one of them has a change of heart about wanting a baby, it brings their marriage and life plans into harsher focus.
Devastated that this bombshell might destroy their relationship, Halley finds comfort in her closest friends: Nina, who’s finally pregnant after years of trying; her sister, Charlotte, an overwhelmed mother of three; and Marian, a successful businesswoman who regrets letting go of her one true love.
Now, with their guidance and support, Halley begins a painful journey of self-discovery. As she searches her heart to make a life-changing decision for both herself and Adam, she realizes that someone is bound to get hurt. Will their perfect love be too great a sacrifice for everything her heart wants?”
As things stand right now, on December 12th, 2017, my brand new women's fiction novel, Everything the Heart Wants, will be released exclusively on Amazon. It'll be available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook formats. And it's already available for pre-order, so check it out, right HERE!!
Lake Union and I are in the middle of cover design, but when that is made available I'll definitely be sharing it here and on Facebook and Instagram. (If you don't follow me/are friends with me there, please reach out!)
There's a bunch of other bookish news to share, but this post is already quite long, and in order to make some of those bookish news items actual news items, I kind of need to get back to work.
Thanks for dropping by and sticking with me. My loyal readers out there, you know who you are, thank you for being so darn patient! I hope Everything the Heart Wants is worth the wait. :) I've been much slower to publishing than when I began my When Girlfriends series--shame, shame--but boy, does it feel great to be this close to hitting that PUBLISH button again! It's been too long. I hope you'll enjoy my new book. Like A Sister's Place, it's another women's fiction that's straight from the heart, and one I think many women will relate to and enjoy.
PS: What do you think of my new logo/branding and website? I am just LOVING how feminine, fresh, and flirty it is. :)
Until soon, Happy Reading and Happy Summer!
XOXO
