This past weekend I had the honor of attending Literary Love Savannah as an author. I held off writing this post because I wasn’t certain the direction it should take. Should it be about the prostitute who died in the bar who set my imagination whirling? Should it be silly about all the moments we had when we thought no one listened? Maybe it needed to be heartfelt for all those readers who snagged my books and made me feel like I did belong back at the convention scene.

Did I figure it out? Nope, but it’ll come to me as I go. It’ll be natural and organic and real.

Mike, Aidan and I piled into the car at 5 am on Wednesday to make the drive.

Thirteenish hours later, not only had I realized there was a thin line between romance and horror tropes, but we finally arrived in Savannah!

The weekend is both a reader and an author’s paradise. From seeing old friends for the first time in years, to meeting people I’ve connected with over social media to brand new friends, there was no shortage of amazing connections. We often forget how solitary the author life is, and when we come together, we’ll, we’re a lot of fun!

This weekend was about finding a piece of myself I didn’t know I’d lost since becoming a mom. Sure it was fantastic meals, epic parties, and soooo many books, but it was a time for me to enjoy being me. Over the past few years I’ve slipped into just being a “mom”. At LLS I was more. I was the author. I was the girl dashing through her first escape room. I was the woman struggling to find her “beauty” in time for a ball where I’d positioned myself to gain more than a few dirty looks if my sequined gown drew their eye and they deemed me unworthy. It was a place where a new shared world of stories was born and I was included simply because I was a friend.

I went to LLS because I wanted to find my footing in the author world - something I know I lost after choosing to part ways with my publisher. I got so much more.

Thank you to everyone. Thank you for the dirty stories during erotic trivia. Thank you for nights of chatting about nothing and everything. Thank you for entering my book worlds and staying for awhile. I’ll be seeing you, LLS, you haven’t seen the last of me yet.

If you'd have told me 5 years ago that I'd not only still be publishing, but thriving, I would have been shocked to say the least. Five-years-ago-me loved the stories I had to tell. She also believed she only had those few stories in her, that she would never reach her readers, and that she would fizzle and burn out - no matter how brightly she burned on day one - in a matter of years. 

Only, she didn't. One series led to another ... and another ... and another ... and I think you get where I'm going from here. My greatest fear 5 years ago was not that I would fail to find my audience (though that is a struggle), but that I would run out of worlds to weave and stories to tell. 

40 solo novels later (and a had full of anthology stories), and I can say that didn't happen. I'm here, I'm stronger. I have no intention of slowing down or stopping the race. 

First grade me fell in love with reading stories. Second grade me fell in love with telling them. 31-year-old me hasn't changed a bit. Whether you're looking for swashbucklers, alpha males, heroic heroines, and even the occasional relateable villain (I'm looking at you, Seraphina), you can find them in my worlds.

Thank you to the cover artists who've worked to package my stories in spectacular bindings. Thank you to the editors who polished my work - and to the ones who didn't , thank you for teaching me to be stronger. Thank you to my publisher, though I am no longer a member of the house, you started a dream for a young writer. Thank you to my author friends who kick my butt into to gear, who help me through plot points, and who listen to the millions of ideas that I can't seem to contain in my head if I wish to work on a current project. Thank you to my family who's stood beside me, sharing, reading, and supporting my work. Thank you to my readers - without you, I'd just be a crazy lady with voices in her head.

Of course, what's a birthday without presents? Follow this link to grab a FREE ebook! 

Until next time ....