If you’ve read a few of my books or have perused titles on my site or Amazon you’ve probably realized one thing - a good chunk of them take place in New Orleans. What you might not know is why.

Yes, 95% of my New Orleans books are supernatural and there are arguably maybe two places as comparable as the Big Easy as settings for the things that go bump in the night.

While the ghosts and lore are a wonderful reason to unleash witches, warlocks, vampires and more on the city in my worlds, it’s actually not the main reason.

When I write, I want to transport the reader to the setting. When it’s a fantasy world, this is actually much harder. When it’s a place I love, it’s like cuddling up in my favorite sweatshirt.

I live and breathe New Orleans. From the dark corners to the food, and the true Mardi Gras spirit to the areas of the city that don’t often make it into stories, I want to explore it all.

A book set in New Orleans is more than booze and darkness. It’s gumbo weather warnings and teasing national news people who can’t come close to pronouncing the crazy rivers and towns down there. It’s making sure the local voice explodes on the page from small details you can’t get without immersing yourself in every section of the city from the West Bank (that is, yes, on the East bank) to the constantly flooding Mid City and fancy Upper Garden District Plantations sitting in plain sight.

The pure magic when you eat your first spoonful of gumbo, or crush a beignet in your mouth while watching people wander down Decatur is blissful. The accidental find in the French Market that leads to the perfect necklace or knick-knack is one you should always experience in your life. The unadulterated rush when a float rider locks eyes with you and tosses you anything is joy-inducing. Those feelings, those emotions, come out in stories when they're set in New Orleans.

Yes, admittedly whenever I write In the real world I use places I'm fond of, but there's no place like home, and to me, New Orleans is home. It's the place where I find myself, again and again. It's the place where my characters find themselves, and their forevers, as well.

And just in case I haven't gotten to sappy with you, here's a random slideshow of some of my all-time favorite New Orleans moments.

What's your favorite place to read about? Bonus points if it's New Orleans!

Let me start by saying thank you to everyone for trusting me with your stories - I can assure you, none of us are alone. Unfortunate as that is, there is some solace we can take in that.

Throughout the last two weeks countless authors have gone down for reasons both similar to mine, and utterly different. There is still no admittance from Amazon on a bot issue or change in anything regarding rules. There is no admittance of fault, but many apologies.

Now, onto what I've been looking in to. Let me start by saying that I am in no way leading a charge, and I was looking into options so authors as a whole could learn what's going on. There will be no screenshots because this was a call - so apologies for that.

In terms of seeking legal representation: Due to Amazon's ability to terminate essentially on the spot and give no information, there is very little that can be done.

A damages claim can be filed by any author who lost significantly, but keep in mind Amazon knows you're earnings. Someone like me didn't lose a lot on Amazon royalties because they reinstated everything. I lost about $200 in earning on the new release, but it's impossible to calculate the backlist since sales vary so much month over month, plus around $400 in booked promo. It wouldn't be in my favor.

This is not to say it's not the benefit of other authors, but ensure that if you seek legal representation, that all earnings and expenses are on the table before going through with what might cost you instead of earn you (and that's if you get anything because Amazon could win if it goes to court)

In terms of a petition: Petitions are wonderful, but they're just a share of voices. For petitions to work, the entity receiving the petition must care. AKA, authors banding together isn't going to change anything. It would take readers - and millions of them - to maybe, just maybe open any sort of change.

Regarding Class Action Suits: This could not be taken on by any author who received access back into their account and all earnings. This would need to be only by those who've lost their accounts permanently. 

The number required for a class action suit is (25 is sufficient), but given our "injuries" are not medical, a larger group would be needed. A lawyer would need to be found, and then the process could begin to see what could occur.

This part is easy to say, but of course, not as easy to do.

Authors: Go wide. KU is sexy, I used it for a lot of my earning, but you are beholden to Amazon and this danger then. If you're concerned about making it wide, I understand as I'm terrified.

Start saving. If you say "I can't save any money", then you're likely at a point in your career where Amazon isn't help too much.  I say this because I've been there. marketing is essentially and even $50 a book goes a long way.

Begin campaigns - newsletters, blogs, social posts - letting your readers know the end of KU for your books. That will get those who only will read on KU time to read, and prepare them to purchase on other platforms. 

Launch slowly, grouping series together as best as you can. Treat it like a new release. Find bloggers, find newsletters, share on social. Getting an entire series up will help with read through.

It will not happen overnight. For most of us, Amazon was not overnight either. It sucks to start over. I've been wide for almost 8 days and I've made 1 sale...1. It's exciting and depressing all at the same time, but it is a start!

Authors with account issues: keep making noise. Focus your efforts on Twitter. No more than 2 hashtags per post to keep their algorithm feed working and tag @amazonpub, @jeffbezos and @Amazonkdp.

I am still working on getting answers and accountability with the nice man who called and emailed me. While I can't reach him via email, I can callback that number and will be doing so weekly. I might not post updates if there's nothing to post, but I am not letting this just vanish into thin air.

Readers and Bloggers: If you are interested in being part of a review team for wide books for me, please fill out this form :) I'm sure other authors will have similar requests. 

Readers: While buying outside of KU may not be possible, know that authors understand. We respect this and understand as we're all readers on budgets, too. 

If you are in the position to buy new books on a different platform, support your authors and their new releases on other platforms. It will help them build things back up.

If you are super able to help and buy the old books on a new platform, that can help launch algorithms and backend metrics that I won't bore you with.

Lastly, reviews. If you can post reviews to new platforms you would do authors an invaluable service. I know it can be a pain to post in multiple places, but reviews unlock promotions and sales - because most people want to see what they're getting in to :)

If you're still with me, I wanted to let you know there are a lot of fantastic resources for going wide. Admittedly, I do nto have approval to share these, so my apologies to people running these groups if you get an influx of join requests :)

Wide for the Win
20booksto50k
Fiction Writing and Book Marketing for a Six Figure Author Career

If anyone is aware of other resources, please share in the comments. I will update as I can!

I will always be here to help in any way I can. What I've learned could be useless in a month, but I will try! We've got this. It's not going to be an easy road for those of us without agents and housing, but we should never give up on our dreams. <3

It's official, we've survived another year. Whether you kicked 2021s butt, survived nicely, or possibly took a little beating (like I did), you made it through! You're here, I'm here, and it's time to have fun <3

My favorite moment was seeing my kiddo realize we were driving into Disney World as a surprise for his 5th birthday. Drop me a comment with your favorite moment from 2021 so we can celebrate together!

2021 was a rough year for me personally. My mystery illness remained undiagnosed, but I spent so much of the year on medication that altered my mood and alertness that finding motivation to write was hard - even with the stories screaming. Add in a 70-hr a week job and a toddler home full time thanks to COVID and the fingers weren't tapping away on the keyboard like I would have liked, but I am fortunate enough to have still released!

Now for the good stuff! While I'm trying not to set release dates for 2022 just in case my muse works in a different order than anticipated, I do have a freaking awesome lineup that returns me back to my productivity level pre mystery illness in May 20201

The Race - Steampunk
To Love a Guardsman - Military (in Cupid Wore Dogtags)
Life in Reverse - Paranormal 
Slay Bells Ring - Paranormal Christmas
Trapped in Wonder - Fantasy
Magic Cursed - Dark Fantasy
Double Linked - Paranormal
Christmas and the Lamp - Christmas
Surprise YA Fantasy (in a mythical creatures boxset)
The Christmas Suit (a Christmas at midnight short in Suit Porn only available at LLS!)
Surprise Fantasy RH

Then, if there's time, I'm hoping to get to release:
Cost of Magic - Fantasy
​The Flames they Found - Fantasy 

I know what you're thinking - how is she going to do that after 1.5 years basically not publishing? Well, the good news is 4 of them are already written and just waiting for their time in the sun...err ereader library.

So let's survive and thrive in 2022 together!

Let me start this post off with the best news - after 8 full days, my account on Amazon has been fully restored. However, for the last 3 days, I've fought an entirely separate battle where Amazon attempted to not pay me after allowing my books back.

My personal fight has not yet ended, as I will not back down, and I have every intention of getting this process fixed, and thankfully, now I have a contact to continue to fight.

Before I get started, I wanted to say thank you for your voices during all of this. You see, it was social media that got an Executive to call me, not my emails and phone calls. It was everyone banding together - in some instances, for someone you don't even know.

Christmas night, I was checking my email when I saw it, a different subject line from KDP not attached to any case number.

I will not lie. I screamed. I screamed at the top of my lungs and nearly jumped into the air.  I was back. My career had come back after 17 total people on the content review team telling me no. What's more - I was answered by an American and not a bot. (I have since confirmed the content review  team is overseas so I am not being rude).

I thanked them so quickly and rushed to the next step. I quick search on Amazon did indeed show all my titles.

Being overjoyed, I immediately went to check and see if they truly paid back my royalties as well. Imagine my surprise, when I saw this.

I politely emailed asking if there was a mistake. 

Meanwhile, I had two friends buy books - 1 bought ebooks, 1 bought audio. I waited three hours and checked. It hadn't triggered the account reopening in full. I'd already emailed, and I didn't want to piss the nice people off so I waited.

​Next day I got this email.

Four three more days I would explain, send my screenshot and get this exact same email back, sometimes from the nice Luis, sometimes from someone else. Each time, I checked my dashboard.

Stressed, I went to Twitter again and tried tweeting about possible stolen royalties. 

I also noticed a glaring issue. The book that got me banned had reviews...reviews from January 2021. Had the backend crossed their wires and the content really appeared misleading? I thought so, but wouldn't know until I could speak to someone.

I emailed back (notice they still don't give you a way to get to them?) and got a call within a few short minutes.

Tony was wonderful. He assured me nothing was taken from me, and even agreed that there was no suspicious content, but that he has no access to the content team notes. He told me I was back in full and I confirmed with a quick check into my dashboard - I was also surprised to see I somehow made sales three of the days I was totally missing.

To everyone who has sent messages, left comments, and shared their stories. Thank you. This has been nothing short of the week from hell. I am not backing down. I have this man's direct phone number because he used a phone registered with CallerID. I will be following up. I will be consulting law professionals on the best next steps for us all.

As you've probably imagined, not only have I not stopped trying just because it's the holidays, I've also had a bit of a strained holiday because my dream and career are in tatters. If you're seeing this first, part 1 is here.

That said, I will not be kept down, and I've got a few updates in the case and what comes next to share with  you. While I'm not trying to cram information at people, I do want to share timely updates as timelines and to keep things from snowballing into giant updates.

At last count last night, I had 17 different "we're not telling you more, your count is over, bye" emails from 6 people total. All overseas, no supervisor, and none responding to my request for a phone call.

Last night, it also occurred to me that with them completely locking me out of my account, I've lost access to my 1099 - which, with my earnings, would put me in legal trouble in about 30 days when it's time to file. Keep in mind, it's possible they will automatically send me it versus the standard "1099's are in your account" email that is standard. I'm not certain, since it wasn't stated, so I'm not condemning them for that just yet.

Thanks to someone's suggestion, I was able to back door into the extinct author central going through the old link - which was supposedly no longer useable per an email from KDP awhile ago. The better news? When I hit "contact us" the ability to call comes up! I haven't tried it because it was the middle of the night and I truly want to speak to someone stateside with a firm grasp on what I'm trying to explain and why I care so deeply. That is in no way meant to be rude. I managed an overseas team for 5 years, I love the working around the clock method, but know first hand how tricky communication can be since I'm not cool enough to be bilingual any longer (not important but I was in Spanish for a few years until I stopped using it in college).

So, starting on 12.27, I'm going to see if that button works and if I can't back my way into a phone call. I truly feel with a phone call, the error will be obvious. Regardless of whether I will or won't use KDP again, my larger dream of finding an agent and joining a publishing house is likely impossible without an amazon presence and I still don't know if I can upload new titles through a third party or not.

Today, around 3pm, I received two more rejections for more information, both slightly polieter and from the same person (though this was a brand new person in general).

To which, I'm taking a slightly harsher response because now it's been going on for ages with my request for more information and a phone call not working. Did I get a little emotional? I did, but I remained polite and relevant. Some people won't agree with what I did, but this is my journey and I'm sure I'll make mistakes.

All drama aside, I'm going to keep fighting for my backlist, but begin to move forward with new releases. First, I want to share my very first published novel with everyone as a thank you. This book was wide to be permafree on Amazon, but I doubt anyone knew that, so here's a link to all retailers! *note it is not free on audible, but I have gift codes should someone be interested.

While I normally like to give each book it's own "cover reveal" and blurb announcement, I'm going to do things a little differently. So, I'm happy to present 3 of the 12 releases I have planned for 2022! To see the rest, consider joining my street team. Since Christmas & The Lamp was in KDP, I'm afraid to put it up wide presently.

These may end up on amazon via D2D In the future if It turns out I can place new titles I just can't replace or place via KDP. For now, I'm staying away.

While I'm fairly certain an author who has self published for 3 years and been attacked by amazon isn't appealing, if anyone know any wonderful small presses with a focus on romance and unagented submissions I'd be forever grateful for any tips as I've learned being out on my own has some disadvantages.

Let's keep the momentum going - I want this procedure changed so badly for the next author to suffer at the fate of "the content review team". Please comment if you have any suggestions for next steps or contacts you have!

12.25.21
Two edits were made for clarity.
1. I had 700 reviews and ratings, not reviews only. I apologize for not realize you could rate without reviewing on Amazon until it was brought to my attention.
2. updated verbiage on the review notice to avoid semantical conversations or confusion based on policy.
3. A link to part 2 that includes more of the process and my fight.

 The last 30ish hours have been very hard for me. Somehow, I offended Amazon's KDP system and my entire career has been taken down. This blog is my attempt to share only the facts, while leaving out any opinions and emotions. At present, 43 books have been unpublished, over $300 in advertising dollars on a new release from 12.20.21 are wasted, and over 700 reviews & ratings are now gone. All of this occurred just 24 hours after my latest release, which was the first release I've had since last Christmas, due to fighting a mystery illness and COVID parenting a toddler - writing took a backseat.

Please consider sharing this blog on your social media. I want to effect change within Amazon more than I want my career back. If enough of us make noise, it's possible this can all be changed.

This post might be lengthy, but I promise, It's not extraneous information.

To set the stage about me for what it might be worth, I am a 2x USA Today Bestselling Author. I began publishing through the fantastic confidence of CHBB Publishing in summer of 2015 before branching out to self publish in summer of 2017. Since 2015, over 54 novels were written and published. Many were shorts in anthologies. Some of those shorts were republished when the anthologies ended and rights returned, but not all. While my review count was a modest total of just over 700, they were still reviews.

I write across the bulk of romance subgenres, with a focus on paranormal romance, steampunk romance and Christmas romance. My works are not all under 18 friendly, but some were.

Today I learned that I tested “negative” for COVID-19.
Aside from a few people, I’ve kept very quiet about the process. It was personal, and terrifying, from start to finish. I wasn’t certain what I was going to do if I tested positive, but I knew if I tested negative I needed to get the information out there. Getting the test isn’t the end of the world, and you should do better than me to remember that.

Why?

Because I felt like I was all alone. No one talks about it. No one gives any indication how many tests come back negative – we’re not tracking that, and we should be. I had my first panic attack and my second. I cried…a lot. I recorded a few quick videos for big moments in my son’s life. In short, I took shit too far, but I had so much fear in my body that it happened. I worried about how unready I am to leave this world and not enjoy all the perks of being a mom. How many stories I still have to tell and how many adventures I’m yet to have.

While you wait for results, you’re isolated. Alone. You can hear the rest of the house carrying on without you, and it’s gut wrenching. All you want is to stay positive, but all you can think about is how you can’t hold your child. How your husband is left doing ALL the cleaning and cooking. How your elderly mom (sorry mom, but at 72, you’re elderly), is taking care of the child when Mike has to report to work because military are essential personnel.

So, here we go. Let’s start. It’s a bit long, but I blame the length of the process for that, so I hope you’ll stick with me until the end – which is when I got the call this afternoon. This will a post about what I went through, but I’ll do a timeline post at the very end, as the timeline for everything was truly the worst part.

When the symptoms first started it wasn’t that I was in denial, it’s that I didn’t have the fever OR the dry cough. I had a sick child, a sore throat, a boring cough, and a single day of horrendous stomach issues that just resulted in a lot of restroom visits, but no real issues with said visits. (Ironic I can write erotic sex scenes but I struggle to discuss pooping).

Sunday the 22nd I woke up sick. Common cold sick. No fever, no dry cough. I did experience fuzzy thoughts and a ton of dripping nose issues. I took some cold medicine that night. I totally dried out and was fine. Mentally, I didn’t have a second thought. Monday, I took a daytime cold medicine, and aside from being high as kite (which is normal for me), I was fine.

Monday night things took a turn for the worse. I could feel pins and needles in my legs. They were on fire, then they were icy cold, then they were just asleep. Over and over. I had a good cry. I panicked. I went to sleep. I woke up, I wish I could remember the sensation but I made Mike get out of bed and hold me. The next day, I learned I’d had a panic attack.

Tuesday my mental state kept slipping. Though I wasn’t any sicker, the fear grew and grew. I didn’t sleep until nearly 4 am, fear that I’d stop breathing the main cause. When I did sleep, I woke up three times choking so hard I couldn’t breathe, and my eyes watered.

Wednesday, I went to Quick Care. They were wonderful. I was admittedly treated like I was infected, but I get it. They did everything they could, right down to taking chest X-rays. X-rays were clear. My circulation and pulse were strong. I had no fever – I never had. I knew what came next – I’d be told to go home and isolate and don’t waste the test.

To my surprise, not only was I prescribed medicine, but I was told to go to take the test. My underlying conditions – the very ones rendering me a terrified lump – were the same ones sending me to get the test. Asthma. A single kidney. A small heart murmur.
​
I’d like to say I calmed down. That knowing I would go for the test helped. It didn’t. I hardly slept that night. Aidan gave me a Button to help me feel better and I sure as shit clutched that adorable little toy as I tried to sleep and brought it with me. Per the doctor’s suggestion, I was up at 5 am to head down to the drive thru testing site.

I got there at 6:45 am and piled in behind an already growing line of cars. I was the second line of a wrap – the first being close to two sets of tents. Though there were cop cars, no people stood outside the cars. I drove up and left my foot on the brake as all the others did. Would I be done soon? Do they start early?

I sat for 45 min. The panic growing. The queasiness increasing. I looked into other cars. All around me, only single people sat. I hoped none had large families at home should they get the result no one wanted. Trepidation swarmed me as I continued to worry I was too far down in the line to receive a test. This location only did 250 a day and I was 7 minutes later arriving than suggested.

Around 7:30 a man in a bright safety vest began walking. He went from car to car passing out masks and informing us to leave our windows up. Opening it would result in removal.

So I sat there, with a giant mask that impeded my vision and made breathing harder. I talked to the universe (I’m not a “god” person). I worried about what came next. I emailed my husband, texted my mom and checked in on Aidan, ensuring he was still asleep.

Then we started to move. My throat went dry but I drove. Start, stop. Start, stop. Then I reached the curve. I rolled my window down. They asked if I had symptoms or was in contact. I started to say symptoms and show my doctors note. I was cut off, pointed in a direction and told to roll my window up.

Next, a man knocked on the window and I rolled it down. He told me to secure my hair and watch his finger out the front window. He took my temperature – read it aloud – 99.8, and told me to pull into a line. He wrote it on a clear plastic holder, stuck a yellow paper in, and slid it under my windshield wiper.

My heart slammed in my chest as the world grew dizzy. I’d not had a temperature before. How much could I Google as I got closer to the cops since I was sitting still. Everything showed accurate except for -0.5. Then I remembered panic makes you feverish. It could be nothing. I chanted it to myself, along with the word “negative” over and over again.

I pulled up and stopped under a tent. Two people in hazmat suits asked for my ID and insurance card. They wrote furiously, ignoring me as they did before muttering only two cars under the tent and then shooed me along. The next man was ironically quite jovial. We talked about the test, and while he did it he mentioned “Scrambling your brain,” with a small laugh.

I pulled forward again. This time to get information on the results. When I’d get them, how to exit the facility. A whole bunch of info on the sheet contradicted what the man said, but the important part was this: call in 7 days.

So I went home.

I’d love to say I was this big, brave girl who went and slept in another room, hand sanitized every after move, and enjoyed herself. I didn’t … well I did all the things, but I was a mess. I was afraid, deathly afraid.

During the day I’d be fine. Then that night it would get bad. I’d get the circulation issues and weakness in my legs again. I’d cry. I’d rant to my husband who isn’t an emotional person – aka I drove him nuts. I’d lay awake at night swearing I wasn’t breathing correctly. My chest hurt on and off but never like the described articles of which I read 100% too many.

I bought a pulse oximeter. It was my best friend. Except for after a bad round of shortness of breath on Saturday that lead to my inhaler. My heartbeat spiked and it freaked me out. Everything physically trembled. I almost went to the hospital but fear of exposing myself kept me in my place. When it didn’t stop, I did call. Take some walks, call back.
​
Thankfully, the walks helped. Unfortunately, that ended the small mental superiority I had. I spiraled. When it was quiet in the house, I made videos for Aidan. Twenty seconds max because I couldn’t control the emotion beyond that. One for his birthday in May. One for his first day of big kid school. One for when he drives. One for his wedding day. I gave into the fear and I’m not proud of it, but creating a memory for my son, who already didn’t understand why the person who was always there couldn’t be, was more important.

I was ready to fight. I didn’t know what it was, but I was ready. To this exact moment something is still wrong. I still have mucus dripping down my throat despite a ton of meds. I still have random heartburn. But that’s for another day.

Results should have started coming in yesterday. They didn’t and I was a wreck of symptoms last night. While stuff gets worse at night, I have a bad feeling I aided to it.

While at work, my phone blared next to me. The screen showing “COVID Testing” (which is what I labeled it). I thought it was finally time. My heartbeat slammed in my chest as I answered and began to shake.
​
I thought I’d get answers. I didn’t. First I got bombarded with questions to confirm I was me. All I wanted was the stupid results. Then, the nice woman finally gave them to me “negative”. I cried. No, I bawled. I heard her talking about the paper for “negative” results, but I hardly focused. She warned me I was negative today, but my immune system is lower and to be careful. My mom walked up and I somehow mouthed negative to her.

I hung up. I kept crying. I ran across the house shouting “Mommy’s better!” and scooping Aidan into my arms. I twirled him. I put him down. He came back for more hugs. He asked me to sleep in bed tonight. We bounced and danced. Then I called my husband to tell him as well.

At the end of the day, I tested negative. I received the news so many want and are unable to get. I’m beyond fortunate. The fight against COVID-19 isn’t over. We still need to stay home. We still need to flatten and then eradicate the curve. My husband still has to come and go – each time putting us all at risk again as he shares rooms at work. So let’s do this together. Let’s stop going out, stop sitting on porches and patios with friends. Let’s remember that while you aren’t scared, someone else, somewhere close, is.

The timeline.
Thursday, March 12th:
Dry, scratchy throat.
Monday, March 16th:
A cough began. It wasn’t a deep cough. It wasn’t wet. It wasn’t dry. Additionally, Aidan began to sneeze and cough – the same nasty cough he had from November until early January.
Thursday, March 18th:
Stomach issues from hell today. I was able to secure a telehealth call for Aidan for the next day.
Friday, March 19th:
The doctor said he didn’t seem to have it, but we needed to get him down to the mobile pediatrician site in Kenner to see what he might have. While we waited, he was tested for strep and flu – both negative. Due to no circulation or fever, they said it was a likely a cold.
Sunday, March 22nd:
I woke up with full on cold symptoms.
Wednesday, March 25th:
Went to the doctor. Clear lungs. Sent for testing.
Thursday, March 26th:
Took the test at the Alario Center.
Monday, March 30th:
Received my negative result.  

The end of a series is always so exhilarating. It’s also equally as sad. You grow in tune with the characters and the world after 8 months together. For me, saying goodbye to this mystical, magical New Orleans also comes at a time when I’m about to have to say goodbye to New Orleans as my home for a new military stationing.

It’s poetic, really, but it’s also terribly sad. I’ve grown to love Lita’s recklessness, Ivy’s determination, and Deidre’s passion to do better. With this book, a new witch joined the trio and while she was standoffish and cocky and first, Grace revealed herself to be a lot deeper. Scenes were cut to keep the story on track, but her backstory with Jonathon is one I might tell as a freebie on the site one day.

Now, without further blubbering, happy release, Much to do About Hexes!

“How did you stop? That’s going to be important to ensure you do again whenever you feed. We all have triggers, and once we’ve found it, that’s it.”

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

“Let me guess, your witch friend climaxed?”

“What, is that standard or some shit?”

“Pretty much. It’s tied to a change in the donator’s body chemistry the first time you feed.”

“Are you telling me if I drink from someone and they don’t orgasm I’ll drain them dry?”
​
“Pretty much, but with your reputation, you shouldn’t have an issue getting that done if you’re done with synthetic.”

Every purchase comes with 2 FREE ebooks and 1 FREE audiobook. Plus, you’ll be entered to win the grand prize package.

Freebies and giveaway are open until March 2. 2020 at 6 pm CST.

To enter, email here with proof of purchase, KU order or gift to another person.

Last night, before a terrible tragedy ended one of my favorite parades, a member of the Sirens walking krewe looked at Aidan and dug through her bag to find this siren’s bottle just for him. Though she didn’t say why, I believe it was because of the note inside, and how powerfully it would resonate for a 3-year-old with a cast up to his thigh, stuck in a wheelchair during what is arguably the best time of year if you live in NOLA.

​“I’m not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my own ship. “

My son is my hero. Period.

19 days ago he suffered an accident while out having the time of his life and found himself in more pain than should be fair for a small child - a broken bone, just under his knee near the growth plate.

In that moment, fun vanished for him. He wasn’t himself. My smiling, loud, non-stop talking child wouldn’t smile and he wouldn’t talk for
nearly 10 waking hours.

Within those first 24 hours, he was smiling and laughing once he was splinted. In that time, he also went to the ER. I had to stand by and listen and watch as he was essentially tortured (through no fault of the ER staff) in getting X-rays and a cast. Even still, he found calm and would sing and play.

Over the next 19 days, his world was different. My child who loved to say “I’ll do it” and run to do said thing, had no way to do it. The child who made it a game to climb on and off things to help, no longer could. The toddler who loved squatting down to build train tracks and race hot wheels, could only do so if someone let him - which we of course did. He couldn’t play with his friends. He couldn’t even go potty alone - something he’s been doing since before he was 2.

But you know what? He didn’t complain. Within a day of the full leg cast, he’d figured out how to butt scoot along the floor by putting his good foot under his bad. He taught himself how to roll over by tugging on the blanket and pulling himself - while mommy and daddy held it. Within seconds of being in a wheelchair on day 4, he was off, free once again.

He’s figured out how to play, admittedly by himself. He’s learned not to cry when his friends don’t stay by the wheelchair at school, play dates, and parades. Aidan “runs” through the house by scooting along the floor, giggling and grinning as he goes. He suffered through getting a cast off and a new one on at a hard angle for his stiff leg and while it sounded like an exorcism during it, five minutes later he was laughing and giggling asking to come back and see his leg photos again. He’s a fantastic terror, chatting everyone’s ear off and shouting “I’ve got a broken leg” to try and get stuff at the parades.

Throughout everything, he hasn’t lost his shine. He’s not once given into the sadness that I swear an adult would. He’s not complained about being stuck in one spot or losing his beloved bath time. (Though he literally pushed up off the ground with joy when I opened a cast cover that will let him swim!). Even last. night, when he was in pain because Mommy and Daddy didn’t do the best lifting jobs and made him sore.

He is a hero.

We write books with these strong, masculine leads and heroines we either identity with or strive to be. We often times forget that there are other hero’s, little ones with bigger hearts who tackle adversity in a way adults couldn’t fathom.

I only have a few novels with kids - and I’m not going to link them because that’s not what this is about - they’re not “characters.” They’re more plot elements, unique as they needed to be to let Mommy and Daddy shine.

I want us to do more. Romance is about the kids, too. Let’s all make a story where a young child is the hero in a parent’s life, not just an accessory.

2019 was all about visibility. I wanted to not only reach new readers, but be more visible to those already following me. I wanted to connect with those around me where I seemed to fail in the past.

what did I do?
I tried monthly blogging.
That didn’t yield results. I’d give away free things each blog if people would just comment. I’d share all over social media, and nothing would happen. So, after six straight months, I gave up.

I started back at book signings.
this was the best use of my word ever. I made new friends, created new partnerships, and overall just enjoyed being in a book obsessed setting.

I sent weekly newsletters.
While these were focused on recommendations, I usually had more - like a question, recipe and tons of giveaways. Did it work? Not really. My list of 2000 dropped down to about 1500 and I’d get maybe 2-3 engagement. Which, if it was you, I LOVED that!

I joined a boxset with new authors.
this improved my readership and my friendships as it launched the Hexed in New Orleans world AND hit the USA list, but it overall did not create the relationship with readers that I wanted. Do the books sell? Yes, but I’m after the engagement and fun more than the sales.

I posted daily on my business page.
Facebook algorithms are a pain. However, with over 10k followers I was certain if I posted daily, people would be interested in “hanging out”. Some days this worked, most it fell flat. I did giveaways, questions, fun things and more. Nothing stood out as working more than something else.

I tried to giveaway as many things as I could.
the goal? Entice someone to try something new. I never required more than a share to enter, and still, most went not entered.


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What started on a high note as a key goal turned into a depression-like state after 7 months. Was Facebook causing some of it? Yes, but overall, it wasn’t. People didn’t seem to want to engage with me. Was it me as a person? Do my books sound shitty? Worse, do my books suck?

come November and December I slipped on deadlines and gave up pretty much everything. It’s not about fame or fortune for me, it’s about creating the communities I love as a reader. It became impossible to care because it feels (yes present tense), like no one needs the escape or wants the escape my stories bring. Writing grew tiresome, the characters didn’t stop talking, but I no longer cared if anyone ever knew their stories.
It’s not pretty, but it’s the truth. Without any indication my stories were enjoyed, it made no sense to keep pumping them out, no matter that I have 77 outlines waiting. And worse? If it wasn’t the stories no one wanted, it was me.

In my personal life, I’ve never cared if people don’t like or engage with me. I’m confident in myself. However, that disintegrates when my work is in question. It annoys me, but it’s what brings me to 2020’s word.

2020 is going to be about remembering why I started - to fulfill dreams. I am going to spend the year focusing on why I first picked up a pen in second grade to write a silly story about a snowflake.

I want to focus on the dream being the most important part - not on caring if people share my dream or believe in it.

2020 is about Lexi. It’s about the stories I want to tell, the worlds I want to share and to hell with caring if people don’t want them. I want them.

this is my call to action for you in 2020 - fight to love and live your dreams. ❤️❤️