My New Year's Resolutions for 2021!

Like many of you, I'm excited to leave 2020 in the rearview, even with all the wonderful things I have to celebrate from last year (more on that here if you missed my looking back on 2020 blog post!). I hope 2021 will see the return of travel, and social gatherings, and just leaving my house a bit more. Most of all, I hope it brings more health and security to everyone in need! 

I know my baby girl is going to grow up so much over the next twelve months, and I can't wait to experience every moment with her. Even though I'm taking a small step back from work to concentrate on being a mom, I still have plenty to look forward to this year! 

So, without further ado, here are...

My Top Five Author Resolutions of 2021!

1. Publish The Dragon and the Queen!

The Dragon and the Queen is set to go on sale on June 21st, 2021, and I can't wait! This book amps up the action and the stakes for all four main characters, and builds not only on the romance but on all the relationships established in the first two books. My beta readers absolutely loved it, so I really hope you all will too! The ebook is currently available to preorder on Amazon, and I'm hosting a wonderful preorder giveaway with two character cards up for grabs. I'll be updating everyone when the hardcover and paperback editions also become available!

2. Publish more audiobooks!

The Raven and the Dove is my highest selling audiobook already (at least on Audible), so you better believe I'm working on the rest of the series! I'm expecting the files for The Hunter and the Mage from the marvelous narrator, Sarah Sampino, any day now, so the audiobook is imminent! I'll be working with her on the audio for book three too, which will hopefully be available over the summer :) I'd also like to publish more of my backlist in audio, so expect some news about my A Dance of Dragons and Midnight Ice series soon!

3. Publish more hardcovers!

  

One of my favorite things about publishing hardcovers is the ability to make them a bit more special with the unique designs under the dust jacket! I love the naked covers for Once Upon a Curse and The Raven and the Dove, and I can't wait to make more of these special editions for the rest of my young adult backlist. Hopefully I'll be able to get hardcovers available for Midnight Fire, Midnight Ice, and A Dance of Dragons before the year is up!

4. Write the fourth book in The Raven and the Dove!

I've started outlining book four, and I'm hoping to get the entire thing written by the time The Dragon and the Queen goes on sale! I probably won't be releasing it until 2022, but I am excited to start revealing the title, cover, and description later on this year! The series is going to close with a bang!

5. Start working on a new romance series!

It's been a hot second since I released a contemporary romance under my pen name Kay Marie, and with all the craziness of 2020, my heart is longing to return to the bubbly fun of romantic comedies! I've already got a cover for the first book in the new series I'm hoping to launch maybe in the fall of 2021 :) The series will be a fun spin on The Bachelor, so I hope all my fellow Bachelor Nation fans will enjoy it!

And those are my author goals for 2021!!

I'm hoping to find a good balance between being a mom and being an author this year, and I'm confident I will! Even though it might take some time, I think 2021 will be a wonderful year professionally and the beginning of a new chapter for me. We'll take the journey together!

Since I'm a reader first, I also want to highlight some books I'm looking forward to reading this year :) Normally I list a top five, but I have too many books I'm looking forward to this year - and with all the nursing I'm doing, I've been reading more than ever! 

So here is...

My 2021 TBR!

    

   

   

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What books are you most excited for this year? 

Hopefully The Dragon and the Queen :) Leave a comment below with some other titles - I'd love to check them out!

Happy new year! 🎉🎉

Happy New Year! My 2019 Resolutions!

2019 is here!! Woohoo!


via GIPHY

If you read my year end post from a few days ago, you know that 2018 was an interesting year for me :) I took a big chunk of the year to work on The Raven and the Dove (I was so inspired I just couldn't wait to dive into that manuscript), which slowed my publishing schedule a bit. I still managed to publish two books, Shatter and Hot Pursuit, but I have a LOT more scheduled for 2019!

I'm planning to close out one series, start another, and publish a long awaited sequel! There may also be one or two surprises up my sleeves... tehehe!

Without further ado...


My Top 5 Author Resolutions of 2019!

1. Publish Stolen Goods and Off the Grid to complete the To Catch a Thief series!

Stolen Goods goes on sale in less than a week, which is SO EXCITING! I seriously can't wait to share Addy and Thad's story with you all. I feel like I've been teasing it for ages! And better yet, I'm just about done with the manuscript for Off the Grid which means it is on track to go on sale in early April! YAY! It should be up for preorder next week, and the cover reveal will be in a few days :) I'm also considering publishing a short novella to wrap up the series, something to show all six main characters in their HEAs!

This series has been an absolute blast to write! Revisiting my pseudonym was long overdue, and I already have my next rom com series idea for 2020! Kay Marie is here to stay :)

 

2. Publish Chasing Midnight (...finally)!

Okay...I know this has been a resolution of mine for a while, but it is FINALLY HAPPENING! :) By the end of January, I will be working on the Once Upon a Curse series again! I'd been putting it off because I simply didn't have the inspiration. But a few months ago, the opening line of the book just came to me out of nowhere and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since. I honestly can't wait to dive into my long-awaited Cinderella retelling! Fans of this series, Chasing Midnight will be on sale by the summer--that's a promise! Until then, you can add it on Goodreads!

3. Launch a new YA fantasy series, starting with The Raven and The Dove!

When I started working on The Raven and The Dove during NaNoWriMo back in 2017, I had NO IDEA how epic this series would turn out to be--in world-building, in swoon, in sheer size and scale! I thought it would be about 70k words, but the story kept growing and growing, and now the first book is sitting at nearly 120k words. My longest book ever! The sequels will probably be around the same length, which is why I decided to hold off publishing the first book right away. I wanted my schedule to be clear so I had time to work on book 2 before I published book 1. I'm currently planning to launch the series in the fall, and hopefully by that time, I'll have book 2 done and I'll be working on book 3 so you won't have to wait too long between the releases! I'm an impatient reader, so I know how it feels to wait ages between books :)

For now, you can add it on Goodreads!

   

4. Produce more audiobooks!

Publishing the audiobooks for Midnight Fire and Confessions was such a fun experience! Hearing my characters come to life was so rewarding and almost magical in a way :) I'd love to work on more audiobooks in the new year! I'm thinking I might start with the Once Upon a Curse series since I'll be publishing Chasing Midnight this year, but I'm considering audiobooks for Midnight Ice as well. If you have a preference, leave a comment below! I always take your feedback into account!

 

5. Seek out new opportunities and explore new publishing avenues!

Writing is an isolating job in many respects (and as an introvert, I usually welcome that), so every year I like to have a goal to push myself to try new things, work with new people, and make sure I'm open to all the opportunities that come my way!

I've already signed up to join a multi-author anthology in 2019, which is something I've always wanted to try. I'll be writing an exclusive novella for that anthology, and I'll be sharing more about that soon! I've always wanted to write a picture book, and I have a really fun holiday-themed idea I might test out. I'd love to have another signing event at a bookstore, or attend another conference, or maybe a writing retreat! I belong to a lot of Facebook groups for authors, and I want to become less of a lurker and more of an active participant in the discussions. What that all boils down to is I want to put myself out there more, and hopefully I will!

And that's it! My top five!

I'm sure 2019 will bring a lot of unexpected things as well, but there's my plan for the year. It's going to be a busy one, and I hope you stick along for the ride!

Since I believe all authors should be readers too, I also like including my...

Top 5 TBR Books of 2019!

1. Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor



Laini Taylor is an auto-buy, must-read, top top top author for me! I adored Strange the Dreamer and I can't wait to dive into the sequel. I just got my copy as a Christmas present, so if you don't hear from me, you know what I'm doing... :)


2. The Cruel Prince & The Wicked King by Holly Black

  

I saw The Cruel Prince everywhere this year! Seriously, every blogger I follow, every bookstagrammer, everyone was raving about this book! So, I've got to read it!


3. The Song of Achilles and Circe by Madeline Miller

  

The Song of Achilles has been on my TBR for ages, and I snagged it for only $0.99 a few years ago. I'm not sure why I haven't read it yet, but this is the year! Circe was apparently amazing as well, and I adore Greek mythology, so these books have my name written all over them!


4. I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella



Sophie Kinsella is another auto-buy for me, I have the BEST time reading her books! There's always humor and heart, my absolute favorite combination. I got approved for this one on Netgalley, so I can't wait to start reading!


5. King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo



Nikolai, my love, I'm SO EXCITED FOR YOUR SOLO BOOK! Every book in the Grishaverse has been amazing thus far (I'm particularly partial to Six of Crows), and Nikolai was always one of my favorite characters, so I know this duology is going to be epic!


And a few extras, because...those covers!!!

      

    

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

Can't wait for all the exciting things to come!