announcing the wings of starlight preorder campaign
and other assorted updates
It is somehow December: the end of the year and the month of my birth. I’m currently in the final stretch of my deadline for YA #4 (also known among my team as sexy chess book) and am desperately trying to meet my wordcount goals. I wanted to do a longer essay or a retrospective on the year for this newsletter, but I sadly didn’t have time to work on it. Honestly, I’ve hardly had time to consider what my thoughts on this year would even be. 2024 has been one of the busiest years of my life, mostly because I will be publishing 3 books in a 13-month period (an experience best avoided if you can help it). I hit the rock-bottom of creative burnout, but slowly, I’ve been crawling out of it. I owe a good deal of that to my other hobbies—and also to good books.1
I don’t tend to make New Year’s resolutions, but I did make one last year: learn to love reading again. When I began this career, I anticipated that my relationship with writing would change. But I didn’t imagine the ways it would shape my reading life. It got to a point where I didn’t enjoy reading anymore. Little excited me. Little spoke to me. I fell into a pattern of reading only buzzy books to stay on top of trends, or taking on so many blurbs that I had no time to read according to my whims or moods. Don’t get me wrong, I love being sent books. I love the books I blurb. They just start to pile up until it feels like there is no escape from your obligations and that you might never choose a book on your own ever again. I couldn’t even read friends’ manuscripts to give feedback, which was perhaps the most painful thing.
A few months ago, I closed to blurbs, and I think it was the best decision I could’ve made for myself. I reread favorites and picked up classics I’ve always wanted to check out. I read a lot of literary fiction. I have rediscovered the joy of language. I think I have a new outlook on writing, or at least what I value in it. We’ll see what comes of it. For now, I’m working on a book I love. I cannot wait to work on the next thing—and the next. It’s a rare feeling, one I am cherishing and one I hope to carry into 2025. I hope you all have a wonderful end of 2024, filled with good company and words that make you believe the world can be beautiful. <3
keep reading for
wings of starlight preorder campaign
signed and personalized copies of wings of starlight
drafting update
ARC giveaway
tour recap & upcoming events
I’ve just come back from my first international tour, where I visited 5 cities in France. It was such a joy to see my readers (who gave me so many snacks!!), visit places I’ve never been before, and meet my incredible team at Bragelonne. They made the whole experience so magical—and organized the best-attended events I’ve ever had! I’m so grateful for this opportunity and to everyone who came to see me.
Upon returning, I visited the Merced County Library and the Romantasy Book Club at Books Inc. San Leandro. Both events were absolutely wonderful. <3 Looking ahead to 2025, I have two upcoming events I can tell you about:
The launch event for Wings of Starlight, which I’ll share details about next month
Love Y’all Book Fest (February 14-16): I hope to see you in Atlanta! I don’t have my panel schedule yet, but I’m participating in one of the Friday Experiences. So if you want to sing karaoke with me and a few other incredible authors, I believe there are still tickets! I will be doing my best Alanis Morissette impression. Maybe even Katy Perry circa One of the Boys (2008).
preorder campaign
I’m so excited to announce the Wings of Starlight preorder campaign! If you submit your proof of purchase to this form, you’ll receive a bottle of blue pixie dust nail polish (it’s very sparkly!) and a signed bookplate. All formats (hardback, ebook, audiobook, B&N exclusive, signed copies from Kepler’s) are eligible.
Because my publisher is very generously shipping the incentives, this campaign is US only. I’m so sorry - I know this will be disappointing to many of you!
signed and personalized copies
ALSO: I’m teaming up with my local indie bookstore to offer signed and personalized copies of Wings of Starlight! Just let me know how you’d like the book personalized (your name, lyrics, a quote, a doodle, etc.) in the order comments when you check out. If you leave the order comments blank, your book will just be signed. These copies will come with an exclusive bookmark :) Thank you so much for supporting a fantastic independent bookstore!
icymi: wings of starlight is heading to the uk!
Out just in time for a heartbreaking Valentine’s Day xoxo <3 It’s available for preorder now through Waterstones and Amazon!
drafting update
I am woefully behind on my drafting update section of the newsletter… I think the next issue will be a very long one, probably after the book is complete. The tight deadline has sadly left me little time to reflect on the process for you. To summarize what you’ve missed over the last month or so:
I’ve spent the last like, 3 weeks on a stretch of 3 chapters. The scenes keep expanding. I keep agonizing about whether they’re in the right order, since the plan has changed a bit from my outline. So annoying!!!
I wrote a stretch of about 5,000 words in my train-office. I watched the French countryside pass me by and listened to the sounds of humanity (a man coughing productively and watching the news on his phone without headphones, a sweet old couple chatting, etc.)
The list of things I must fix has begun piling up. One side character’s lack of development is haunting me. It’s always the nice ones I struggle with!
I also have started a notes app full of things I want to add. Most of them are things like “this description should be more creative” or “ciara should enchant something for shea” or “a moment where shea feels they way you did when literally everyone in the workshop nailed the choreo to the giselle peasant variation immediately and you were stomping around like a linebacker”
wings of starlight ARC giveaway
I have too many ARCs! Fill out this form to enter a giveaway for 1 of 5 signed ARCs (which can be personalized if you’d like) <3 Open internationally. I’ll pull winners later this week, probably on Thursday, Dec 19.
Some of my favorites of the year: The Spear Cuts Through Water, The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door, The Witchwood Knot, Erasure, Invisible Man, Mrs. Dalloway, Middlemarch, Howl’s Moving Castle (again), and the Scorpio Races (again)
Trying to get the purple edition one for a friend it is sold out in Wisconsin. Any suggestions how to get one?
wow the tour was amazing 😍