2024 was quite the year personally (more on that later) and for my writing career. I published my first book in August, which was a dream finally coming true. I won’t tell you how long ago I started my path to publication, but it’s been quite a journey.
The books are part of a series called Band of Bastards, which are medieval romances set in the 13th Century in England and Wales during the time of King Edward I and the Welsh rebellions (and subsequent conquest). The stories are centered around knights, Vikings, and warriors and the women who bring them to their knees.
Heart of the Hawk was published by Dragonblade Publishing in August 2024 and the reviews and ratings have been really exciting. It’s always nerve-racking to put your stories out into the world and let other people read them, and it was the most amazing feeling to have readers send me notes or leave reviews of what they loved about the story – and most of them were from people I didn’t know before publishing the book!
Heart of the Viking was published in October 2024 and I was just as nervous to get the reader feedback for the second book as the first, but the reviews for this book were also really positive. A reader on Facebook told me she was reading the book while getting for her car serviced and laughing out loud in the waiting area. It always warms my heart when a reader takes the time to tell me the book made them laugh, or cry, or that they read it in a day because they couldn’t wait to find out how it ended.
Heart of the Hunter is the third book in the series and will be published Spring 2025. It is in final edits with the publisher and they will be letting me know soon the exact release date. Typically, the release date is planned months in advance, but I turned the book in late and missed the original publication date in December 2024. So the delay in release is my fault, and the publisher has been gracious enough to work with me to get it ready and fit it back into the publication schedule. As soon as I know the release date, I will announce it to readers.
Personal Update
We moved to Greece! This has been a plan my husband and I have been working on since 2018, and in 2024 we made the final leap. We finalized the purchase of our house in May in a little seaside village a few hours from Athens. We absolutely love the culture, scenery, lifestyle, people, and amazing coffee shops! The language has been a challenge, but we are learning Greek σιγά σιγά (siga siga – which translates to slowly, slowly).
As exciting as the move has been, the lead up to it was very hectic as we made the move 7 months earlier than expected, which meant we had only weeks to prepare our house in California for sale and decide what to bring with us to Greece. In the end, we got rid of almost everything and brought only what we could fit into suitcases…and my books, which I shipped over once we were in our house.
I travelled back and forth to the US for a variety of reasons in 2024, including to be with family members navigating some health issues. I’m so happy to say that we ended the year with everyone healthy, but it was a bit stressful getting there. And managing the move, the trips back and forth to the US, and the writing deadlines definitely took a toll on my creativity and caused me to miss the deadline on book 3 with the publisher.
There was definitely more good than stress in 2024, including visits from family to show them around our new home and country. In September, my parents, our son and their best friend, and my brother and his family spent two weeks with us in Greece – sightseeing, eating amazing food, drinking coffee by the sea, and spending leisurely afternoons at the beach.
Writing Update
I turned in Book 3: Heart of the Hunter to the publisher in early January, and I’ve taken most of January and February off from writing to allow my creative well to refill after the stressful year, including multible book deadlines. I’ve spent time going for long walks with my husband, sipping coffee by the sea without bringing my laptop to write, and reading! When I’m on deadline for turning in my books I don’t get much time to read other books so it’s been such a joy to read at my leisure.
Now, I’m ready to get back at it. I’m starting to put together the proposal for the next three books in the series to present to the publisher. Then the writing begins again! I’ve realized, though, that I am not as fast a writer as many of the other authors at Dragonblade, and I’m putting a lot of thought into planning a deadline schedule that is less stressful and more manageable for the next three books.
In the meantime, I have been renovating the top floor in our house to make it into my writing loft and library. The skylight has been installed, vaulted ceiling painted, bookshelves built, and writing desk put in place. I have a few finishing touches, but it is nearly finished.
Until next time…
Happy reading!
