Yes, I listened to the John Lennon song before I wrote this post. I try to incorporate music wherever and however I can! If you browse through my updated website, you might guess that I love music.

Did you catch that? UPDATED website. I may not have written much over the past year, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t working on something writing-related. I hired another author (Morgan Tarpley Smith) to help me update my author brand. And then I had Savanna Kaiser, my website designer, revamp my website to reflect my author brand. I even had new author photos taken (and I do not like taking pictures!)

If you’ve been following me since my first book series, thank you. If you’re a new follower, I welcome you! I published Book Four of my rock star series, Never Give Up, almost two years ago, on December 8, 2020. Writing and self-publishing the books of that series was the dream of my heart. It was also the most challenging project I’ve ever taken on. The roller coaster I went on for almost ten years is a story for another day. Suffice it to say I was tired and burned out after the release of Never Give Up.

Many life changes happened personally over the past few years, but I always knew I’d eventually go back to writing. I also knew I had to start over again with a new direction. Figuring out who I am as an author has been a huge part of regrouping.

Discovering my author brand was a fun assignment. I learned that it’s okay to be “me” – a lover of ’80s music, edgy topics, romance, nostalgia, and redemption themes. We came up with a new tagline – “Edgy Romance With a Melody of Hope”. I never thought I’d find a tagline that incorporates everything I’m about as a writer. I applaud Morgan and all her work. (See P.S. for Morgan’s website).

I’m now starting a new book project I call “Backstage Baby”, about a teen girl who has experienced immense heartache and runs away when things get desperate. Her childhood best friend, who is in love with her, never gives up even amidst his own life challenges. I don’t know at this point whether I will self-publish or seek traditional publishing. One way or another, this story will get out (it just may take a while).

In the meantime, if you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ll receive a free short story I wrote last year called Forever Young, a story of young love set in the 1980s and current times. I even have a playlist on Spotify for this story! I also have a Christmas story from several years back called A Taste of Christmas. I’m willing to send anyone this story, but you must subscribe to my newsletter first!

That about does it for this time. Thanks for reading!

Find Morgan here – https://morgantarpleysmith.com/

Find Savanna here – https://savannakaiser.com/