I love romance novels. I love writing and reading the genre. And I especially love when I find a series that captures my heart and leaves me counting down to the latest release. Sariah Wilson’s Royals of Monterra series is an auto-buy, must-read series for me.

I’ve loved being swept up in the kingdom of Monterra and carried away as the Fiorelli family find their happily ever after’s. These books are the very best in sweet romance, and I’m delighted to share that I’ve added a novella to the Kindle World canon.

Kindle Worlds is a unique opportunity to write fanfiction. I’d been hesitant for a long time to add a story of my own. Could I write a novella compelling enough to be included?

This has been a year of writing fearlessly, so I banished my doubts and wrote from my heart.

Royal Collection finds Lady Elizabeth Dunne facing off with her ex, Prince Giorgio Fiorelli of Monterra. Eliza’s family needs to sell a recently discovered painting by an Old Master artist so their ancestral estate can be saved. Too bad Gio, head curator for the royal collection of Monterra, has the same painting.

Their face-off brings the old wounds of their break-up to the surface and forces both to deal with questions of identity if they want to win.

Check out Royal Collection exclusively on Kindle Worlds here.

Stay tuned as I’ll be sharing interviews with other Kindle Press authors over the next few weeks.

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When my oldest was in pre-school, he used to ask me what I wanted for Christmas on a daily basis. He did this with everyone. He is a kind, sweet-hearted person who wanted to make sure I received a gift. (Note: if he felt I deserved a gift. On days he didn’t agree with my parenting, he’d say I wasn’t getting said gift.)

The truth is my wants are all internal. This sounds like I’m going to start some great post about internal conflict and how that drives tension, paces a novel, so on and so forth. Really, though, it’s just an observation of something intangible I struggle with as a person and as a mom. I do have wants, but the only way to get them is through hard work, determination, and resilience.

I have goals for my writing career. I sat down in January and wrote out the direction I want and the (probably naive) steps I’m taking to get there. At times in this year, I’ve been discouraged. I’ve had moments of pause, a chance to take stock again of my expectations and decide if they are worth it. And I keep coming back to the work.

The pauses have been getting shorter, maybe I’m developing a thicker skin or the stories are coming too fast to waste on moments of indecision. Now, nearing the end of the year, I’m at a point of clarity again that I want this. I want to keep writing. I want to keep improving. I want to tell my stories and connect with people. I want to entertain.

I’m finishing up edits on the final project (my #NaNoWriMo book this year) to submit a proposal. If I manage to get this out the door (it’s a big if, I’d rather have it perfect and a month later than rushed and sloppy) in 2017 I think I will have smashed my goal for the year. And I’m excited in 2018 to get back to some of the work I’ve most enjoyed creating. And get back to publishing.

I have two new series to finish writing and editing. I have stories to share and I hope you’ll keep following along. This truly is the most wonderful time of the year, it’s a time for reflection, for family, for love. I hope you have a magical holiday season, I hope that you can work for your wants, and I hope that 2018 is your best year yet.

I needed a win.

Ever felt that way? I’ve been pursuing a goal this year that has been mostly behind the scenes. I’m feeling encouraged and keep working on it, but I’ve had a lot of setbacks too. I started November eager to work on a project I’ve been thinking about for a few years. I finally plotted out the story. And I was off.

I finished the first draft, 50,275, on November 17th. This is the fastest story I’ve ever written. Don’t confuse this as a perfect, ready for public viewing novel. I have a lot of work ahead.

But writing this book has reenergized me.

I think I needed to tell this story just as much as I needed the win. I’m drafting out another project now, a novella and then will get to work editing this project. I’m hopeful that I’ll have a finished project ready to send out to publishers by the end of December. I needed this win and I’m excited for everything that comes next.