I have lots of news to share, but first... How are you?

It's been a rough year so far and there often doesn't seem to be much light along the horizon. And, yet, life goes on. Work needs doing we're getting things done. I hope you've found some sunshine, even if you're in the midst of winter, and that you're happy and healthy.

It's been nearly 18 months since I last published a book, meaning it's been 18 months since I've had significant news to share in a newsletter. Somehow, I find something to say on a nearly monthly basis. That amazes me. What amazes me more is how my newsletter audience continues to grow, and how invested you all are in my writing adventures. That's one of the reasons I wrote Let's Connect. I've long wanted to do a serial and I wanted to give you something new to read. Writing Let's Connect also helped me get over a bit of a slump.

The notes and comments I received from you in response? The icing on an already delicious cake. I hope everyone else enjoys the story just as much.

Now, on with all that news! First up...

Let's Connect has a cover and it's GORGEOUS. I might be biased. But, honestly, Natasha Snow did an amazing job. We considered a number of ideas, but every time I looked at this concept (even in the early stages) I saw a story.

To me, that's just about the most important aspect of any cover. I always appreciate eye candy, but I love a cover that says more, and I've been so fortunate in my career to have many covers that capture either a moment in time or the atmosphere from my books. 

And this cover is no exception...

About the book:

A year after his divorce, Daniel Stroman has decided that he's too young to die—or fuse permanently with his couch. But when he downloads the dating app "Let's Connect" and starts dating, his success/fail ratio isn't encouraging until he gets a connection request from Robin.

Everything about Robin's profile is different, from the bright little bird he's using as an avatar to the long and thoughtful answers he's written for the standard questions. He's witty, funny, and easy to talk to. Robin could be his perfect match. But Robin is holding something back.

Then again, so is Dan—beginning with the seven-year crush he’s carried for his best friend, Trevor. Sadly, except for one brief moment, they’ve never been single at the same time.

Or have they?

Coming August 31, 2020

and take advantage of...

As a thank you to my newsletter subscribers and reader group members, I'm offering the published version of Let's Connect at the special preorder price of only 99 cents!

What do you get for 99 cents that wasn't in the serial version?
+ Dan's curry recipe,
+ an extra epilogue chapter from Trevor's point of view (another 3k words),
+ and character art for Dan, Robin, and Trevor!

The price will rise to $2.99 on August 28, so preorder now! 

In more news...

So, I'm thrilled to announce that this audiobook is now available!

Audible | Amazon

Renewing Forever should be available on Apple audiobooks before the end of the year.

New releases mean new giveaways, right? How about an Audible code? The ones I have to give away are for the US, only, but I'm making this giveaway international, anyway. If you win, and you don't have a US Audible account, I'll gift you a copy of the audiobook!

Click here to enter.

Winners will be chosen and contacted on August 24! (No cash value, no substitutes.)

One of the most difficult aspects of being an author (and there are so, so many, lol) is figuring out your comp. titles. These are books that your book is kinda like. Books that will let an editor or agent know what you're aiming for, as far as your intended genre and audience. For instance, a lot of people have compared the Chaos Station series to Firefly (not a book, but whatever). The stories differ in hundreds of ways, but if I mention the popular show, you've got a good idea of what to expect from the series.

I often have a super hard time with comp titles because even my contemporaries are genre mashups. They're sort of like other books you've read, but also sort of not. Usually, I've written them to fill a gap, meaning they're the stories I want to read or stories I was inspired to write by something another author suggested in their work, but didn't explore.

July's prompt for #WritersRead was to read a comp title and as you'll see in my blog post, finding one for Sundays with Oliver proved just as difficult as I expected it to.

Also on the blog is some flash fiction you may not have read before.

That's it for this month!

You can expect a new release announcement (and giveaway) from me on August 31. I'll be posting lots of extras that week in my reader group, including giveaways.  

Toward the end of September, I should have Chasing Forever audiobook news, and other news regarding the books I've been writing this year.

Until then, happy reading!

Kelly

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