2023 was a wonderful year, regardless of anything else that happened—or didn’t happen—simply because more of you found my books.
There’s nothing more magical, in my opinion, than falling in love with my imperfect, struggling characters while I write and then watching readers fall in love with those same characters once the book is out in the world.
It’s literally the dream. 💙
So, seeing people find Em and Maria—and Rose and Kara, too—is wonderful.
Every single time it happens. 💙
It was far from a perfect year, obviously—because I spent most of it in a depression spiral, while also being in denial about it. 😅
I always think the next one is going to be so obvious to me, and then, I spend months thinking, “I’m not depressed. I just stopped seeing people, talking to people, and doing all the things because I know the more people are exposed to me, the more they’ll hate me—because I’m awkward, boring, and all kinds of negative things.”
Totally not depressed, though.
I think it’s also easy to ignore mental health spirals when you’re a mom because as long as you’re going through the motions for the kids, you’re not depressed, right?
I debated whether to include this part because it’s always hard to admit things relating to my mental health, but being honest about mental health is at the core of everything I write. It’d be silly to not be honest about it here, too.
Anyway, releasing Goddess of the Sea in 2023 was a big goal of mine, and yet, my mind—with its constant barrage of self-inflicted insults—made it impossible to finish.
A lot happened at the end of last year (and I do mean a lot). So, it’s probably unfair to blame it all on my mind, but I do think depression was a big part of it.
I’m disappointed that it didn’t work out in 2023, but I’m also reminding myself that starting 2024 with a new release isn’t a bad way to start the year.
The current release date, in case you haven’t seen, is February 29th. 💙
