What is your favorite drink? For me, it depends on the time of day and year. If it’s cold, I LOVE my mexican hot chocolate Perk with my favorite protein to make protein hot chocolate (with whipped cream of course!) in the morning. But I’m also from Utah—land of the specialty soda shops, and my favorite Swig drink is either a “Just Peachy” (But with Dr. Pepper) or a Mango refresher with soda water, blended. (Trust me on this one — it’s a beach holiday in a cup!)
Ok. Now that we’ve got our sugary drinks and comfy spot on the couch, I want to be real with you guys. Can we do that? Can we go there? I’ll admit it always makes me nervous when I get brave enough to open up about some of the less glamorous sides of writing and a career as an author. I don’t know why it’s so scary to be vulnerable in a public space. Oh wait. . . yes, I do! Because whenever you take the risk of sharing your thoughts, fears, or worries, you also run the risk of being misunderstood, judged, or flat out rejected—and that’s a lot harder to deal with when you’re sharing part of your heart, and not just some advice or a silly reel.
So, while I gather my courage to get into the confession, let’s chat about something a bit more fun…
I mean, who here doesn’t like to talk books??
What are some of your favorite reads so far this year? I’d love to hear!
I’m sharing a few of my faves cross a couple of genres:
Adult Fantasy Romance (no spice):
Grab THE SHATTERED KING — by Charlie N. Holmberg HERE!!
If you want a deliciously slow burn fantasy romance with allllll the yearning (but no spice), you’ll want to pick up this (complete!) duology asap! Charlie is known for her amazing magic systems, world building, and fascinating characters. And this duology delivers in spades!
A captive healer and a mysterious prince are drawn to each other in the midst of war and magic in a beguiling dark fantasy by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
The kingdom of Cansere is on the brink of war. Young men are conscripted from their homes, and a royal decree from the queen has made healing the only legal form of craftlock. Nym, a healer and beekeeper, is the sole provider for her family of seven now that her younger brother has been sent to the war front. But when a letter comes from the queen, summoning Nym to the palace to heal Prince Renn, the kingdom’s ailing shut-in, Nym finds herself making the tumultuous journey from her family’s apiary to the capital city. Nym is determined to fail the queen’s mission and return to her younger siblings as soon as she can.
But escaping the castle’s hold isn’t as easy as failing a simple test. Prince Renn is cold and distant, and his illness is like nothing Nym has ever seen before, nothing she could ever imagine treating. In a moment of connection with Prince Renn, Nym manages to remedy the faintest symptom of his ailment―only to discover that no healer before has made such progress. Forced to become the prince’s official healer and a ward of the castle, and with her only hope of returning to her family hinging on the prince’s recovery, Nym must navigate the castle’s cruel and twisted court and uncover the haunting truth behind Prince Renn’s illness―even as she finds herself irrevocably drawn to him.
Grab THE BODYGUARD — by Katherine Center — HERE!
If you’re looking for the perfect blend of swoon, laughter, and banter with a deeply emotional plotline (and an HEA), look no further! Katherine Center books are some of my absolute favorites. (In fact, here’s a pre-confession section confession: she’s my contemporary romance writing idol. If my adult books ever got compared to hers, I would probably have to be resuscitated.) And I picked this one because it’s being turned into a movie with Jared Padalecki!
She’s got his back.
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka “bodyguard”), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.
He’s got her heart.
Jack Stapleton’s a household name―captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid.
They’ve got a secret.
When Jack’s mom gets sick, he goes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah―against her will and her better judgment―finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. Even though her ex, says no one will believe it.
What could possibly go wrong?
Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.
Young Adult Contemporary Romance (no spice):
Grab WE ARE NEVER GETTING TOGETHER - by Janette Rallison - HERE!!
If you’re looking for a cute, clean, laugh-out-loud funny YA rom-com, look no further. My daughter is LOVING this book! (And fun fact, Janette was the teacher for the WIFYR class I took as my very first writing conference where I met other aspiring authors you might have heard of like: Ally Condie, Erin Summerill, Julie Donaldson, and more!)
In this reverse Parent Trap, two feuding teenagers pretend to be in love to keep their parents apart, but love has other plans. A clean YA rom-com from USA Today best-selling author, Janette Rallison.
Madeline and Cooper have had bad blood since junior year when she beat out his sister for the lead in the school play. Ever since, it's been one petty escalation after another—rumors, locker sabotage, and even a derogatory viral video. Their latest prank lands them in the principal's office with their single parents in tow. The last thing either of them expected was for their parents to hit it off and end the meeting with a dinner date.
Horrified by the prospect of their parents falling in love, Madeline and Cooper reach a truce. They'll reverse parent-trap the situation by pretending their feud is over and they're in a relationship. They're positive that by fake-dating, their parents will stop seeing each other.
When a fake kiss meant for only their parents to see is witnessed by Cooper's friends, rumors spread like wildfire that Cooper and Madeline are an item. The longer their fake-relationship continues, the more they discover that there may be things they actually like about each other, although neither is ready to admit it. But how long are Madeline and Cooper willing to keep up the ruse before they have to face the consequences of their actions?
Thanks for reading Dream Bold with Sara B. Larson! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Ok, I tried to be funny/clever with the section title. Probably failed. Off to a great start!
So there are manyyyyyy things I could share in this confessional. Like how sometimes I spend more time rewriting one stupid sentence than I spent on the ten pages I wrote before it. Or, how I always hit a point when drafting when I panic that I suck at writing and the book is garbage and I actually don’t know how to complete a manuscript (despite all evidence to the contrary, like my other published books). And while those are actually true confessions, I have a bigger one I’m going to share today.
Deep breath.
I am SO scared to be launching my debut adult novel. I might look all confident and peppy on social media (because I don’t think videoing myself mid menty-B would help me convince anyone to read my books…) but in reality, I am legitimately terrified. I don’t think I’ve been this nervous and panicky since I was an actual debut author in 2014 for DEFY.
Is it because I’m switching genres so drastically? Is it because I feel a little bit unhinged jumping back and forth between promoting my YA fantasies and Adult Contemporary romance/book club fiction on my socials and elsewhere? Is it because Every Beat After is a romance, but it’s not a light, fluffy romance? (It has lots of swoon and banter and laugh out loud moments and falling in love and an HEA, but it might also make you cry and I’m suuuuuper scared the romance crowd might be like “uhhhhh…what. the. heck. is. This?!”) Is it because I have a raging case of imposter syndrome?
Is it because it feels like the world is falling apart and I’m scared no one is even going to be buying books anymore by June 2nd???
Yep.
So in case you didn’t realize it, even nine books in, authors are still nervous, neurotic messes, who often end up asking ourselves: Why am I doing this??
Answer: because I can’t NOT write.
I’ve actually told aspiring authors that many times, when asked about having a career as an author. It’s maybe a touch brutal, but it is real. I warn them: if you can do anything else besides publishing as a career and be fulfilled and happy, you should do that instead. But if you can’t NOT write, then you know publishing is your calling. You kind of have to feel that inevitability, that need to write and share your stories, to be able to withstand all the ups and downs of a publishing career. Why? Exhibit A: with my adult debut book launch creeping toward me with all the stealth of a runaway train, I am deep in the trenches of what was I thinking?
But here’s the flip side of that coin. When I can step back and silence the fears for a minute, I remember how much I love these characters. I remember how much I love the banter in this book. I remember how much I love the bakery scenes, and the dancing scene, and the kissing scenes, and the hardest scenes I had to write—and especially the most rewarding scenes I got to finally put on paper after dreaming of them for so long. And then hope sparks eternal: that this book will find the readers who will love it the way I love it!
And I truly hope you might be one of them!
If you think “Return to Me meets Beauty and the Beast set in a Swedish Bakery in Scottsdale Arizona” sounds intriguing, will you meet me there and go on this journey with Liv and Hunter? I would be so grateful if you do!
You can register for free to attend my LAUNCH PARTY JUNE 2nd at 7pm at Corner Canyon Academy in Draper, UT by clicking HERE!! (You can also pre-order signed copies of the book through Poppy’s if you can’t attend in person!)
Or you can preorder a copy HERE to get it delivered on June 2nd!
And if you think it sounds good, maybe you could share that it’s coming out soon? Or if you wait to read it and like it even a little bit, and decide to share about it then, that means the world to authors! Word of mouth is still the best way for a book to find new readers. [And if you feel like helping lower my anxiety and decrease my imposter syndrome, you are always welcome to like/comment/share my IG posts. (Aka my attempt to be a marketing guru, which not a part of the “being an author” job description back in the day when I first signed up for this career!)]
So, tell me: did my confession hit home for you at all, or mean something to you? Or were you thinking, “yeah, next time, just stick to the writing advice!” ;-) Let me know!
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