Vengeance is hers...tomorrow!!

It feels almost impossible to put the feelings I have right now into words. Yes, words are literally my job, but right now I’m at a loss for the correct ones. There are so many emotions with the release of A Promised Vengeance. The journey to this day has been full of wonderful highs. . . and really low lows. Tragedy struck six months ago that makes this day even more poignant, difficult, and beautiful all at once. Do you want to hear the story behind the story?

I’ll share (below), but first: let’s celebrate this momentous occasion! If you are anywhere near SLC, UT, I’d love to see you at my launch party!

There will be giveaways, special treats from the book, Q&A, books for purchase to get signed, and more!

But if you can’t come to the launch party you can order a copy:

SIGNED COPY from Jumelle Press

SIGNED COPY from Folklore Bookstore

Online from Amazon

Online from Barnes and Noble

Okay, so… story time.

I’ve been dreaming of telling this story for years and years. In fact, I originally wrote the first version of APV before I sold Sisters of Shadow and Light! I’ve wanted to do a fantasy reimagining of The Count of Monte Cristo for most of my career. (My husband and I love this story so much, he even proposed to me with a string before the ring!) My agent pitched the idea to a handful of editors, letting them know we were going to submit it the next week, and they were very interested in it.

And then, the night before we were going to submit it, we got the offer for the SOSAL duology. It was such a hard decision, but ultimately, I believed my Count of Monte Cristo book would sell, and I loved my sisters book so much, I wanted to let it have its chance. So we took the offer and put this book on the shelf for a year or two—or so we thought.

Then, the unimaginable: a worldwide shutdown right in the middle of my series. My editor (a senior editor, no less!) — who loved my CoMC book— was let go. Suddenly I was orphaned, mid-series, and right before it was time to submit my next project. Then, because bookstore events couldn’t happen in person, even though we did TONS of online events, my sales for the sequel were less than stellar. I had no one to champion me at my publisher anymore, and despite previous successes, my numbers were starting to look bad on paper. Even though my “assigned” editor liked my CoMC story, she wasn’t very interested in YA. Ultimately, I was told no.

I was crushed.

Long story short, I tried for YEARS to break past the wall that my sequel’s numbers had created in my career, to no avail. During that time, I went to lunch with my friend Tiffany, and her new business partner Elise Caffee. They asked if I wanted to help out with the development of their new publishing company that was focused on being a women-owned, women-run publisher that specialized in amplifying women’s voices in the industry in new and exciting ways. I was intrigued, but ultimately way too swamped to take on another job. The meeting ended with them telling me that if I couldn’t be a part of the publishing company, the door was always open if I ever wanted to publish a book with them.

Fast forward another year, and through a series of conversations and lots of prayer about what was the best path forward for my career, I knew I was supposed to publish this book with Jumelle Press. I contacted Tiffany and Elise and told them I was ready to move forward!

We signed the contract, and got to work!

And oh, it was a lot of work! We had two pub date options, and I felt very strongly that we needed go with the accelerated publication schedule to get it out for Fall of ‘25, even though that meant working SO hard on very tight deadlines to get this book fully edited in time. Little did I realize just how much God was in the details of that decision.

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We made it through some crazy deadlines, and we were almost to the finish line. After a wild and busy few months, the end (and the fun part!) was in sight.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Elise Caffee was in a horrific accident in Mexico. Many miracles took place that allowed her to return home to the burn unit in Utah and be reunited with her family for a brief time, but ultimately, she succumbed to her massive injuries and passed away on my birthday, March 12th.

The devastation is beyond my capacity to put into words.

I will say this: I know God was in the details of the urgency I felt to push for the earlier publication date. If we hadn’t chosen the accelerated schedule, Elise wouldn’t have even started working on my book before her death. Instead, she was involved in EVERY stage of the editing process except copy edits, she oversaw the design and reveal the cover, and she even oversaw the interior design as well. She is in every page of this book, even though she never saw the finished product.

Her death could have been the end of Jumelle Press, and the end of A Promised Vengeance. But her partner—and best friend—Tiffany Rosenhan, bravely took up the heavy mantel to continue on, with the team they had assembled, and hiring new employees to try and fill the hole Elise left. (Tiffany always joked Elise was irreplaceable because she did the job of four people. This has proven to be so true. She truly was the most remarkable woman.)

And now, here we are. Six months after her death, with the book we worked so hard on, ready to come out into a world where Elise is no longer is with us. Perhaps now you can understand why there are so many emotions with this release.

I am SO proud of this book. I love this story so much. I am so excited it’s finally here! And I am so heartbroken Elise isn’t here to see it.

However, I know she will be with us in spirit tomorrow night at the launch party. And I know she is with Tiffany and the team at Jumelle press every step of the way, as they continue working to keep this dream alive.

I hope that if you pick up A Promised Vengeance, you will come to love this book as much as I do. And I hope you will take the lesson, not only from this story, but from Elise’s life: that we never know how much time we have. So no matter what happens to us in this life, there’s no time to waste on bitterness, anger, or malice. Look for the good. Be the good. Forgive. Spread joy. Take the trip. Make the memories. Do the hard work. And love as big and as hard as you can.

Thank you, Elise and Tiffany — and all of the team at Jumelle Press — for making this dream a reality.

A Promised Vengeance is now yours, my dear readers. I hope you will love it as much as I do.