Happy end of May everyone
If you follow me on other social media, you’ll know that I finished the first draft of Almost Like Magic, book 4 on May 18th! So far it comes in around 116,000 words, but since this is the first draft, that total is definitely going to change.
I celebrated by making a cocktail with the last shot of this very appropriate bottle of Irish whiskey…and yes, there were tears as I was writing the last couple chapters!
Alas, I don’t have a release date, but it should be sometime this fall. I started working with the same cover artist who did Against the Wind, so I there’s no cover to reveal yet but you’ll be the first to see it here when I do! That said, I’m finally ready to share the title with you!!! (drum roll please)
I don’t usually come up with a title for my books until I’ve been working on them for a while, but I knew this one before I even started (okay, there was one other option, but it was never really in the running). Anyway, I LOVE how this story brought together all the loose threads from the other three books, and unravels Stella’s world in a way that drives us into the final four books.
I took the rest of May off to let the Season of the Witch simmer (and then norovirus tore through the entire family over the course of a week, so that was fun). While I gave book 4 a break, I poked around at another story that I really want to write and it’s been fun to have a no-stress few days to revisit that world and write a few sentences for every day. (no way I was breaking my 7-month writing streak now!)
Thinking about edits! Starting next week I’ll be going through the MANY notes I left myself throughout book 4 as I was writing, and taking care of inconsistencies and new ideas I had as I was writing. I really forced myself to always move forward and make a note and come back to it later. Doing that helped me finish this draft in record time.
AND, y’all I started notes and research for book 5 and I’m not even sorry about it.
See above norovirus… I tended to sick kids and sick me and watched TV for most of a week. Does doomscrolling count as reading?
I actually am almost done (like less than five chapters to go) with the amazing Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher, by EM Amderson (which is sadly out of print for now)
I have TWO shows coming up in June!!! Find me at…
Emerald City Romance Readers, June 13, South Seattle College, Seattle, WA, 11am-5pm. Please note this is a ticketed event.
Northwest Book Fair, June 27, Clark College, Vancouver, WA, 9am-3pm. This is a FREE event! And I’'m sharing a table with the awesome Penelope Wright!
I’m working on a handful of fall and winter events too and will keep you updated
Whew… May was a slow month. And not just for me. The indie author community has been talking online about the slump for a few months, and it seems sales and page reads are generally down across all genres. The author community understands, of course. For many buying books—or having book subscriptions like Kindle Unlimited—are an extra cost that comes after rent, food, bills, and the like, or needs to be cancelled.
For comparison, last month’s page reads were around 7,700, so May is down significantly.
The above image shows how the page reads broke down by book, and it’s always lovely when Soulless Mates gets some attention.
And here’s how my royalties were spread across markets and sources. The US took the lead for my royalties this month thanks to the three e-books purchased. Purchases definitely pay out more than Kindle Unlimited (‘subscriptions’ in the image), but I’m keeping my books in KU for now, because it’s the best way to find new readers.
Knowing that a lot of people have financial challenges these days makes my page reads and sales extra meaningful, so thank you to everyone who’s been reading and buying my books!
That’s it for this month!
Happy reading,
Jill 📚💫
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