Happy December! I hope everyone is doing well this month. For those who celebrate, happy holidays! And for those of you struggling through a rough time, hugs. I know this has been a difficult year for more than a few of you.

For me, it’s been all about juggling the stress of family, work, and travel. And I’m looking forward to a restful New Years’ weekend. Though, if my kids have their way, it will be a whole lot of video games.

This month Read Around the Rainbow has decided to talk about our writing plans for 2023. I didn’t always make a writing plan. Or at least nothing much more than I want to write something this year. But you can’t be friends with Ofelia Gränd (aka Holly Day) without eventually feeling the need to get your shit together.

My first real plan was for 2021—submit to JMS Books for the first time and hopefully be accepted, start self-publishing my dreamed-of paranormal witch series, re-release my Cold Fingers series, and end the year with a total of five brand-new stories—and it went exactly as planned.

This year didn’t go nearly as well. I went in hoping to publish a story as part of a naked gardening group project—like revisiting Ofelia and my Buried Desires days!—and release books three and four in my House of Witches series, as well as having two additional releases. Again, totaling five new stories for 2022.

And while I did release The Death of Digby Catch for my group project, Smoke, and The Twelve Coffins of Dr. Coffin, there wasn’t a witch to be seen! *sob* So, though technically I hit five books—if you count the Naked Gardening anthology release and making it into JMS Books’ 2022 Top Ten Gay Romance anthology—it’s hardly the same.

But I’ve committed myself to make this next year different!

For 2023, I am again planning the release of five new stories. But which stories? That’s harder to say. I currently have several books in progress—never a good idea—including a completed first draft for a totally unplanned follow-up to Findley Black and the Ghosts of Printer’s Devil and books three, four, and five in the House of Witches series. And today I’ve added a novella to this year’s to-do list for a group project with the naked gardening gang—Holly Day, Nell Iris, A.L. Lester, and K.L. Noone.

So, what can you expect from me?

Well, besides the new Findley Black—Findley Black and the Reaper of Shivelly Park—it’s looking more and more like there will be two paranormal, a supernal and a contemporary romance. Will I be more specific? Best not to jinx it!

Make sure to check out what the other Read Around the Rainbow authors have planned for next year! Joining this group has introduced me to some excellent, new-to-me authors, and I’m excited for more books to read!

**You can check out the other Read Around the Rainbow authors by clicking their names below!**

Addison Albright • Holly Day • Lillian Francis • Fiona Glass • Ofelia Gränd • Nell Iris

• A.L. Lester • K.L. Noone • Ellie Thomas

Happy New Year!

Coming in 2023

Findley Black and the Reaper of Shivelly Park

Findley Black knows a little something about serial killers. What he doesn’t know is why someone would want to reenact a series of murders that took place more than ninety years ago, one he’s studied a great deal about as part of his annual Halloween ghost tours. Unless, of course, it’s not a copycat at all, and the Reaper of Shivelly Park is back for vengeance.

Owen Key never considered himself much for domesticity, but the last two years with his boyfriend Findley have him reevaluating his priorities. His family at The Printer’s Devil is growing, he has a new book on the way, and he wants nothing more than to make Findley an honest man. And what better time to pop the question than on Halloween, the second anniversary of their sort of first date?

But the night has other plans, and Findley and Owen find themselves with something more pressing than a romantic evening. The ghost of the Shivelly Park Reaper is on the loose. But when no one believes them, they have no choice but to take matters into their own hands. Because, well, The Reaper might just get away with it if not for Findley, Owen, and the kids of Printer’s Devil. And Bella. You can’t forget the cat.

Happy Thanksgiving! Or at least, yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the US. I’m actually on the road, staying with family as I’m writing this. I’m always behind, but this time I blame Ofelia Gränd/Holly Day, who has lured me onto TikTok which, while I’m still learning my way around—hashtags are the bane of my existence—it is completely addicting. LOL

This month Read Around the Rainbow has decided to talk about writing advice! I started writing in early 2014. And, like so many others I know, it started with the Goodreads MM Romance Group anthology event. So, eight years later, I can say that I’ve received a lot of advice, often conflicting, and sometimes from the same people.

So, I was thinking about this topic—I always overthink everything, that is my way—and decided I’d write about the three writing tips I’ve heard the most over the years, and my thoughts on them all this time later.

So, let’s get into it!

Read Your Reviews!

This was one of the first pieces of advice I was given. Writing is art or at least artistic expression, but at the same time, when you release it into the world, it becomes a product. The logic here, and I get it, is that you need feedback on your product to improve it.

Don’t Read Your Reviews!

I actually for got this one the first time from the same person who said to read your reviews. LOL And it’s pretty easy to understand. Bad reviews can be upsetting. They can hurt your feelings and make you “gun shy”.

Write Fast, and don’t look back!

I’ve heard this many times, from many people. If you write fast and push to the end as quickly as possible, you don’t have enough time to question your choices.

So, eight years later, which have proven to be good advice for me, and which do I take with a grain of salt? Let’s rate them!

Read Your Review! Dude! No. Like I said before, I see the logic, but it’s not for me. The truth is, one reviewer will love your story, one reviewer will hate it, and the next will say it didn’t make sense at all.

I—and I suspect a lot of writers—am already the most severe critic of my work. There is rarely anything brought up in a review that I haven’t already thought about. And in my opinion, the only thing that will truly improve your “product” is to write. A lot. And read a wide variety of authors, genres, and styles. Write and read, and focus on your craft. Opinions can vary too greatly to help form a ruler for judging your own work.

Like I said before, I started writing in 2014 as part of the Goodreads MM Romance Group anthology, which is kind of like growing up on television. The world saw me at my greenest—having never written a story in my life—and twenty books later, I’m still learning.

Keep improving your craft, write the stories you want, and your audience will find you. They are out there somewhere.

Rating: 🧂🧂🧂

Don’t Read Your Reviews! Let's be honest, you are going to read your reviews. I think the best you can do is read them as little as possible. And if you truly love a story, let that be armor against the negative stuff.

Rate: 🧂🧂

Write-Fast, and don’t look back! Yes! This! One hundred percent, this! If I don’t fly through a manuscript—which I rarely do—I find myself questioning the choices I make along the way. I start worrying about how those choices will be seen by readers. Etc. It’s best to save all that until the second draft.

This is always my goal going into a story. I’ve got a long way to go, but I hope I’m getting better,

Rate: No Salt

The truth is, no one piece of advice will work for everyone. Some writers swear by planning and detailed outlines. Others are seat-of-their-pants. I am somewhere in between. Always take advice with a grain of salt—yes, even the write-fast one—because everyone is different. Every story is different. The most important thing is to create what you want, in a way that works for you. It will take time, but you’ll find your own unique way.

Make sure to check out the other Read Around the Rainbow authors and see what advice they’ve run into over their careers. I’m curious myself!