Rebecca Kim Wells's Blog

Hello, readers! As many of you may have noticed, this blog has been dormant for some time.

While I may return to this space from time to time, the majority of my content and news will now be in my newsletter, not the blog. If you would like to keep up with my new releases and other happenings, please subscribe to my newsletter. Thanks!

It’s been nine years since I started writing seriously (with the goal of publishing a book), and three years since I started work on Shatter the Sky… And today it’s finally here!

Shatter the Sky, my very dear angry bisexual dragon YA fantasy novel, is out now! You can find it wherever books are sold. If you would like to order a signed copy, you can do so through my local indie bookstore, Porter Square Books. The audiobook is also out today, and if you’re listening to it now, you’re hearing it even before I did. (I hear it’s great!)

I’ve been asked about ways to support Shatter the Sky. There are lots of them, and lots that don’t involve money at all! Here are just a few:

Buy the book, for yourself or for a friend! You can buy Shatter the Sky as a physical book, e-book, or audiobook!

Request that your local library purchase a copy! Did you know that just about every public library takes requests? Requesting library purchases is easy and helps librarians know what books their patrons are interested in.

Review the book online! Online reviews help a book’s visibility—when a book has more reviews, it gets recommended to more people.

Talk about the book! In real life or online, I get most of my reading recommendations from friends and colleagues. Word of mouth recommendations are the best, and if you love Shatter the Sky, please share!

Talk about the book online! This is more of a 4b item, but if you are excited about Shatter the Sky, an awesome thing to do is share it on your social media—Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. If you see it in the wild, take pictures and share!

It’s been a surreal journey, and it’s so strange to think that my part in it is coming to a close. Today I give the book to you. Thanks for being on the ride.

Today is July 20, and my first book Shatter the Sky will be published in ten days.

I’ve been doing well at not thinking about it too much (as little as possible considering that my job right now is to be thinking about it practically all the time). I’m on the internet a lot! And I’ll be doing several author appearances in the New England area (and one in California!). (Here’s a link to all of the events—will I see you out there?)

Two finished copies of SHATTER THE SKY, displayed over a blue and white fabric.

I’m thinking about community. I don’t think of myself as a person who knows a lot of people, but as I was preparing event invitations, I went through my contact list and realized that wow—I know a lot of people. Specifically, a lot of people I would be really happy to see, who probably would be happy to see me too. I even heard recently from a few people I went to middle school with who are excited about coming to my book event in California. Isn’t that wild?

Being an author is weird. You spend a lot of time being alone, or in spaces where having written a book is common. So sometimes you forget that there are a lot of people who care, who are happy for you, who are excited that a friend of theirs has done this super cool thing called publishing a book.

And publishing a book is super cool. Trying to keep that in mind as I move forward through these next few days, weeks, months.

Shatter the Sky will be out in ten days, and is still available to preorder. If you preorder from my local indie Porter Square Books, I will sign and personalize any copies—and if you want the bisexual tag line, just leave a comment indicating such! Signed/personalized copies are also available at any bookstore I’ll be appearing at—check the events page for details and contact bookstores directly to order.

Looking forward to seeing you on the other side of July 30!

Hello, world! I’m finally poking my head out into the internet again. My aim is to dust off some internet spaces this year, but I’m not going to commit to anything that hints at being a schedule—considering that I wrote literally two blog posts in 2018, that’s probably a good thing. Last year was a big year—I sold a book! I rewrote that book A LOT! I sold a second book! (Actually, that’s pretty much it. Moving on…)

2019 is going to be another one of those big years for me, starting off with ARCs landing on my doorstep earlier this week. What are ARCs? I am so glad you asked!

Seven glorious ARCs of Shatter the Sky, fanned out over a red fabric background.

An ARC is an Advance Review Copy of a book (sometimes also known as an ARE (Advance Reader’s Edition) or a galley). It is basically the full text of the story, laid out as it will appear in the final book, after the copy-editing stage but before first pass pages. The purpose of an ARC is to generate interest for the book among industry gatekeepers—booksellers and librarians receive ARCs to help them decide whether to order the book for their store or library, professional review outlets (newspapers, magazines, websites) receive ARCs in order to write reviews, etc.

But… ARCs are not finished books. They aren’t produced or bound the same way, and the text is not final. I’ve always known this to be true, but I never quite understood exactly how different content can be between ARCs and finished books until I was working on my own. It’s a little surreal to be looking at something that seems a whole lot like a finished book, while simultaneously working on one of the last edit rounds on literal pages of paper. The narrative will not change from the ARC to the final book, but there are a few last touches that I am really glad I have the opportunity to make before Shatter the Sky goes out into the world for real.

It is nerve-wracking knowing that people are going to read my book when it’s only baked about 94%, but I hope this helps people who might be sad about not getting an ARC. Trust me—that final 6% is worth the wait! (Related: please please please do not purchase ARCs if you happen to come across them for sale, either online or in stores. ARCs are marketing material, not finished books. They are marked “do not sell,” and sales of ARCs do not go toward the publisher accounts or author’s royalties.)

Shatter the Sky will be published on July 30 of this year, and it’s available to preorder now if bisexual heroines and dragons float your boat!

What is Rebecca reading?

Debut Corner: I just finished Kosoko Jackson’s A Place for Wolves, a queer historical thriller about a Black teen boy trying to get out of Kosovo at the beginning of the Kosovo War in 1998. I was terrified just about the entire time I was reading this book. I loved the main character as well as the historical backdrop—I was too young to be really aware of the Kosovo War as it was happening, and I really appreciated how much I learned by reading this book. A Place for Wolves will be published on April 2, and it’s available to preorder now!

I really enjoyed Nic Stone’s first novel Dear Martin, which got a lot of attention as a social justice book when it came out in 2017. This week I was able to finish her second novel Odd One Out, which I loved EVEN MORE. Odd One Out is about three teens tangled up in a triangle of old friendships, new affections, and the awkward self-discovery that comes along with being a teenager. I adored all three of the main characters and I think this book would be great for anyone who likes complicated contemporary YA featuring really genuine and relatable people.

Hi there! I'm a Pitch Wars 2018 Young Adult Mentor!

Hi, People on the Internet! I'm excited to return to Pitch Wars this year as a young adult (YA) mentor. (If you've been around for a while you may remember I mentored middle grade in 2015 and 2016--while I love and write MG, YA is more in my wheelhouse, and I'm super stoked to work with a young adult author this time around!)

I may have mastered emojis since last time but I'm still hopeless at the GIF game so we're just going to get down to business (to defeat...the Huns! JK).

What I'm Looking For: DIVERSE SPECULATIVE FICTION

 

What I Mean By That:

DIVERSE: I am especially looking for authors from marginalized communities, especially authors of color, especially authors who identify as queer (ie. LGBTQIA+). I will consider authors of other backgrounds, but I strongly encourage diverse creators to submit to me.Queer and BIPOC main characters! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. Especially if you are writing queer speculative fiction, I urge--nay, I implore!--you to send it to me.SPECULATIVE: Fantasy, magical realism, science fiction, contemporary fantasy, historical fantasy--I will take all comers as long as it's not straight contemporary realism. Also, I am super excited about (but not limiting myself to) the following:Retellings! I am a huge sucker for fairy tale/myth retellings, especially retellings featuring complicated female characters. If you've got something like Roshani Chokshi's THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN, Melissa Bashardoust's GIRLS MADE OF SNOW AND GLASS, or Julie C. Dao's FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS, yessssssssss. Please submit ALL OF THEM to me. Thank you.Space opera! If you have something that you can honestly pitch as the YA version of Ann Leckie's ANCILLARY JUSTICE, that manuscript better be in my inbox stat.Fresh, unexpected worlds! Think Rachel Hartman's TESS OF THE ROAD or Tessa Gratton's GODS OF NEW ASGARD series. If your world makes people go WOW, that is SO COOL, I want to see it. Also, if you are the YA reincarnation of Diana Wynne Jones, just send it already.OTHER:Anything with hypnotically gorgeous writing comparable to Anna-Marie McLemore's WILD BEAUTY or Emily X.R. Pan's THE ASTONISHING COLOR OF AFTER (although let's be real, most of us mortals are never going to get there). Gorgeous voice is my kryptonite. I can work with a lot as long as I'm in love with that voice.If you write YA speculative fiction and are concerned that I haven't specifically called your subgenre out, please feel free to ask me about it, whether in the comments or on Twitter. (Though be aware the answer may be "Sure, if it's done well!")

 

What I Am NOT Looking For:

Casts that are not diverse. The world is populated by a myriad of interesting people who are vastly different from one another. Please do not send me manuscripts that do not reflect this reality.Vampires or werewolves UNLESS you've got a fresh angle. Think Holly Black's THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN, Gail Carriger's SOULLESS series, or Octavia Butler's KINDRED.Predictable "chosen one" narratives or portal jumps. I will make exceptions if it's done exceedingly well, but these are a tough sell.Queer tragedies. Please do not send me stories that include the "bury your gays" trope.Anything with rape, rape threats, sexual assault, or unnecessary violence against children or animals. The rape thing is a hard pass for me. Please do not send me anything that has a rape scene.Novels in verse. As I've said in the past, I enjoy reading these but I do not know how to edit them. It would be a sad waste of a mentor spot if you sent one to me. :(

 

Why You Should Submit To Me:

Author photo, courtesy Carter Hasegawa

I'm the author of SHATTER THE SKY, an angry feminist bisexual dragon YA fantasy novel forthcoming from Simon and Schuster/Books for Young Readers in Summer 2019. (If you read "angry feminist bisexual dragon YA fantasy novel" and thought YESSSSSSS, you are probably my kind of person.) I'm represented by Rebecca Podos of the Rees Literary Agency, and I hold an MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons College. I've interned at a top U.S.-based literary agency as well as the editorial department at Charlesbridge Publishing, where I read requested material and submitted reader's reports as well as revision recommendations to my supervising agent and editor. I have mentored three authors through Pitch Wars, two of whom signed with agents within three months of the Pitch Wars agent round (and one of whom will release her debut novel this year!).

As a mentor I am interested in finding the heart of your story and drawing it out. I'm both big-picture and tiny-detail oriented. My critiques start with the big picture ("What is the story you're trying to tell?") and drill down into the nitty gritty. If you are interested in working with me you should expect to complete at least two full revisions during Pitch Wars. (Possibly more!) I will also be working with you on your submission packages (query, synopsis, etc.). I am not the most hands-on mentor of the bunch and I will expect you to work hard independently--but I will always be here checking in and supporting you in whatever way I can. Writing is tough! But it's better when you've got a buddy.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments or on Twitter. Really looking forward to seeing what pops up in my inbox this year!

- Rebecca

Looking for the rest of the Pitch Wars Mentor Wish List Blog Hop? Check here!

Pretty much everyone who knows me in any capacity (online and in real life) knows that I love books. 99.9% of those people also know that I'm a writer as well, although I tend to keep quieter about that side of things because it's difficult to talk about the writing side of things when there's not much going on besides "Well, I'm still writing."

Well - I'm still writing. But last week something else happened too.

That, my friends, is an industry book deal announcement. For my book. My first book. Which is being published by SIMON & SCHUSTER. NEXT YEAR. As in, 2019. (In publishing time, this is actually pretty fast.) To say that I'm over the moon (and yet also extremely anxious and freaking out) is an understatement.

Traditionally this is the opportunity to talk about the ups and downs of everything that led to this moment. On the one hand it seems a little navel-gaze-y. On the other hand, reading these blog posts from other authors has been my jam over the last several years of writing, and maybe--just maybe, in a hopefully-not-excessively-navel-gaze-y way--this one can be someone else's.

So. You know that John Green quote from The Fault in Our Stars? "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." That's not a bad way to summarize my writing journey thus far.

I've always been a talented writer. For years I was praised in school for this ability, and I wrote all the time on the side as well--the beginnings of things that petered out after paragraphs, pages, chapters. In middle school I teamed up with a friend to co-write a vampire novel. We finished a draft and, despite lots of talk and planning, never quite got around to revising it to our satisfaction.

I went to high school, and then college. I found National Novel Writing Month and won it with ease, writing in circles for years without really finishing anything. I took a lot of creative writing workshops that focused on literary fiction to the exclusion of genre and children's books, but there weren't any other workshops available. So I wrote literary fiction and was bored by it. I was the champion of false starts. I told people I wanted to be a writer when I grew up--or go to law school.

I graduated. I had to make a decision: go to graduate school, or get a job and try to do this writing thing. I still wanted to be a writer. I got a job at a university press and told a long-suffering colleague that I could probably finish my work-in-progress, get an agent, and sell it in a year, probably for at least $30,000. (Ah, the sweet hubris of youth.)

I've always been a talented writer. I haven't always been a consistent, or persistent, one. But I got serious. I finished a first draft and revised it. I sent over 100 agent queries, garnering a handful of requests for the full manuscript but no offers of representation.

I had been out of school for two years. I had reached a plateau. I needed something different. Some new way to challenge myself and help me grow as a writer. It was either that or go to law school. I still wanted to be a writer. I wasn't willing to give up on it. So instead of studying for the LSAT, I applied to the Simmons College MFA program in Writing for Children. (Do you need to do an MFA to be a writer? Absolutely not. But I needed a kick in the pants, a leveling up experience, and Simmons provided that for me.)

I moved to Boston and got a job as a bookseller at an independent bookstore. I entered the MFA program and met some excellent people and got a whole lot better at writing. I found a critique group worth their weight in gold, and then some. I put my first manuscript away and started something new. I worked on that book for two years, during which time I graduated, worked full time, and moved temporarily to Australia. I decided it was ready to query.

I sent 11 queries and received 11 requests for the full manuscript. A few weeks later I received three offers of agent representation, and was thrilled to sign with an excellent agent. I was on my way. My agent and I worked over six months to polish up the manuscript until she said it was ready for submission. That book (my second) was on submission to publishers for about nine months, and did not sell.

I was crushed. But I still wanted to be a writer. I got slowly back on my feet. I put away that manuscript and started something new. Again. (Are you sensing the theme?)

I wrote in bits and spurts. It took me close to two years to draft my new manuscript, to revise and revise again with the input of my critique group and my agent. Finally I thought it was close to being ready. I sent it to my agent, who agreed. We did one more quick round of revisions. Then it went on submission.

Children of Ash--my third book--had been on submission to publishers for about a month (a blink of an eye in publishing time) when I got the call that there was an offer. I had to run out of my workplace into 25 degree weather without my coat on so that no one would realize I had started crying on the phone. There was about a week before we closed the deal with Catherine Laudone at Simon & Schuster, and then a few days more while we finalized the language that would be used to announce it to the world. (I was lucky--I only had to keep the secret for two weeks. This is good because I am absolutely horrendous at keeping secrets.)

Remember the John Green quote? It took a month for my book to sell. But it also took eight years of writing seriously, three full manuscripts, and two books on submission. Slowly, and then all at once.

The point is--there are lots of points. The point for me is that this has been a lifelong dream, and it's finally starting to happen. But everything that is happening now is a result of the foundation I built over years of believing in myself when few others did. Of understanding that I had talent as a writer--and that talent without commitment and persistence is not enough. Of putting down word after word when it mattered to literally no one except myself that I did so. Of not giving up, at least not for too long.

I am so grateful to my agent Rebecca Podos, my editor Catherine Laudone, and everyone else who has cheered me on and helped make my dream into a reality. I truly cannot wait for everything that comes next.

- I forgot how to make a new blog post in Squarespace.

- There was an unfortunate election.

- I read a lot of books.

- I wrote most of a new book.

- I went to Hong Kong and China for the first time. It was awe-inspiring and also just plain inspiring. I could not write the book I'm writing without that trip.

- I went to my first Madcap Writing Retreat and it was incredible. So so so recommended.

- Also my first Sirens Conference. Also exceptional - maybe the first time I've been around So. Many. Women.

- I dyed my hair for the first time. (You may be sensing a theme - there was a lot of "fuck it, I'm doing this" going on this year.)

Anyway, that's life. You turn around and stuff has happened. Lots of bad stuff. Some good stuff too. I met a lot of exceptional people. And I've had a lot of thoughts and thought better (or differently) than sharing them. The internet has become a really loud place for me - for the better, and for the worse. But this is my space, and that's one of the things I'm trying to get better at for the new year (I love new year's resolutions - and shamelessly breaking them): to occupy my own space.

Image: Pitch Wars logo with water guns.

It's difficult to believe that another year has passed, but here we are again. It's time for Pitch Wars!

So. Hello, Internet People! I'm going to keep this short and sweet because unlike most other mentors, I have zero GIF game. Also, emojis? Color me baffled. (It doesn't help that I didn't pick up a smart phone until, um, less than a year ago.) Here's what there is to know:

What I'm Looking For: MIDDLE GRADE!

Much of this post will sound familiar to you if you were around last year. I'm still a mostly YA writer but an avid MG reader. I'm a genre omnivore - I will read and enjoy most anything if it's done right. To me, the most important things are clean writing and an unforgettable voice. If you've got that, we can work on the plot stuff. More specifically, we might be a good fit if you write any of the following:

Fresh, unexpected fantasy. Think Diana Wynne Jones and Ella Enchanted. I'm a total sucker for anything to do with fairy tale/myth/legend retellings. See also Princess Academy or Monstrous.Clever historical fiction, particularly with unusual settings. Here, think The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate or The War That Changed My Life. I also recently read Adam Gidwitz's forthcoming The Inquisitor's Tale and it's freaking brilliant. Slightly related: One of my 2015 mentees was working on a gorgeous Dust Bowl historical that I loved from the first line. (But who knows? This year could (and probably will) be COMPLETELY different!)Contemporary fiction with a voice that makes me laugh or cry. Walk Two Moons all the way. Or The One and Only Ivan. Or When You Reach Me. Or Holes. Or The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.As with last year, diverse representation is a plus in every category, particularly if you're an #ownvoices author.

We are probably not the best match if... your fantasy hinges on a predictable "chosen one" narrative or a portal jump, a lot of toilet humor, or characters with little to no agency. I am also not a great reader for September 11th or abuse narratives. Lastly, you would be better off sending novels in verse (poetry) to a different mentor. I really enjoy reading them - haven't a clue what to do with them editorially.

What I'm About:

Image: Rebecca with sunglasses in front of creek.

I'm a children's bookseller and writer represented by the excellent Rebecca Podos of the Rees Literary Agency. I write mostly YA, mostly fantasy, and hold an MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons College. I've interned at a top U.S.-based literary agency as well as the editorial department at Charlesbridge Publishing, where I read requested material and submitted reader's reports as well as revision recommendations to my supervising agent and editor. I mentored two writers during last year's Pitch Wars, one by myself and one co-mentoring with the estimable Jessica Vitalis and Joy McCullough. Both of my mentees signed with agents within three months of the Pitch Wars agent round.

As a mentor I am interested in finding the heart of the story you are trying to tell and drawing it out. I'm both big-picture and tiny-detail oriented. My critiques start with the big picture ("What is the story you're trying to tell?") and drill down into the nitty gritty. If you are interested in working with me you should expect to complete at least one full in-depth revision and one lighter revision during Pitch Wars. (Possibly more!) I am not the most hands-on mentor of the bunch and I will expect you to work hard independently - but I will always be here checking in and supporting you in whatever way I can. Writing is tough! But it's better when you've got a buddy.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments or on Twitter. (I am not the most active Twitter-er but I'll be watching closely for the next few weeks.) Really looking forward to seeing what pops up in my inbox this year!

- Rebecca

PS: The Blog Hop Scavenger Hunt

I debated being really cruel and hiding the letter, but let's be honest - I have to go write more than I have to bold every "S" in my blog post. The letter is S, folks!

 

Looking for the rest of the MG mentors? Look here!

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A few weeks ago I put out the call on Twitter for young adult and middle grade books with very strong fantasy settings, as I'd been challenged with the setting on one of my current WIPs. I was fortunate to hear back from enough kind people to assemble a reading list of seven or eight titles, which I promptly put on hold at the library. I was familiar with some titles already (Princess Academy, which I was more than happy to reread), and introduced to others for the first time (Darkbeast, which is waiting on my nightstand as I type), but there was one that caught my eye particularly: Juniper, a middle grade novel by Monica Furlong.

First published in the early 1990s, Juniper has the hallmarks of many children's fantasy novels published around that time - there is a distinct good matched against a distinct evil, a straightforward plot with few detours, a certain clarity of focus leading to a conclusion that many readers of more recent fantasy may see as predictable. Indeed, when I got the suggestion on Twitter, I didn't remember much one way or the other about the book. I remembered reading it more than once, but it had never become one of my constants in the same way Ella Enchanted did, for example. But I didn't mind picking it back up again, especially in the context of research.

And (to get to the point), I was so glad that I did. Yes, the plot is straightforward. Yes, the court politics run on a fairly standard king system. Yes, it's good versus evil. But there is a certain quality to the prose that I can't describe other than to say that it gets under your skin and lingers - that below the straightforward surface there is a layer of complexity that I appreciate more today than I perhaps realized as a child. (This effect is much like the character Euny in that regard...) When I got to the end I was so engaged that I wished for an author's note shedding light on parts of the story. Rereading Juniper was a deliciously enjoyable experience, so much so that when I finished I immediately jumped online to see whether it was still in print (and whether I could recommend it to the new fantasy readers I encounter every day on the job).

Sadly, the answer was (not so surprisingly) no. In fact, it seems like new copies of Juniper are pretty rare these days. Powell's doesn't have any, and the cheapest I saw new copies going for on a certain large online retailer was close to $60. Ultimately, this journey made me SO grateful for the public library system, upon which I cannot heap enough praise. Can't find Juniper online at a reasonable price? The library has it for free! And I just put the sequel, Wise Child, on hold today.

I don't have any life lessons with which to end this post, other than a) sometimes rereading childhood favorites can reap great rewards (although sometimes they're better left in the past), and b) libraries rock. Also, if you're a children's fantasy kind of person, you could do worse than checking out Juniper if you're looking for something short to break up your TBR list.

After a very long intermission, it's time for the fourth and final installment of The Short Story Long (Or How I Signed With a Literary Agent). If you're joining for the first time, you can catch up here, here, and here.

So when we last spoke, I had just received a very long email from an agent who had requested my full manuscript. I am not exaggerating when I say that it was about five pages long, single spaced. It was full of praise for some aspects of my manuscript...and a boatload of thoughts on how it could be made even better. It was clear that this agent had put a LOT of time and thought into reading my book. It was in-depth. It was overwhelming. And...it was not an offer of representation. Instead, it was an exclusive R&R invitation. (R&R: revise & resubmit.) The agent wanted me to pull my manuscript from the other agents who had requested it and instead work exclusively with her on a revision.

I was simultaneously elated and slightly crushed. Only slightly, though - because the thing that stood out to me was that this agent completely understood my book. She saw all the holes I had patched over and had brilliantly insightful ideas on how to fix them. She praised everything I already loved, and suggested revisions that would make them shine all the brighter. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the agent I wanted.

I immediately thanked the agent for her feedback (barely able to keep myself from shouting about how amazingly brilliant she was). Then I emailed every other agent who had my manuscript and told them that I'd received an exclusive R&R offer.

A week passed. Revision ideas came like wildfire, as did agent responses. I received some gracious passes...and two offers of representation from great agents whose ideas were good, but did not hold a candle to the way the first agent's thoughts had affected the way I was already thinking about my manuscript.

I set up a call with the first agent. I asked her if I could send her some revision ideas in advance of our conversation so that we could discuss them (she agreed). I outlined the ways in which I wanted to change my manuscript based on what she had suggested. I paced the room nervously. I set my alarm so that I would be awake early enough (in Australia, remember!) to speak with her in the evening in the US. And when I got on the phone with her...everything clicked.

She praised my revision ideas. She understood what I was going for. She was exceptionally cool (way cooler than I am) and answered questions with grace and intelligence. We had a slightly awkward yet 100% lovely conversation that only reaffirmed the decision I had pretty much already made. "I've received two offers of representation," I said. "But I want to work with you."

Me in chilly April Australia, mailing the signed agency contract back to the US. This is not a great picture, (cold, blustery, underslept), but it's for posterity, right?

To which she said something like (I confess I was maybe 30% delirious with nerves at this point so I don't remember exactly what the words were), "Then why don't we make it official?"

A few days later, I sent off the paperwork all the way from Australia. I was officially represented by Rebecca Podos at the Rees Agency in Boston, who is an exceptional editorial agent and an excellent writer in her own right. (Her debut novel comes out next month!)

Revision was a whole other beast, which I won't get into here. But suffice to say, I remain over the moon about the chance Becca took on my manuscript, the work I've put into it since signing, and the myriad ways in which she supports my work and my career. Thrilled, is what I have to say about that.

We've reached the end of this series (finally!), just in time for the end of 2015. Is it just me, or has it been a VERY long year?