Hello my witchy friend! 

January Daphne, here. As some of you know, the next book in the Carolina Witch Cozy Mystery Series, Starstruck Witch is due to come out in a few days. 

I wanted to personally let you know that I’ve made the decision to be gentle with myself and push back the release date to Wednesday, April 29th.

Here’s why: 

My background is in nonfiction writing, copywriting, and graphic design. I’ve wanted to write fiction for a long time, and last December, I was brave enough to take the leap and publish my first fiction book, Carolina Witch. I enjoyed writing the first one so much that I wrote a second book, Snow Witch. Shortly after that, I began working on the third book.

That’s a pretty tight schedule, right? I love deadlines, though. I’ve found them incredibly motivating when working on projects for freelance clients. I knew writing would take a lot of time and energy, and I was totally prepared for that.

What I didn’t expect was all the fear, insecurity, and negative self-talk that I experienced immediately after I hit “publish”.

People were actually reading my books, and some people really liked them! Maybe you were one of those people. (If so, thanks!)

It felt AMAZING to hear from readers who enjoyed my stories and characters, but that excitement quickly turned into self-doubt. What if no one liked my next book? What if I suck? What if I accidentally wrote something offensive, or insensitive, or just plain dumb? 

These thoughts whirled around my mind every time I sat down to get to work on book three. 

I’m no stranger to writing. I’ve been a professional writer and copywriter for a couple years now, but for some reason, fiction writing felt different—more personal.

That was scary for me. I saw a side of myself that I hadn’t seen when doing nonfiction writing—a woman who wanted so badly to tell a story good enough for you. 

I wanted to be good enough, and I was terrified that I wasn’t. 

But that’s not what this should be about, is it? Writers should write because they love telling stories. Readers should read because they love experiencing a story for themselves. 

I was working so hard to please the world that I forgot to enjoy the simple pleasure of letting a story unfold, word-by-word from my mind to my laptop. 

Yes, of course, I really hope you like my stories. But I realize that I don’t actually want to write so that I can get people to like me. I want to write because it’s who I am. 

Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever gotten so swept up in being “good enough” that you stopped having fun and being yourself? 

Feel free to comment or message me to tell me about it. I’d love to hear from you.

You’ll also be able to reach me on Instagram (@januarydaphneauthor) and Facebook. I have some fun videos and memes to keep you entertained until Starstruck Witch comes out. 

Thanks SO MUCH for your support and understanding. You all have taught me so much as a writer and an artist, and I appreciate that.

Sincerely,
January Daphne