2021 was the year of the pivot for me. Often, well-developed and carefully orchestrated plans fell through in an instant, taking with them what I thought could, would, or should happen and forcing a re-think.

There’s beauty in the re-think, and without fail, the pivot provided a wonderful experience I never would have had if Plan A hadn’t fallen through.

Already, 2022 has been pivots-a-plenty.

I just published my latest full-length novel, Slightly Addictive, and THAT was a total pivot. When I had the idea for this story, I thought it was going to be a 10-20,000 word short story. Quick in, quick out—just a fun filler to reset my mind before tackling another book in my Love…Eventually series.

Not so.

As I wrote the story, it was clear to me that it wasn’t a quick in/quick out situation. And thus, the pivot—a full length novel.

And you know what? I love it. I learned a lot about the sheer uncontrollable nature of life while I wrote this story.

Here are a few behind-the-scenes fun facts about the whys of the story:

I started writing the book while I was staying in Palm Springs for a week in November of 2020. It was clear we were in the pandemic for the long haul, and my wife and I decided we needed to get out of Seattle for a while and get some sunshine. We’d both spent plenty of time there in our pasts (we’d both lived in California before Seattle, me in L.A., her in San Francisco), so it was familiar ground with almost guaranteed warmth and sun. And while it was sunny while we were there, it was unseasonably cold!

I tore my rotator cuff indoor rock climbing on New Year’s Day in 2020—so while Gia is a natural at climbing, flying up an indoor rock wall is not something at which I’m particularly adept. I liked the idea of rock climbing for her passion because it’s a great metaphor for her path to sobriety.

My grandma Rose was Italian, and a huge influence on my life. (She’s where I get my pen name, matter of fact!) Rose was kind, generous, and by the time I came around, “made” the sauce from a jar, not scratch like Gia’s nonna. She had better things to do than hover over a pot of tomatoes!

And with that, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Slightly Addictive is available in ebook format, exclusively on Amazon.