October 2025 update

Hello autumn people
Well, voilà, I am done Lavender Spike.
I have sent in my last edits, which I finished two days before my birthday (October 1st). Great present to myself! This photo was taken on my bday morning, feeling good, 46 and excited for every freaking day. (Can we be done with the aging taboos? A lady can tell her age, screw all that. Aging is Hot.)
So, let’s see…
I wrote Lavender Spike in 2019Finished the first draft and wrote Dead Gretchen during Nanowrimo the same yearPublished Off My Feet and Crash Kitty in 2020Then in 2021 I started editing Lavender Spike and finished in 2022, six drafts later (my usual)I queried on and off for 2 YEARSIn January 2024, after a final polish with a hired copy editor and getting blurbs from authors I respect immensely, I was about to self-pub it, but at the eleventh hour I sent it off to Jen at ECW PressWe signed a deal in July 20242025, we went through the usual cycle of edits —revision edits, copy edits, line edits, and proofread
I clocked a total of 259 hours with those edits
(and I deduct time if someone calls, to make a tea, whatever. These are 259 tight hours!)
And I am done!!!
What a journey this book took me on so far. What a great experience with the team at ECW. What a good birthday gift to be done!!! I am so excited for the next steps — cover & preorders
Pub day is set for April 14th 2026
Thank you for taking this ride with me [image error] I appreciate you so much.
R.xo