Like the cicadas, I'm emerging.

Hope y'all like bug metaphors.

It’s me, y’all. Your friendly neighborhood writer who has emerged from the ground ready to scream like a cicada.

I FINISHED ANOTHER FIRST DRAFT!

When I first asked Jared to take a photo, he took one at a very low and unflattering angle, so I said, “I’m going to need you to get a bit higher.”

This was his next one.

It has no title and a few plot holes to fill in, but I think its headed in a good direction. I printed it and I’m going to let my mama read it because I think she will enjoy it, but also because she can give me some notes before I dive in again for myself.

Here’s my attempt at a book blurb (hopefully better than the one in my last post!):

Blindsided after her husband’s death, artist Sarah Jenkins finds herself the owner of a cottage her husband purchased for his mistress. Angry and bitter, she keeps the house on the small island of Port Haven, Alabama and vows to pour herself into the renovations to distract her from the fact that she was betrayed by both her husband and by God. Quickly overwhelmed, she realizes that she cannot afford to stay and plans to renovate and use the Port Haven Holiday Home Tour as a makeshift open house, so she can get off the island and figure out her new normal.

Deacon is annoyed that some out of towner has moved in and is tearing up his childhood home. After years gone in the military and a tumultuous marriage, he missed his opportunity to buy it, and now he has to watch someone else renovate the house he dreamed he would raise his own son in. Cal hasn’t spoken in two years due to Deacon’s ex-wife’s neglect, and when his doctor recommends following Cal’s interest in painting, he’s willing to do anything to help him, including asking the pretty but frustrating artist destroying his childhood home for help.

Sarah resists the know-it-all veteran, but the pair soon fall for each other, fighting about religion and design choices and bonding over the renovation and Deacon’s quiet son Cal. But when the Port Haven Holiday Home Tour is over, will a broken heart be all that’s under the Christmas tree?

Aside from working on my island romance, Jared and I took the girls to the mountains to see the eclipse. I was sick for part of the trip, but we salvaged it by playing King of Tokyo, watching the sunrise on Clingman’s Dome, going to the bookstore, and hanging out at Deep Creek.

We also celebrated Jubi’s 9th birthday and KUDZU’s 2nd birthday! It’s been a busy, busy few weeks and there’s still more to do. Birthdays, Mother’s Day, my NIECE IS ON HER WAY, vacations and adventures…it’s a wild time of year, but I love it. Our garden is growing little by little, and I cannot wait for ‘mater sandwiches this year!

---

LISTENING/READING/WATCHING/WRITING

LISTENING:

I’ve been listening to The Cult I Left Behind on Spotify. It’s about a woman who left the IBLP cult. I have friends personally affected by Bill Gothard’s teachings, and it’s heart wrenching to hear about the assault this woman suffered under the thumb of the cult. If you watched Shiny, Happy People then you should listen to this.

READING:

I’ve been doing a lot of research reading lately. I’m planning on submitting the novel I was talking about earlier to Harlequin’s Love Inspired line. So to prepare, I’ve been reading a lot of Harlequin novels. They have a huge dedicated following, and each line is different. For Love Inspired, there are specific guidelines and style that their readers expect, so I’ve been working to familiarize myself with the line. Harlequin doesn’t require an agent to submit to them (although once accepted, you can still get one to negotiate your contract with them.), so I thought it might be fun to write something and see what happens. The hardest part is writing within a smaller word count because they are small paperbacks sold in the mass market. Love Inspired is maxed out at 55k words!

Aside from those, I’ve done some beta reading for my friend

Abby Harding

who has written an incredible novel called In What Remains about a family and the impending loss of their matriarch. It’s gut wrenching in the best way possible, and I can’t wait for y’all to read it because I will be FREAKING OUT when it’s published!

I also read A Journey for Sallie by my friend

Allison Wells

, who is one of several authors writing The Reluctant Wagon Train Brides series. It will be releasing at the end of the month! Sallie is ready to head out west with her brother and his family after the death of her husband in the Civil War, but at the last minute, it’s discovered that she has to have a husband before she can legally travel on the wagon train. Such an interesting twist on the marriage of convenience trope! I loved it!

Lastly but not leastly (hahaha), my friend and fellow Southern Scribe Sophie Leigh Fox wrote The Duke's Last Word. It’s a sweet regency romance, and let me tell you, I smiled the whole time, except when a certain villain was being REAL VILLAIN-Y (no spoilers here) in which case I was very much NOT smiling. James and Willa are a wonderful couple, and it was so fun to venture into this genre that I haven’t read very much of before.

WATCHING

Jared and I have been watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which is hilarious and always reminds me of my sister because she always loved Andy Samberg’s giant smile. My brother-in-law has one of the biggest and best smiles I’ve ever seen, so that tracks.

I could have sworn that I’ve watched all of the show, but lo and behold, there were 4 seasons I never watched, so shoutout to my sister Katie who is letting me watch the rest via her peacock account lol

WRITING

As I’ve told y’all, I finished my first draft of my Christmas Island Romance, but that means that I haven’t started editing The River Woman Project. That part starts in earnest, now!

The cicada screams have got nothing on me!

I love y’all!

Tristan!

P.S. If you want to hear about our retreat in March, here’s a post about it :)

P.P.S. Once again, Amazon is giving my book away! Cash in while you can! It’s a perfect Mother’s Day gift!