Hi friends...

It’s been a minute.

I didn’t mean to disappear the way I did, but life shifted into a dramatic and heavy time where creating felt more like pressure than something I could enjoy. Last year was probably the most stressful year of my life, and even through it all, I tried to keep posting. And then July came around and I just couldn’t mentally keep it up. I started falling off the map. I posted original content on Tiktok up until September; anything I posted after that was a re-upload or re-post.

It took me several months to get back to myself: doing things that I love to do, watching things that bring me comfort or make me smile… even just reading and writing.

I think sometimes we expect ourselves to push through no matter what, but I’ve been learning that stepping back isn’t the same as giving up. It’s just part of the process. Even when it comes to working out, I took a break from that. But I didn’t give up. Giving up doesn’t happen until you stop for good. I started working out again, and I started watching things that keep me calm—things like true crime and other TV shows that I’ve seen before. It’s all very comfortable and predictable, which is exactly what I needed.

Lately, I’ve been easing back into things. Picking everything up piece by piece.

And through it all, I created a bigger change for my brand…

I’ll be honest: I’ve hated marketing myself since the moment I created a social media account to do that. It’s actually grown into such a stressor—trying to find readers, trying to reach my audience, trying to keep up with creating videos—that I just said, “Fuck this. I’m done.”

Now, my books are free. Truly, I just want people to read my work. I don’t care if it makes me money or not. Would the money be nice? Absolutely—who’s going to say “no” to that? But continuing to make videos, go Live on Tiktok, and trying to convince readers that my work is worth purchasing so that they can read it, has all just been too much to deal with, and I’d rather give my books away for free. And in this economy, it feels morally wrong for me to ask people who are struggling to buy groceries and pay rent to then purchase something that isn’t a necessity.

So, I’ve made it optional to support me. If you’d like to support me, you can “buy me a coffee” here for however much you want. However much you feel I deserve or can give. Even if it’s not money, sharing my videos and spreading the word that my books are free is equally helpful. I’ll be creating content sporadically just to get the word out—but I’m not taking it further than that. I’m not stressing myself out to upload 2-3 videos per day. Just random posts when I feel like it to spread to Booktok and the like that my books are available, free, and please read.

I wanted to make my books as accessible as possible, so if you’ve been wanting to read them, now’s a good time to grab them. The EPUB and PDF formats are both available on this website under each book’s section. This goes to say, in order to abide by Kindle Unlimited’s contract, they are no longer available on Kindle Unlimited. But they are still available to purchase on Amazon if you’d like. And if you’d prefer a physical copy, I do have some available, and I’m happy to send those out too. Just reach out to me on one of my social’s or send me an email, either directly to my email or through this website; I’ll get the messages either way.

Within the news of actually writing books, I haven’t been writing as consistently as I was before, but I have been thinking about my stories a lot recently, now that I’m feeling more like myself—even if myself is a little different than I was before. Probably something you won’t notice if you aren’t involved in my personal life.

Most of my focus has been on reconnecting with my characters and figuring out where I want the story to go emotionally rather than just plot-wise. I think stepping away actually helped with that. Some things feel clearer now, especially in the middle-to-late sections I was struggling with before, which has been a problem-area in every book that I’ve written.

I’m trying to approach writing a little differently moving forward, and it helps that I’m not pressuring myself with deadlines to create content to publish books:

• Less pressure to hit word counts every day
• More focus on writing scenes that I’m actually excited about
• Letting things feel natural again—not forced

It’s slower, but it feels more sustainable, and I think the story—and my story—will be better for it.

Reading Recommendations

I’ve been in a bit of an off-and-on reading phase, but when I have picked something up, I’ve been leaning toward darker, more emotional reads (no surprise there), but I have only been reading books that I have already read before. This relates back to the TV shows and true crime that I’ve watched before—I need comfort and predictability. I need to read something that I know I will love.

I’m sure I will get back to reading new stuff soon, as I’m always trying to support fellow indie authors. But right now, my emotional-state needs, again, comfort and predictability.

So, to celebrate some of my favorite reads, here they are again:

Filthy Wicked Psychos series by Eva Ashwood

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Fighting for Evie by Taylor Delvaux

I also reread two of my own books: Hollow and Love

Current Reads

I know that I just said that I’ve been reading books that I’ve already read before, but I would like to declare that I have also tried reading new books.

Currently, I am trying to finish some shorter books that I’ve found: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer and White Holes by Carlo Rovelli.

I also recently finished Girl, Stop Apologizing and Girl Wash Your Face, both by Rachel Hollis.

Finds Unrelated to Reading

Lately, I’ve been finding small ways to stay creative or active even when I’m not actively writing.

A couple things I’ve been into:

• I’ve started knitting again, which has been a really nice and mindless task where I can watch or listen to anything while still feeling like I’m accomplishing something.
• Finding structured routines again that make the day feel more structured without being rigid—still some flexibility to the schedule.
• Getting back into a routine workout schedule that can shift with my life when work gets in the way—something I can always adjust if necessary and still find my way back to easily.

It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s been helping me feel more grounded.

Movies & TV Shows

I’ve definitely been in more of a “comfort watch” mood lately.

A mix of:

• Rewatching familiar shows that I don’t have to fully focus on.
• Picking up darker or more intense series when I’m in the mood for it—specifically true crime or cybersecurity lectures for anything new.
• Letting things play in the background while I work on other stuff—or even just cleaning or doing chores.

I think right now I’m less interested in finding something new and more interested in things that feel familiar or easy to fall into.

Thanks for sticking around, even with the quiet gaps. I’m easing back into things, and I’m really glad to be here again.

 “It's so easy to get caught up in what people expect of you. Sometimes, you can just lose yourself.” - Sarah Dessen, Dreamland

More to come soon 🤍