Summer is not over yet!

Despite what the back to school commercials are saying

Hey everyone, happy late mid/late August :)

I’ve been thinking of this particular newsletter as my end of summer check in, but I personally don’t think that summer is over until after Labor Day. It’s been a muggy, ridiculously hot summer here in NJ, and while I am looking forward to cooler autumn temperatures, I will miss summer fashion. I find it so much easier to get dressed during summer. I throw on a sun dress or a t-shirt and shorts and slide on some shoes, and then I’m out the door. In fall, I never know which jacket to wear. (Denim? I get might get too cold by evening. Leather jacket? I might be too hot during the day.) And don’t even get me started on winter. So I’m holding onto these last couple weeks of summer with all of my might. The biggest highlight of my summer was definitely seeing Beyoncé in concert. I just love her so much lol. I am one of those people who still listens to Renaissance every day like a year hasn’t passed. (But somehow I still can’t spell Renaissance correctly on the first or second try, ever.) I recently went to Mexico for my best friend’s wedding. I’ve taken some trips to the beach, saw some good movies (Past Lives and Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret were standouts). I started a rewatch of Sex and the City. All in all, I think I’ve had a decent summer. I haven’t read as much as I’d like, but I tend to read more during the fall and winter, so I’m hoping to catch up on my TBR then.

Before I write more, I want to share a quick reminder that my next romance novel The Partner Plot publishes on February 27, 2024 and is currently available for preorder! I will be doing another preorder campaign, so please hold onto your receipts!

I also want to highlight that there is a book auction happening right now to raise funds for those who have been affected by the wildfire in Maui. There are almost 1,000 items available for bidding, like consultations and critiques from literary agents and editors, signed book bundles, and virtual school visits from authors. You can find more information about the auction here.

Today marks Day One of my being on deadline for the rest of the year. In a way, I guess I’m always on one deadline or another. But this is a first draft deadline, and for me, first drafts are a completely different beast. A story takes up a good 90% of my brain for the better part of four months, and most non draft related things fall to the wayside, so I try to prep my life accordingly before I start drafting something new. Hence me sending out my newsletter in mid/late August as opposed to sometime in September lol.

A professional high this summer was that The Partner Plot went to copyedits, so the only thing left for me to do is read over the first pass pages (basically the text that gets printed in the Advanced Reader Copy). A [redacted good bookish] thing happened, which I think I’ll be able to talk about more in a couple months. But… now for the lows lol. Or more accurately, the singular low. In my last newsletter in June, I talked a little about my next YA project and how it was getting pushed to 2025 because I was having a hard time with it. Well, things only got harder after my last newsletter lol. I thought maybe I’d talk a little more about it in case others might find it relatable.

The short answer for why I struggled with the draft is because I kept comparing the new book to Zyla & Kai. The premise was quite different, but it was a school based story and the dynamic between the characters was similar enough that I felt as though I was writing in Z&K’s shadow. When I wrote Z&K, I thought it would be my last YA novel. Not because I felt like I was done writing stories for and about teens (I’m not and still intend to!); I just didn’t think anyone would let me lol. I started writing Z&K in the fall of 2019. In early 2020, we submitted a proposal to my then YA publisher as my option book and they declined it. This happens to a lot of authors, so I tried not to take it too personally. But I was really disappointed because I loved the story so much. My agent really believed in it and she encouraged me to keep writing, so I did. Then Covid and lockdown happened. We were still living in NYC at the time, which was ground zero, so Z&K became a special story that I could escape into when it seemed like the world was falling apart. When I finished writing and revising the draft later that summer, I was mostly proud that I’d managed to complete the story. I wasn’t very confident that it would sell. No one was more surprised than me when it sold at auction for a two book deal. I cycled through a few different ideas for my fourth YA before I landed on the idea that I drafted earlier this year. I wrote it in two months, which is usually half the time that it takes me for a solid first draft. When I read it over before handing it into my editor, I had an “oh no” moment, where I realized that it wasn’t the story I wanted to tell. I then attempted a major plot overhaul where I tried to force it into something that I could feel proud of, but no matter which way I approached the story, I realized the bones of it were wrong. I knew the book wasn’t going to work anymore, but I was terrified to say something. For all intents and purposes, this was going to be my fourth YA novel. Meetings and conversations were had. The ball was already rolling. The book itself was the only piece that couldn’t get with the program. Even though I knew it wasn’t going to work, I still wrote 12k of a new draft. I really did try my hardest. But I had to admit the truth to my team, and thankfully, they were understanding. Basically, what this means is that I’m not entirely sure when my next YA will publish. I’m still hoping for 2025, and I do have another idea that I’m genuinely excited to write. I’m remaining optimistic.

Sometimes readers will ask if I ever plan to write YA again. The answer is yes. My dream has always been to write romance for both teens and adults. Sometimes books just take longer than others. I got the idea for The Neighbor Favor and Lily’s other sisters back in 2019, so for years I’ve known what their stories would be. I think that’s why I have been able to dive head first into those books and for the most part, I haven’t had a difficult time while drafting. I won’t pretend as if I don’t get frustrated with myself over having not finished my next YA this year. Sometimes I’ll see other authors who write multiple books a year in different age categories and I am so amazed and jealous lol. But I try to remind myself that everyone has their own path.

I’d like transition to talking about other people’s books now lol. I’ve read some really good books so far this summer. I may have written about a couple of these in a previous newsletter, but if I did, a reminder couldn’t hurt. :)

Two YA novels that I read earlier this summer and really loved were Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon and Throwback by Maurene Goo. Both books reminded me of why I love YA books, reading about young people who are trying to decide who they are and who they want to be is so refreshing and fun. The world is their oyster! And I am always looking for BIPOC stories that are heartfelt and carefree. Both books delivered.

On the adult side, I read Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder. Ava has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary romance authors, and I can’t wait to read whatever she writes next. I read Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly, and Anita’s writing was so beautiful, I read a couple chapters every night before bed because I really wanted to let the writing sink in. It’s such a heartwarming story. I was itching to read a new to me book by a long time favorite, so I read Prisoner of Love by Beverly Jenkins, and it did not disappoint. I read it in one afternoon! I also used the “new to me by a long time fave” tactic when I read Blue Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas. I’ve read majority of her historical romances, but this was the first contemporary novel of hers that I read, mostly while on the beach on vacation. Earlier this summer while stuck at the airport after a cancelled flight, I read Take a Hike by Mimi Grace. Mimi has definitely become an auto-buy author for me. Last month I read Thank You For Sharing by Rachel Runya Katz. This one pubs next month, and I can’t wait for other people to read it and love Liyah and Daniel as much as I do. I’ve seen Rachel refer to this as a “rom-traum-com” book, and I think that sums up the book’s vibe. There are some heavy topics discussed, but it’s ultimately an uplifting story about finding your people and love (obviously lol). If it isn’t on your TBR, you should add it!

There are a few books that I’m in the middle of reading. (Somehow this year I’ve become a person who can switch between multiple books at once). I’ve been reading Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon, All I’ve Wanted, All I’ve Needed by A.E. Valdez and Restore Me by JL Seegars.

Next on my TBR:

From With Love, From Cold World by Alicia Thompson - something that I like to do before a highly anticipated book comes out is read a sample on the Apple Books app (it usually goes up about a week or so before a book pubs). I read the sample for Alicia’s book so quickly and I felt like it took forever for my copy to get here, but now it’s in my possession and I can’t wait to keep reading!

Codename Charming by Lucy Parker. I initially got into romance through historicals, and Lucy’s London Celebrities series were some of the first contemporary books I read and loved. I’m really looking forward to reading her newest!

I’m realizing how long this newsletter is lol. Sorry. If you’ve made it this far, I will end on a fun note. This year my best friend and my fiance’s sister both started reading romance novels, and recently they each asked me for some recs. I have a handful of books that I keep in my arsenal for this very reason and I thought I’d share that list here too. I call this the Kristina Romance Recs Starter Pack:

Indigo by Beverly Jenkins

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

What a Match by Mimi Grace

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

On the topic of book recs, a group of BIPOC authors have started the #23for23 initiative, where readers can commit to reading 23 books by and about BIPOC authors by the end of 2023. I will be participating and you can find out more here!

Okay, sorry for the abnormally long newsletter lol. I will now retreat and dive into the drafting cave.

Enjoy the rest of summer!

xo, Kristina