A New Book Cometh...

So...I have made my past work free, put up a website, and have dedicated myself to write fun things on here JUST for the joy of writing.

But now what?

For those that don't know, there is a new book that I am working on, that will hopefully be coming out by either late fall or early winter of 2024. I am dedicating this summer to completing this full length novel, and I can comfortably say, I am almost halfway done with 135 pages and over 66,000 words under my proverbial writer's belt.

I have been working on this novel since October of 2022, but finally dedicated myself fully to this project in Jan of 2024. And I can honestly say: this novel is probably the project I am most proud of. Here, I am finally revealing the title and vague storyline: "The Song of Astra".

"The Song of Astra" is about Astra Howell, a nonbinary educator, who lives in a small town outside of Kansas City and keeps a quiet, cozy existence. Their community/found family consists of their two best friends, the students they teach, and the neighbors and shop keepers that make up the small, imaginary town of Bellestead, KS.

Due to an inheritance from their loving grandmother, they are able to buy a house and set up a simple, peaceful life for themselves: something that they have always yearned for. Their days are full of reading, cooking, seeing their loved ones, and making Violet Cottage (their new house) a home.

However, everything changes thanks to a chance meeting in the community garden on a still, wintry day. Astra finds themselves in the company of a man quietly reading, ironically enough, "The Secret Garden". His name is William Caulder, and like Astra, he too enjoys the quiet and cozy things in life. They begin a discussion about stories and interests, and this meet cute ends with an exchange of numbers and an invitation to dinner the next day.

Yet, due to a surprise concert invite from a friend and a VIP meeting with a famous singer, Astra learns that William is, partially, not who he claims to be...and it is up to both of them to navigate where their budding kinship goes. Both of them face challenges from the past, and questions about their future, in this cottagecore romance.

This novel is a love letter to Kansas City (and the surrounding areas), cooking, literature, queerness, neurodivergency, and the soft romantic stories that EVERYONE should get to read. It is a thank you to my own community in KC, and a gift I want to give the trans and queer folk in my life. For after all, we deserve our own soft love stories.

We deserve a book that is kind to us...our own little Hallmark original tale.

I hope you all join me on this journey, as I share recipes from the book (yes, each chapter opens with a recipe), sneak peeks of character designs, and playlists inspired by the novel and the characters in it.

This is going to be fun.

Image description:

A simple picture of a fountain pen laying on papers with cursive writing, and violets laying next to it in the upper right hand corner. A notebook, out of focus, lies behind the violets.