Hello Readers, it’s me, B. A. Lovejoy; purveyor of kissing books and I’m guessing that if you’re here, you’re probably here for a sneak peek at the nonfinalized prologue of my newest series.
Well, I’m going to put that at the bottom of this post largely so I can pretend that you read it, and then drop a link for my polls post here so I can pretend that you’ll vote in it, and then crack into things.
If you’re still reading, that’s probably because you want to hear what my plans are for the next year. I mean, I’ve teased some stuff, so, it makes sense. But before we can get to the year ahead, we have to look at the year we’re leaving behind.
Last Year (2022. This post is being published in 2022, but I’m talking about 2022.)
Let’s be blunt, kids.
Last year I only got four of the eight books I had planned done, and finished Alice in December when I was planning on finishing it in May. This is partially because life is a cruel, senseless beast that feels content kicking people in the head, but there was also another, very large reason…
Drum roll, please.
I have carpal tunnel.
This is probably not even the first time you’re hearing this this week; I know it isn’t. Believe it or not, I read other people’s books. I do not just exist in an echo chamber of my own failures.
Five other fantasy romance authors have announced that they have carpal tunnel of the chronic and reoccurring variety this year, and I know because I am subscribed to their newsletters, their websites, their twitters; It’s a problem.
Writing romance means publishing a lot, and for the most part, it’s not the creativity that’s limited, it’s our bodies. Like it or not, the human body was not made to pump out book after book of hand-typed text to the tune of hundreds of thousands of words. It hurts me to admit it, but that’s the truth.
From Spades onward, I began every day that I was writing Alice with a handful of ibuprofen, caffeine pills, and a dream– it was hard. Eventually we got to the point where I had to take day after day off because my hands were barely functional and I found myself wincing closing my bathroom door. It was not fun, and is half of the reason why I’ve moved around dates so much– while I am currently learning to use a dictation software, I was not comfortable enough in using it to do more than a few sentences here and there as I was working on my books.
The other reason I’ve been moving dates is covers.
It’s very hard to find cover artists and I have a pretty tight schedule, but thankfully this coming year I’ve found a whole new team of artists and poked my head in here and there to get the right names, so, we’ll see. I am still waiting on a cover for a series that will no longer be named from January, so… Yeah.
I do find it frustrating though.
Carpal tunnel, covid, covers. All I want to do is write, but, I keep finding little roadblocks. Luckily I’ll be going to the doctor tomorrow (the 28th), so fingers crossed that things will just get fixed because…
I have big plans for next year.
“Sleeping Beauty”
Now, I am not planning to release every month next year, that was too lofty a goal with my carpal tunnel. Instead, I’m aiming for every other month.
This year we’ll be seeing the rivals to lovers series the University of the Unseen as our regular, bi-monthly series and then either Alice: War of Queens or a secret mystery mousketool that I’ve tucked in my pocket for later.
But, that’s not all, because as it turns out I lose my mind if I stay on one topic for too long. We’ll either be getting one of three concepts this year, depending on my personal health and interest. (You do not get a poll for this.)
We’ll either see Seasons of Magic, a quarterly interconnected standalone series based on fae mythology with a book to correspond to every season; For the Love of the Gods (working title), a mythology inspired series that asks the question what happens to those who love the gods; or Adventures Retold (working title), a series of romantic retellings inspired by the Brothers Grimm.
I also might dig out my depressing corona inspired dystopian romance and ruin my branding. We’ll see.
These will be full books available on Kindle unlimited, largely because my creative process doesn’t exactly allow for serials. I go back and edit too much.
Therefore, that’s my plan.
We’ll also see a series box set of Pick a Card, a short story collection called Tales from Wonderland for people who want to own the prologues, and a few more little treats as the year goes on and I am forced to publish.
My goal for this coming year is to write every day, update my blog more, and also learn how dictation software works. (Thankfully, I have an editor.)
Things I liked this year… You know, 2022
I liked a lot of things this year, and I don’t think I talked about anything I liked last year so…Uh. Lists?
I like…
Tv and film?
- Wednesday. Tyler is good? Love Tyler. Xavier is sad. Love Xavier. Enid makes me think of me as a child.
- A School for Good and Evil. I like dresses. Near death experiences. The power of friendship. The very attractive villain.
- Stranger Things Season 4. I like Steve. Screaming monsters. A creepy man who shows up everywhere. Little girls with super powers. ARGYLE. Jonathan’s devolution into a loser stoner. Will being there during every scene like “please notice me.” Hopper. WINONA RYDER.
- The Bob’s Burgers movie. Singing. Tina being cute. Louise being cute. Gene being cute. Linda being cute. Bob being a cutiepie. Love em.
- Derry Girls season 4. James is my boy. Erin is sadly me at eighteen.
- The Glass onion. No spoilers.
- The Holidate. I want an Australian husband now. Stay tuned for my trip to the outback.
- Never Have I Ever. Loved it. Destroyed my life for the three days it took to watch it all.
- BBC GHOSTS. I LOVE THOMAS. ADORE HIM. BEST BOY.
- I did not love Snack vs Chef, it just made me very mad, but I need you to know that it made me very mad and the fact that it got renewed shocks me because I did not want to eat any of their food. Like if you put any of that near me, I’m storming out. That stuff did not look appealing, I would not snack on it.
- I liked Penelope and Colin getting their own season. I live for them, I love them, they are the air that I breathe. Icons, absolute icons. Expect no releases the month of Bridgerton season 3, or during the Bridgerton prequel release either. I love Bridgerton.
Food:
- I found a good recipe for latkes and it changed my life. It was sent to me via text straight from someone’s grandmother’s recipe book.
- I discovered making your own bread. I failed. It excites me though.
- I’m currently on a salad kick and I love it. Brianna’s salad dressing is a masterpiece, I love whatever the heck they do with the caesar.
- I discovered crystal light drink mix. At this point I’m just listing things to fill time before I get into the books.
Whatever, books.
This year I read so many books. Almost two hundred at this point, but it’s the twenty seventh and I read a book a day so give me some time.
I mainly read hockey romance, though. This is because I just wasn’t finding what I wanted in fantasy romance, which I think is a sign that I have to be the change I want to see in the world.
Regardless, these are my favorites of the things I’ve read this year.
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – V. E. Schwab
- A Cursed Heart and a Cursed Kiss, both by Jenny Hickman
- The Off Campus series – Elle Kennedy
- The Half-Orc’s Maiden Bride – Ruby Dixon
- Only a Monster – Vanessa Len
- The Midwinter Mail-Order Bride – Kati Wilde
- The Paper Magician series – Charlie Holmberg (Finished this year, began last.)
I mean, there’s still a lot of fantasy romance on that list, so… I’m good, right? A majority are available in kindle unlimited, I’m pretty sure that only the Off Campus series and Only a Monster aren’t, so if you’re looking for kindle recs, I’m here.
You can also read my books in kindle unlimited, I’ve been told that they’re pretty okay and there sure is kissing involved.
I am legally obligated to drop my own books on my blog. If I did not I would look stupid and like I’m missing an opportunity to shill. I can’t do that. I have to shill.
Anyway, here’s the part where I thank you all for your time and patience, mention that I have a recent release out, and then drop the prologue for my new series.
Thank you so much if you’ve been reading my books this past year, if you’ve been with me on this journey, if you’ve ever taken the time to read or review my books even once and somehow ended up stranded here, if you’re here to see my process writing books, or if you were looking for Kindle Unlimited recommendations and somehow ended up on this unironic hell blog. I am happy to see you regardless of the reason, and happy to keep on typing.
Writing is a long, often solitary adventure, and to know that I am read in any regard is a gift to me, and one that I do not take lightly. I hope that over the course of this year I have somehow managed to entertain you, and that you will make the decision to keep coming back.
With that in mind, if you’re looking for the long awaited final book for Alice, and need a reason to keep coming back after you’re done with it, I present you with this rough prologue for my new series, the University of the Unseen.
…And of course a link to the final Alice book.
I encourage you to please continue coming back, please keep checking in, and please keep looking for more as we move into the next year. I promise I will make it worth your while.
B. A. Lovejoy 