Last week I went back on What Should I Read Next? to talk to my friend Anne about "sad books." But as I said in the episode, I prefer to say "stories that are about sad things." Because these books can still be hopeful and even uplifting!

I believe stories about grief and loss have so much to teach us, whether we're currently mourning or thinking ahead for the future.

I did not have time to discuss all of my favorite novels and memoirs that are about grief and loss. Not even close! But we did get to discuss quite a few.

I only mentioned a few of my favorite nonfiction books- we knew we didn't have a hope of covering that category in addition to everything else- so I wrote a post: Favorite Nonfiction Books About Death, Dying, And Grief.

We do discuss books that deal with cancer, miscarriage, death, and other trauma so if these topics are triggering for you, please exercise caution if you decide to listen and take good care of yourself.

Listen to episode 137: Bibliotherapy for the toughest times.

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If you're stopping by from Modern Mrs. Darcy, hello! I'm happy to have you here. You can learn more about me on my About page. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

My novel A Storied Life released June 12. You can order it and read more about it here. You can read about the inspiration behind the novel here.

If you're already following me on Instagram, you know the good news: I'm giving away two signed, annotated copies of A STORIED LIFE! I had a ridiculous amount of fun going through my novel and figuring out which behind the scenes facts to share. (This idea came from @paperfury, who did it for her recently released YA novel A Thousand Perfect Notes. I can't wait to read it!)

Head over to the Instagram post to enter! Full details there but giveaway ends this Wednesday.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

The release day for A Storied Life is finally here!

I'm an official novelist and I'm so giddy about having written a novel that people can actually buy and read.

The idea first came to mind nine or ten years ago and it took until early 2010 before I started writing the first words. Fun fact: those first few thousand words eventually got moved to chapter 3.

I still remember my amazement when my characters started talking back to me and how plot points descended out of thin air. And then how the last 20,000 words poured out of me in 5 days in December 2011.

I could not stop writing and when I wrote the last sentence, I slumped back onto my couch and cried in relief and awe over what I accomplished.

Now we're here and A Storied Life is a real book I've held in my hands. It's on Goodreads and all the major online retailers. I never want to lose this sense of wonder.

I keep saying thank you but truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Whether you remember when I finished writing A Storied Life all the way back in December 2011 or you're newer here, thank you for being a part of my internet community and cheering me on. It means more than you know.

If you read A Storied Life, please consider writing a review. It's really helpful in raising awareness, especially for debut authors. And please feel free to tell your family and friends! Word of mouth recommendations carry so much weight. 

We'll see where this book of mine goes. 

Friday night I arrived in my hometown because there's no other place I'd rather be. My mom gave me a bouquet in a vase that belonged to my Grandma and said she and my dad are proud of me. Sunday marked eleven years since Grandma died and while I don't know for sure what she'd think about me writing a novel exploring loss, I hope she'd be proud. 

Today I'm wearing my special Release Day dress from eShakti. My best friend and her kids are taking me out for lunch and then I'm celebrating with friends at dinner tonight. I'll toast to my accomplishment with an Old Fashioned or the butteriest chardonnay I can find and I'll bask in the glow.

Tomorrow I'll start delving into research for my second novel. (Newsletter subscribers will be the first to hear what it might be about!) 

This is the start of a beautiful writing career. I can feel it. 

“Live your own story. Make every moment count.”

Olivia Frasier grew up under the guidance of her grandmother's mantra: “Live a storied life.” The oft-repeated words gave her the courage to pursue art instead of working at the family bank until a mistake made in college altered the course of her life. Now, no one knows Olivia still paints. Not her friends. Not her staff at the art gallery. Certainly not her family.

She can ignore the twinge of unease, the regret that surfaces when Gram's mantra comes to mind, the question of whether this is all life has to offer.

When Gram announces she has terminal cancer—and names Olivia as her Power of Attorney for Healthcare—Olivia is thrust in to the world of hospice and dying wishes. Olivia may be the family’s black sheep but she is determined to see Gram through this, no matter the cost.

Faced with losing the one person on her side, Olivia clings to the knowledge that Gram's death will finally allow her to walk away from the family. And yet Gram is determined to impart one last lesson: let go of the past so she can live the life she’s meant to lead.

When Reagan walks into her art gallery, the timing couldn’t be worse. He’s everything Olivia ever dreamed of wanting but she has learned to settle for less when it comes to her relationships and career. At what point does owning your story outweigh the potential hurt?

Weaving together grief and beauty, humor and romance, A Storied Life will make you rethink life, love, and loss.

Please note: this book explores the death of a loved one by cancer and contains mentions of past sexual harassment and suicidal ideation that could potentially trigger certain audiences.

Order the book here:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

Paperback 

Disclosure: Affiliate links included in this post.

Only six days until A Storied Life releases! I can hardly believe it's so close. Each day feels more surreal and I cannot wait until release day is finally here.

My launch team is currently reading and I'm trying not to think about it too much. As exciting as it is to put this story out into the world, it can be nerve-wracking too. I'm never more nervous than when I know a good friend is reading it. In those cases, denial is my friend. 

My deepest wish is that the people who need this story will find it. The rest will sort itself out.

“Live your own story. Make every moment count.”

Olivia Frasier grew up under the guidance of her grandmother's mantra: “Live a storied life.” The oft-repeated words gave her the courage to pursue art instead of working at the family bank until a mistake made in college altered the course of her life. Now, no one knows Olivia still paints. Not her friends. Not her staff at the art gallery. Certainly not her family.

She can ignore the twinge of unease, the regret that surfaces when Gram's mantra comes to mind, the question of whether this is all life has to offer.

When Gram announces she has terminal cancer—and names Olivia as her Power of Attorney for Healthcare—Olivia is thrust in to the world of hospice and dying wishes. Olivia may be the family’s black sheep but she is determined to see Gram through this, no matter the cost.

Faced with losing the one person on her side, Olivia clings to the knowledge that Gram's death will finally allow her to walk away from the family. And yet Gram is determined to impart one last lesson: let go of the past so she can live the life she’s meant to lead.

When Reagan walks into her art gallery, the timing couldn’t be worse. He’s everything Olivia ever dreamed of wanting but she has learned to settle for less when it comes to her relationships and career. At what point does owning your story outweigh the potential hurt?

Weaving together grief and beauty, humor and romance, A Storied Life will make you rethink life, love, and loss.

Please note: this book explores the death of a loved one by cancer and contains mentions of past sexual harassment and suicidal ideation that could potentially trigger certain audiences.

Pre-order:

Amazon Kindle

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

My friend Kelle designed these graphics for me based on the design by Okay Creations and I'm in love! Thank you to Heatherly for helping me pick a couple of quotes. Feel free to save and share them.

And as always, thank you so much for cheering me on! It means the world.

Disclosure: Affiliate links included in this post.

I'm pleased to announce I'm back on Sorta Awesome for the fourth time! Meg has declared me to be a Sorta Awesome regular and I have already added it to my resume.

But instead of talking about the Enneagram per usual, Meg asked me to come on and talk about my journey into self-publishing my first novel and then we shared our summer reading recommendations.

Talking about books I love and about the novel I wrote? TWIST MY ARM.

The result is episode 147: Sizzling Awesome Reads for Summer 2018.

I shared seven books on the episode and I'm pretty confident you'll love them too. The hardest part was narrowing down which ones to recommend so here are two bonus recommendations I didn't get to.

If you haven't recovered from the royal wedding, try this royal romance: A Princess In Theory by Alyssa Cole. Ledi is an epidemiology grad student doing her best to make ends meet when she starts receiving these spam emails claiming she's betrothed to the prince of Thesolo, an African nation. Only it's true. I got why she was so guarded/closed off and loved watching her slowly open up and let others in. Prince Thabiso was a spoiled brat but I loved watching him wake up to what a tool he could be. His heart was mostly in the right place so I could hang with him through the rest. And I absolutely loved the way he took care of Ledi. Cue all the swooning! This had humor and heart and I loved every second of it. Alyssa Cole is just a ridiculously talented author.

On the YA front, I can't stop talking about When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. Dimple is thrilled when her parents let her go to a summer program for aspiring web developers in San Francisco. What she doesn’t know is that they agreed to it because Rishi is also going and all the parents think Dimple and Rishi would be a great match. Rishi is on board but Dimple has no clue when he walks up to her outside Starbucks. Cue thrown drink!  I could not get enough of the evolution of their relationship. This was a heart-warming, happy read...although it made me cry too because of how strongly I empathized with the characters. It was also refreshing to read a book that got the San Francisco setting right!

As always, you can see all the books I've read at Goodreads. My fiction, nonfiction, romance, and YA recommendations, comprised of books with 4 or 5 star ratings, are on Pinterest.

You can listen to the episode on iTunes, your favorite podcast app, or here.

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If you're stopping by from Sorta Awesome, hello! I'm happy to have you here. You can learn more about me on my About page. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

My novel A Storied Life releases June 12. The synopsis and preorder links are here. You can read about the inspiration behind the novel here.

Happy reading!