Hi, hello, howdy!
First things first, are you in a snowpocalypse right now? This time last year, snowmageddon was coming for East Tennessee and the best part about the experience was sending you a newsletter full of gifs from The Bear (read/look at here).
It appears a similar situation might be coming my way this weekend. And in an effort to still find joy in an otherwise cold, freezy, ice/snow threatening season, I’m digging deep into my coziness cupboard, a.k.a. pretending like I’m Danish, Tennessee-style.
A lot like Buddy the Elf fixing up his dad’s apartment for Christmas, my hygge style is a blend of Pinterest-level expectations mixed with kindergarten class-level execution.
So, Ben and I are turning coffee filters into snowflakes to tape to the windows, I’ve got candles blazing anywhere I can safely light a candle without fear a dog will knock it over and set fire to the house, and we are listening to playlists labeled things like “instrumental winter cozy warm good vibes” like our lives depended on it.
It’s definitely a mood.
And it’s working! For some of us, January brings a lot of bleh. Keeping it bright, giving the day a certain kind of intentional glow, fashioning a Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail all-seasons style, isn’t that what a leading lady lifestyle is all about it?
New Book News
I’ve got a new series in the works and the next book is a complete rough draft! She’s visited with the development editor, and she’s come back to me with a just few *notes*.
It’s fine. Really. All manageable.
And places where she made notes like “You have done so much excellent work here” and “I am just thrilled with where you’ve taken this story…readers will eat it up” definitely gave me a boost.
Polishing up this new book over the next few months will be good #wintergoals2025. And I’ll keep you posted here, so make sure you subscribe if you haven’t already!
Current Book News
Here they are all my lovely books in The Kissing Series.
These are a set of funny, heartfelt, closed-door romances, with strong female leads, sweetheart men (who would absolutely come shovel your driveway in a snowstorm AND be totally comfortable letting you drive), quirky, devoted found family, and so much heart. They’re interconnected standalones, meaning read them in any order you want!
Some of my favorite reader praise, lately, was relatable characters, witty banter, wonderful romance, sweet love. this entire trio of books was so much fun. please go read them!!!
And if you have read them and agree with this lovely reader, would you go put some stars and kind words on Amazon or Goodreads? First Comes Love is rushing towards 100 reviews on Goodreads, and it would be thrilling to hit that goal soon!
Joy Corner
And to close out with cheer and goodwill towards people, Joy Corner is back in action. Here a few things that have brought me joy this past 6 weeks-ish.
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year: What a fun read to close out December! This one kept popping up with some of my favorite Instagram follows and I grabbed it while the ebook was on sale. The two main characters were so well drawn, the swoon was real, the spice was low and behind closed doors and I loved it. Highly recommend for this month, as it’s giving more wintry vibes than Christmas vibes.
OK-X from the OK Factor: My amazing book cover designer also happens to be an amazing violinist and part of the brilliant duo The OK (Olivia and Karla) Factor. This is a favorite cozy, quiet, fun musical choice to play all day long and brighten the mood of the house.
The Plan by Kendra Adachi and The Playbooks: I bought The Plan because I’m a big Lazy Genius podcast fan and find her books incredibly helpful. I was gifted The Playbooks, in the most unexpected way, by my two best writing friends using my teenager as the conduit to get them into my hands. It was AMAZING. The Plan is so encouraging, breaking down time management FOR LADIES in a real and practical way. There’s an entire chapter discussing the menstrual cycle and coordinating weeks in relation to that and, honestly, it was groundbreaking to me that someone finally addressed this situation. The Playbooks are an entirely different kind of planner for sorting through both the mental, emotional, and physical load of the month, with dot grids and open spaces and brain dumps and I love it. Highly recommend.
And, not to toot my own horn, but these two reels I made on Instagram are bringing me so much joy. I’m probably most of my watches but if you’d like a chance to look at some pretty men of both Millennial and Gen-X generations, here you go. Enjoy. (And hit that follow button while you’re there!)
That’s a cold, and winter-storm preparing wrap! Tell me, are you snowed in? What’s bringing you joy and keeping you sane right now? I’d love to hear below.
And please know, your time is precious and the fact you spend some of it here amazes and delights me. Thank you so much!
Take care,
Emily