FLORIDA GIRLS, My Debut Novel, Lands In 19 Days And Counting

Confessions of an indie author

I know from my writing coach that one book does not make or break an author’s career. Not even your first book. And she’s a (now) best-selling author whose first book tanked, so she really knows what she’s talking about. Her advice boils down to this — don’t burn out.

(Here’s as good a place as any to let you know that FLORIDA GIRLS is available now for preorder here! Comes out May 28.)

My teacher is right. 100%.

Meanwhile, this debut novelist is in the spaghetti-at-the-wall phase.

• Writing into the last act of the next book in the Queenpin Chronicles series (to be continued)

• Revising my email automation sequence (to be continued)

• Batching a week’s worth of TikTok posts (the never-quenched maw)

• Posting my first review on Facebook & Instagram (OMG, it’s so good, check it out here!)

• Managing Amazon ads (a new brain bender for me; check out my social post on ad creation)

• Turning Facebook ads back on (surprisingly effective)

• Cold-DMing influencers with my NetGalley widget (I’m in a holding pattern where NO reviews are coming in there and it’s, well, crazy-making)**

All that was just this morning before heading downtown to record the debut episode of my podcast titled… ILL-BEHAVED WOMEN!

Maybe I have no effs for coming up with another new property title to manage. OR IS IT CATCHY!?

In the debut episode, I expound on news of the day — like how hard Trump has tried to suppress Stormy Daniels. I asked, "What's that saying? A woman's mouth is more powerful than a man's fist?

"No. The one I was thinking of is, men, fear women will laugh at them. Women, fear men will kill them."

But also a deep dive into Stephanie St. Clair (the mobster queenpin who outwitted the mafia in NYC, profiled here). Plus upcoming FLORIDA GIRLS event news! (You can find that schedule here.)

The pod is more topical than my newsletter. For now anyway. Who knows where this newsletter is going. I’ve been asked to turn FLORIDA GIRLS into a documentary… but I’m finishing The Queenpin Chronicles first! But enough about that since I have no link to share yet.

MUST WATCH

The Fall Guy. A classic romance tale with a male lead, this movie manages to have a feminist perspective. 

Sure, I’m Ryan Gosling-biased. I’M HUMAN. But also, while there are loads of female gaze shots of the men, the women are NOT objectified. In fact, between Emily Blunt and Hannah Waddington, female characters run the action. Gosling reacts to them. Better still, Blunt and Gosling received what seems like equitable pay for their roles (10 and 12 million respectively which, considering the screen time and stunt work Gosling had to do, seems fair). Way to go Drew Pearce, the dude who wrote the screenplay, which is also very fun.

MUST READ

Admittedly, I just started this one. But I love it. A historical fiction set in early 1970s Chicago, the book is based on the real-life Jane network, a group of women who provided abortions and other reproductive healthcare services at a time when the procedure was still illegal. Another story about women setting one another free when men try to suppress them.

FREE BOOKS!

In every newsletter I strive to include something free for you! Check out these titles and nab your next read, FREE.

YOUR TURN!

• First, have you read Florida Girls? Post a review here or shelve it here pretty please!

• What new thing are you doing? Moving house? Redoing your closets? Changing careers? Giving a talk? New ‘do???

• What have you read or watched lately that’s shareworthy?