Happy February, readers! It may have been a short month, but the writing life was surprisingly busy.
Checking Off the Boxes
- Completed final edits for Dusk Shall Weep! Watch my awkward celebratory video here.
- Created launch team graphics. Sign up here to join the team and receive an e-ARC. Application open until March 1.
- Attended the Catholic Writers Guild Online Conference, February 24-26
- Started to turn my chaotic notes into an outline for Larksong Legacy #3, Sparks Fly Upward
- Started to brainstorm on launch day features and budget-friendly giveaways. What would you like to see?
Triple Cover Reveal!
Over the past months, I’ve worked on several cover designs and can finally share details for three of them. I have absolutely loved working with these amazing authors and helping to make their inspirational stories shine. Make sure to check out their work, available soon!
12 Days of Courting Miss Thomas by Dani Renee – 1850s Historical Romance, standalone novella – Available in March for free to subscribers of Dani’s newsletter
Cathey’s Creek Road by Hannah Hood Lucero – Young Adult Contemporary Romance, standalone – available May 16, 2023
Through Thorny Ways by Jennifer Q. Hunt – 1920s Historical Fiction, Book 1 of Wisteria House – available June 20, 2023
Current Inspiration
In Dusk Shall Weep, one of the central storylines involves the Chinook tribe in Washington State. Much of my research of the Chinook came from James Gilchrist Swan’s 1857 book, The Northwest Coast; or, Three Years’ Residence in Washington Territory. He discusses the area around the Querquelin stream, or Mouse River, where a Chinook village had been abandoned due to the chief’s death and fear of evil spirits, whom only “Boston men” (aka white men) could tame. Once the settlers moved into the village, the natives quickly returned to trade with them. This story is one of many I incorporated into Dusk Shall Weep. Chinook customs of head flattening, slavery, spirit quests, funeral customs, howqua shells, and salmon fishing are also included, as are authentic Native American names.
Faithful Fiction Book Club
Over on Instagram, I co-host the Faithful Fiction Book Club with historical fantasy author, Susan Laspe. For our first quarter book, we’re reading In a Far-Off Land by Stephanie Landsem and will be chatting live with the author on March 21 at 7 CST/8 EST (note the date change from 3/14). Thank you to Stephanie for taking time out of her March 7 release of Code Name Edelweiss to join us!
Released in February
Need another read? Here are the February releases I’m excited about:
- In Spotlight and Shadow by Rachel Scott McDaniel – brings to life classic Hollywood, the symphony, and the stage
- The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy – life, love, and family ties in the 1910s circus
- A New Day Dawning by Sara Whitley – inspirational pro-life fiction
- The Cairo Curse by Pepper Basham – “Clue meets Indiana Jones with a fiction-loving twist”
- The Desolate World by Kortney Keisel – a prequel novella to her witty and romantic dystopian series
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Kelsey Gietl 