It’s been a year since I updated this blog, mostly due to not having any updates on my writing. I want to confirm: I’m not dead.

I’m here to be entirely honest.

I did a ton of historical research for a Tudor-era novel. When it came time to write the thing, it just didn’t feel right. It could potentially be a great book in the future but the lack of information available (or at least available to me) about a certain aspect of that time period bothered me. I decided to shelve the project and try something else.

Once again, I dove into research and cobbled together the backbone of a novel set in the late 18th century. I’ve written about 6000 words of that… and I am finding just no joy in it. No joy in the story and no joy in the process of writing it. My novels are a form of escapism with silliness involved. But for one reason or another, I’m having a hard time finding that silliness on the page.

I’m so eager to write something but anything I start just seems not good enough. I’m hesitant to blame this feeling on writer’s block because that seems the easy way out. But maybe?

My day job is fulfilling, yes, but it’s also incredibly mentally exhausting. Combine that with *gestures vaguely to the world* and you get, well, an author who just doesn’t feel up to the challenge right now. I’m finding joy in reading and doing crafts, and being away from a screen.

Other Reasons

Since I published my last book in February 2024, the publishing landscape has changed considerably. Historical romance as a genre is struggling, so much so that Harlequin recently announced they are ceasing their historical romance line. News like that is very discouraging for someone who has three histrom books published and was considering writing more.

There is also the looming shadow of generative AI. My books and millions of others were ALLEGEDLY pirated by Meta employees in order to provide well-produced text to their AI training data. There are many authors out there trying to fight these mega corporations in court. There are many authors who shrug this clear misuse of creative work and intellectual property. Some have adapted their writing and publishing process to include tools like ChatGPT to publish books faster, using it to replace editors, designers, and even themselves—in that they are having ChatGPT write their book for them.

The whole thing is incredibly disheartening. The human element of creativity is slipping away and I hate it. There has always been a pressure, especially within independent publishing, to publish books very quickly. This pressure is now multiplied exponentially. It’s also harmful to the environment, the power grid, and the water supply. Using generative AI to write will degrade your writing skills. I simply don’t want any part of that.

TLDR

I don’t know what my next book will be or when it will happen. I probably won’t update this website or my newsletter again until I have a first draft of something ready to go. Until then, my friends, be safe and find joy where you can.