Road Trips, Meltdowns, and the Next Caught Reading Story
A road trip through Idaho, Montana, and Canada, the publication of my first Caught Reading novella, a near computer-induced meltdown, and the surprising discovery that some restaurants serve steak with spaghetti. Plus a sneak peek at what's coming next in the Caught Reading series.
While everyone else was sightseeing in Canada, I was sightseeing the inside of a hotel room and contemplating whether computers can survive being launched out a window.
It’s been a nutcase of a week, y’all.
Shenanigans receive a big fat checkmark.
Swoon?
Not so much.
I did manage to publish my very first Caught Reading novella, When the Heart Seems Broken, which is now available on Kindle Unlimited, so that’s exciting. Getting there, however, came with a healthy dose of stress.
Between college classes, preparing for our road trip to Canada, and then spending two straight days in the car, things have been a little chaotic.
Of course, the hotel we stayed at had no working internet.
Naturally.
So after two days of driving, I spent the next two days hidden away in our hotel room trying to catch up on assignments. Emphasis on trying. Several were submitted late, and now I get to play the same game again this week.
Yay.
So freaking exciting.
Insert dripping sarcasm here.
To top it all off, I had a full-on ugly-cry meltdown because the YouTube ad I’d spent all day working on was finally almost finished when I clicked the wrong button and everything disappeared.
Gone.
Vanished into the digital abyss.
Since it was a new program I was learning, I had to redo the entire thing from scratch. At that particular moment, throwing my computer out the hotel window had never sounded more appealing.
The good thing is that, although I had almost no time to swoon over my next Caught Reading story, I did get to visit a couple of places I’ve used in my books.
We drove through Helena, Montana, and spent a night in Deer Lodge, Montana, a town I chose as a setting for Flames of the Fire.
The funny thing?
Deer Lodge looked absolutely nothing like I had imagined it. Granted, my story takes place in the 1800s Wild West, but the entire area felt completely different from the picture I’d built in my head.
Sometimes it’s best to leave even real places to your imagination.
Just saying. 😂
Anyway, if you’ve wondered why I’ve been a little quiet lately, now you know.
Between deadlines, road trips, disappearing projects, and ugly crying in Canada, life has been keeping things interesting.
But in the middle of all that chaos, another Caught Reading story has already started demanding attention.
Because apparently my imagination does not believe in rest.
Coming Next in the Caught Reading Series…
Mattie Graham thought losing her father and brothers was the worst thing that could happen to her.
She was wrong.
After tragedy leaves her alone in the world, the outspoken daughter of a Northern senator is sent to Georgia to live with wealthy relatives she barely knows. Surrounded by people who defend everything she was raised to oppose, Mattie quickly discovers that Heron Marsh Oaks is filled with secrets, danger, and men who believe a woman should know her place.
Determined to stay true to herself, Mattie refuses to remain silent in the face of cruelty.
Her courage earns her both admirers and enemies. Among them are Hugh Everton, the charming son of a neighboring plantation owner, and Sheriff Jacob Hayes, a quiet lawman whose steady presence proves difficult to ignore. As tensions rise and loyalties are tested, Mattie finds herself caught between the expectations of Southern society and the convictions she refuses to abandon.
But speaking the truth comes at a cost.
When Mattie’s defiance places her directly in the path of a vicious enemy, she becomes the target of men willing to use violence to silence her forever.
Far from home and surrounded by people she cannot fully trust, Mattie must decide whether to surrender to fear—or keep fighting for what she believes is right.
Because some battles are worth risking everything for.
And sometimes the people who seem safest hide dangerous secrets...
While the ones who stand quietly in the background may be willing to risk everything to protect you.
A sweeping historical romance filled with courage, family conflict, suspense, and a slow-burning love set against the turbulent years before the Civil War.
More soon… assuming my computer, the internet, and my sanity all cooperate.
No promises. 😂
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