When is a book truly born?

Happy 10th birthday, you rockstar!

September 17th is a date on the calendar that has a built-in familiarity to it, just as ingrained as my own birthday and those of my loved ones. While it is the day my debut novel Louder Than Love released into the world, I’ve been thinking a lot lately: when is a book truly born?

From the first glimmer of an idea – the kind that feels like a delicious secret, sparking excitement every time you return to it?

Or is it from the moment you place pen to paper, or your fingertips on the keyboard?

Is a book born when you finally type “THE END” and sit back, basking in the accomplishment?

I could go on to say maybe it’s the day you get “the call” or the contract in the mail, or the minute you push the “Publish” button in all the places this modern age lets you share your creative efforts.

Maybe it’s that first review – like a love letter in a bottle from a total stranger, washing ashore…just when you thought no one else was out there.

The birth day of a book, no matter where you place it in your timeline, is bracketed by a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs: triumphs, setbacks, frustrations and elations. Just like a book can elicit a whirlwind of emotions in a reader, consider the firestorm brewing inside a writer from the spark of conception to completion. Whew!

While today marks a decade of Adrian “Digger” Graves and the other characters in Louder Than Love, those folks have lived in my head for much longer than that. And, while a lot of authors tend to write a book and move on to the next one, I continue to be thoroughly entertained, challenged, sometimes tormented, and downright obsessed with the world borne out of this particular book.

And so it only seems fitting to announce, on this 10th anniversary…

GET WHAT YOU NEED

An entirely new Love & Steel story

Releasing in paperback and ebook in 2024

Ten years later, a return to Lauder Lake…


Do you use Bookbub, the free site that notifies you when books go on sale? I have an author page there, and if you “Follow” me, Bookbub will send you a personal note when I have a book sale through them. It’s easy – just click here and then on “Follow”, or click on the graphic below for visual reference.

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