Monthly Update – September 2026: Family, Writing, and Adventures

Photo by Pascal Debrunner on Unsplash

What happened in August? Baseball season has officially started for my son again! He’s got a good team this year. I’m looking forward to some great games. My son’s chosen to join band this year. He’s played piano and guitar in the past, but this is the first time he’s chosen what instrument he plays. Trumpet. Never had a brass instrument in the family, as we’ve always been a woodwind kind of crew. But I’m excited to see where this brass journey takes us. He seems to really like it, and bonus – I don’t have to remind him to practice!

My daughter got her braces off. Hello straight teeth and retainers! My husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary in style at some swanky hotel in Atlanta. Nice room, incredible food and beaucoup relaxation.

Went to my kids’ school’s open houses/curriculuum nights and met the teachers. They’re gonna be learning a lot this year. Both kids got their first colds of the season. At least we got that out of the way.

Had a girls night with my sisters, and I think my baby sister may have found a new beau. We shall see…

What did I work on this past month, you ask? I finished the screenplay version of my vampire story. I’m currently editing my vampire novel down to under 100,000 words (it was roughly 139,000 words). I’m editing it to match industry standards for a paranormal romance, as I continue my querying journey and search for a literary agent.

In addition, I was selected to be one of 80 women to be part of the Storehouse Voices / Women & Words event in New York next month after submitting my vampire novel for consideration back in June! I’ve never been to New York, guys. I am beyond excited.

I continued marketing my very first self-published book, Our Secret Intentions on my socials. And I set up my virtual bookstore on this very website. You can purchase a signed copy here or purchase directly from other retailers here and here!

I officially set up my imprint, Black Emerald Press, as a real LLC. I learned a lot about the behind-the-scenes business side, like getting a business bank account, learning new accounting software, and setting up Square.

Two indie bookstores reached out to me directly – one to set up a wholesale arrangement, and one that invited me to participate in my very first book fair! Check out the flyer below:

As always, I like to keep up with the literary world and curl up with some good books. I read nine books in August, four of which I rated 4 stars or above. Here are the highlights!

Score (Book 2 of Hollywood Renaissance series) by Kennedy Ryan

I checked out the Kindle version from the library. I loved their love story. Monk was a great MMC who truly cared about Verity. It was sad how they lost 10 years together because she was scared of letting him in and telling him the truth. I understand she had to get the help she needed.

It was a bit repetitive. I didn’t like that she ghosted Petra. It was Petra who called for help that one night. I thought they’d talk it out as friends later, but they didn’t.

Monk wore his heart on his sleeve. He’d sometimes talk to himself, especially when he’d scold himself about letting Verity back in when he didn’t trust her and feared she’d break his heart again. The casual sex thing? It went on for too long. Neither of them treated it like it was casual. But at least when they were angry, they talked it out and didn’t let misunderstandings fester.

I was glad he called her out when they ran into each other in Brooklyn. And then on set, at first it was hostile, but then they couldn’t deny their clear attraction and being drawn to one another. He tried not to get too close. But they both got jealous when others would dance with them or whatever.

She had a great support team. I’m glad she had friends who went through bipolar disorder too. She told him the whole truth when he was gonna break up with her again because he couldn’t trust her. And that’s what drew him in even further. But it didn’t solve everything. They still fought when he suspected she was going through another manic cycle, and she got defensive. But he was always there. I’d never read a book featuring a character with bipolar disorder. It was a scary thing to go through, and I’m glad Ms. Ryan did her research. She always does. Love her.

They had mad sexual chemistry. A lot of spice in this. I’ve never read a romance where the man lets a woman peg him. (Had to look that one up). Overall enjoyable.

4.25/5 stars

Role Model (Book 5 of Game Changers series) by Rachel Reid

I listened to this on Libby. You can read my review for another book in this series here.

An easy, breezy way to spend the afternoon. Not much conflict, and what was there was easily resolved. The two leads were fun. Some things they didn’t get into – why give the sunshine guy a heart thing if it wasn’t gonna be a thing?

I liked Troy and Harris together. Troy was relatable – awkward. Coming off as grumpy, aloof and misunderstood.

They fell for each other, but even though Troy was a millionaire hockey player, he still felt like Harris was too good for him. Humbling. I’m glad they found each other. They were perfect. I liked Ilya in this. Troy came out to Ilya first. A fun story. When the book leaves you grinning, you know it’s good. 

4.5/5 stars

Rescued by a Bad Boy (Prequel in Bad Boy Bakers Series) by Kait Nolan

I listened to this on audible. This author really brought me in. It was intense. I felt for the MMC right away. They grew up together in foster care. All he wanted to do was protect her. I loved how he rushed to save her from her terrible foster dad.

I didn’t love that the FMC was 17, and he was clearly out of high school. Maybe he was 18 or 19 years old. And the author clearly states that the shenanigans take place the day before she turns 18. I guess it needed to be that way. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had to be in foster care and could’ve left whenever she wanted.

Sometimes, when the author was buttoning up a scene, she tried to make it light by adding a joke. But I didn’t think anything in this story was light, so it felt a little out of place to me. In the end, there were a lot of unanswered questions that made me incredibly curious to keep reading this series.

4.25/5 stars

Mixed up with the Marine (Book 1 of the Bad Boy Bakers series) by Kait Nolan

I also listened to this on audible. Overall, I enjoyed it. I’m not sure that I liked it as much as the prequel, but it was still a pretty well-written book. They had mad chemistry. They never stopped loving each other.

It was a generic bad guy at the end. Somebody we don’t know or care about set out to finish the job that didn’t get done when she was shot 10 years ago next to her dad. Some surprises in here I don’t want to spoil. I love that they found their way back to each other. He was maybe a little too perfect. He blamed himself for not fighting for her more, and for ignoring her letters. None of it was his fault, so him taking the blame? It felt a bit much, but that’s his cross to bear, I guess. Overall, it was a cute love story.

4/5 stars

Thanks for reading!