The 12 Days of Holly Chase

Tis the season for reading Christmas books!

This year my Christmas novel, THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE, is out in paperback for the first time, and I am doing my best to promote it like crazy this holiday season. It is a young adult retelling of the classic story, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, in which the Scrooge is a spoiled California socialite named Holly Chase.

What the book's about: 

Holly starts out by being visited by the three ghosts and taking a good hard look at how she's been living her life, (as a horrible human being) but instead of repenting and promising to do better, Holly refuses to change. In other words, she's a Scrooge without the normal happy ending and the "God Bless Us, Every One" moment. The company who works to rescue and rehabilitate a Scrooge-like person every year fails to fix Holly, and not too long afterwards, she's killed in a freak accident. She wakes up (or as nearly as one can "wake up" after being killed) in Project Scrooge's company headquarters, where she is informed that her eternal punishment is going to be to serve as the Ghost of Christmas Past for the rest of eternity. Which is totally going to put a damper on her social life . . .

And all that is just what happens in CHAPTER ONE.

I had so much fun writing this book, and I'm so thrilled to be sharing it with readers this holiday season. On that note, we're doing a promotion called TWELVE DAYS OF HOLLY CHASE, which will include a blog tour, a bookstagram tour, a live video chat, and a bunch of amazing giveaways. It starts today! Check out the sites below on the appropriate day to get in on all the fun!

Blog Tour: 

12/3 Little Book Worm Reviews

12/4 Haunted by Books

12/5 The Ultimate Fangirl

12/6 The YA Book Traveler

12/7 Vicky Who Reads  

12/8 Novel Knight  

12/9 A Court of Crowns and Quills

12/10 That Artsy Reader Girl

12/11 Wild and Wonderful Reads

12/12 The Clever Reader

12/13 BookCrushin

12/14 Mary Had A Little Book Blog

Bookstagram Tour:

12/3 - @erinsummerill

12/4 - @moonlight_rendezvous

12/5 - @shutupnread  

12/6 - @_magicbookdom_  

12/7 - @latestreads

12/8 - @heyatlascreative

12/9 - @bookrockbetty

12/10 - @saltybadgerbooks

12/11 - @oh.hey.books

12/12 - @fromlibrarywithlove

12/13 - @unicornbiblio

12/14 - @novel.novice

I am super excited to see all this new Holly Chase content and thrilled to be able to give away so much stuff. I had custom ornaments made for me to sign and give away, I am throwing in a few of my favorite Christmas movies, and I have knitted handmade hats and mitts to bestow upon the lucky winners.

Even if you don't win the giveaway, there's some great things I have to give to you.

First,

A trailer in a pear tree:

The talented Sarah Kershaw at https://yourbooktravels.com made this trailer, and I am in love with it. I love it even more because it features an original song that was written and recorded by my bestie and grad school roommate Lindsey Hunt for her new album.

And the second treat, to anyone who wants it, is

a custom-made Christmas card from ME, 

signed by me, of course, and stuffed with as much swag as I can fit in the envelope. This would also be a good opportunity to get your book's "signed" by me, too. Just let me know how many you need, and I will send along some signed bookplates.

Just click this link and fill out the form, and the card (and stuff) will be coming your way!

News, Covers, Movies, and Mitts

I've got a big news build up for you this time, so brace yourself. There's a lot.

1. THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE is going to be out in only TWO WEEKS! I had the idea for this novel years ago, so I am so excited for it to be finally seeing the light of day. Holly is the modern-day Ebenezer Scrooge, which was so fun to write. I can't wait for you to meet her. Go here to the book page where you can find out more and click one of these links to pre-order: HarperCollins / Amazon / Barnes & Noble /  iBooks / Indiebound

the first hardcover has arrived and it is soooooo shiny

Look at the back! Gah!

I'm going to do a special pre-order giveaway-- the first hundred people who preorder the book (email me at writercynthiahand@gmail.com with a screenshot of your completed order) will get a personalized Holly Chase card, signed by me, and something from a fun selection of Christmas-oriented swag.

Show me that you're spreading the word about THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE, by tweeting about it, adding to your To Read pile on Goodreads, doing a post on your website or blog, or Instasharing, (again, email me with your screenshots or tag me in the posts) and you'll be entered to win even more great prizes, like:

a Christmas hat, knitted by moi

a pair of Christmas fingerless mitts, also knitted by yours truly

a special Holly Chase themed Christmas ornament

a signed and personalized hardcover of The Afterlife of Holly Chase

signed copies of some of my other books

signed bookplates and bookmarks

and a bunch more!

So spread the word! And keep checking back, because there are going to be a lot more giveaways and fun events as we get closer to Christmas.

2. The Afterlife of Holly Chase is also coming to Australia on 10-23-17. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cover--look!

Squee! It captures the book so perfectly! I can't even!

3.  I've also spent a big chunk of the past few weeks trying to get Holly Chase on the road to becoming a movie, which has been so exciting and stressful. (No movie news I can share yet, but I've got my fingers crossed.)

Me hanging out with Napoleon on the lot at Fox, where we were pitching TAoHC

So yeah, I have Holly Chase on the brain.

But . . .

4. The Janies also have a new book coming out--in June 2018, to be exact. And it now has a COVER. We will be revealing the cover TOMORROW, so head over tomorrow to www.ladyjanies.com to check it out.

5. It's fall! (Okay, this is only going to be news to people in, say, California.) Fall is my favorite season: I love sweaters, leaves, and KNITTING. I have been knitting up a storm.

You too, could have fingerless mitts, but these are mine.

6. I got a puppy. Her name is Poesy. The cats are not thrilled.

Poesy also clearly digs fall.

7. I'm going to be doing a few events around the release of Holly Chase, mostly in Idaho, but also in Miami and some other places. Check out the Events tab to find out where and when.

That's it--all the news I can think to share right now. Don't forget to enter the giveaway, and look for the MY PLAIN JANE cover tomorrow.

xoxo

C

Cover Reveal

As promised, today I'm going to show you all the cover to my new book, THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE, which is coming to bookstores on November 7, 2017.

But first, here's the description:

On Christmas Eve five years ago, Holly was visited by three ghosts who showed her how selfish and spoiled she'd become. They tried to convince her to mend her ways.

She didn't.

And then she died.

Now she's stuck working for the top-secret company Project Scrooge--as the latest Ghost of Christmas Past.

Every year, they save another miserly grouch. Every year, Holly stays frozen at seventeen while her family and friends go on living without her. So far, Holly's afterlife has been miserable.

But this year, everything is about to change. . . .


Woohoo, so exciting! So, ready to see???!!!!!


Here you go:

I love this cover so much!!!!! I should point out that it's going to be printed on foil, so everything that is white here is actually going to be a sparkly silver color. I love the symbols: the coffin, the roses, the snowflakes, the candle, the stars, the tiny lightning bolts, all of which are so important to the story. I also love the way the detailing on the edges hearkens back to that older style of book, like my own tiny copy of A CHRISTMAS CAROL.

*in cover love*

*swoons*

So what do you think? Let me know in the comments below. And be sure to take part in this giveaway, where I will give one lucky reader my first copy of the ARC. (One of the ways to enter the contest is to comment below. . .)

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Paperback Promotion

So this week THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE is coming to paperback, and to celebrate (and to try to er, promote it), I am going to do an exclusive giveaway to help get the word out. So tell your friends--if this is a book you think they'd like to read, NOW is the time to get it.

Between now and Tuesday only, when you buy the paperback, I will send you a signed THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE bookmark (while supplies last). All you have to do to receive this is to :

1. Email me a screenshot of your purchase or your receipt or whatever form of proof you can produce that you've bought the book during this promotion time.

2. In the email, tell me your mailing address. Please make sure it's complete.

3. If you're interested in winning a signed advanced copy of MY LADY JANE, click on the rafflecopter contest below and follow the instructions. No international entries, sorry. You can get an entry for just tweeting about the contest, but you'll get FIVE entries if you actually bought the TLTWSG paperback.

4. Enjoy TLTWSG while you wait for your awesome bookmark (and possibly, your ARC)!

5. Accept my many many thanks. You rock.


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Young Adult Scavenger Hunt

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This tri-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive TWENTY signed books, one book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are THREE contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the GOLD TEAM--

but there is also a red team  and a blue team for chances to win a whole different set of twenty signed books!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage. 

Scavenger Hunt Puzzle

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the gold team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!).

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by October 4, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

Scavenger Hunt Post

Today, I am hosting Pintip Dunn on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

Pintip Dunn

Pintip Dunn graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She then received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. She is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. She is a 2012 RWA Golden Heart® finalist and a 2014 double-finalist. She lives with my husband and children in Maryland.

Find out more information by checking out the author website!

Buy the book from here!

Imagine a world where your destiny has already been decided...by your future self.

It's Callie’s seventeenth birthday and, like everyone else, she's eagerly awaiting her vision―a memory sent back in time to sculpt each citizen into the person they're meant to be. A world-class swimmer. A renowned scientist.

Or in Callie's case, a criminal.

In her vision, she sees herself murdering her gifted younger sister. Before she can process what it means, Callie is arrested and placed in Limbo―a hellish prison for those destined to break the law. With the help of her childhood crush, Logan, a boy she hasn’t spoken to in five years, she escapes.

But on the run from her future, as well as the government, Callie sets in motion a chain of events that she hopes will change her fate. If not, she must figure out how to protect her sister from the biggest threat of all—Callie, herself. 

Exclusive Content -

FORGET TOMORROW – alternate opening

The following is the original opening of FORGET TOMORROW. I decided not to use this scene pretty early on – although I’ve always liked it, this scene didn’t fit the direction of the story.  What was originally scene two is now the opening of the book. Enjoy!

We’re learning in school that our ancestors believed in God. He took many forms, appearing sometimes as a single omniscient being and other times as a whole gang of deities.

“God was necessary,” Ms. Farnsworth lectures, tapping teal blue fingernails against her beaky nose, “because back then, in the pre-Boom era, time travel was nothing more than a theoretical possibility.”

She doesn’t add that time travel still isn’t possible, at least not for physical bodies. In the future, we’ve apparently figured out how to send memories back in time, but so far, the present’s yet to see evidence of an actual time-traveler. Unless, that is, you count Ms. Farnsworth, who seems stuck in a fashion-era of her own making.   

Even now, she tosses her pink feather boa around her shoulders as if she’s a flamenco dancer. Or a flamingo. “Any questions?”

            My hand shoots into the air. “You mean, our ancestors didn't have to wait until their 17th birthdays?” I blurt out. “They had this God’s comfort all of their lives?”

            My classmates gasp. Ms. Farnsworth blinks. Even my best friend Marissa knits her eyebrows like she’s just been pinched.

            What am I saying? This is blasphemy.

            Every citizen in the North Amerie is allotted one memory to fling into the space-time continuum, to be received by his or her seventeen-year-old self. The memory can be sent any time after the legal age, but conventional thinking advises waiting as long as possible, to ensure choosing a proper memory.

Sometimes, I feel as if I’ve been waiting all my life to turn seventeen. I measure my days not by my experiences but by the time remaining until I receive my memory, THE memory, the one that’s supposed to imbue meaning into my life.

They tell me, then, I won’t feel so alone. I’ll know, without a shred of doubt, that somewhere in another spacetime exists a future version of me, one who turns out alright. I’ll know who I’m supposed to be. And I’ll never feel lost again.

            Too bad I have to live through sixteen years of filler first.

“Calla Ann Stone.” Ms. Farnsworth’s high-pitched voice squeaks an octave higher. “I hope you’re not seriously suggesting that the Agency is mistaken in setting the age of receipt? You don’t actually believe that a sixteen-year-old is mature enough to handle future memory?”

            Right. As if a few months’ time will stop Bobby Fernandez from drawing pictures of his anatomy on his desk screen and turn him into a responsible adult.

I drop my eyes to the table. “Of course not.”

            Ms. Farnsworth sits in her chair and drums her hands along the edge of her desk, fingers dangerously close to the button embedded in the underside of the glass. “That’s not the way it sounded to me.”

            Eighteen pairs of eyes fix on her hands. The button is supposed to be a secret, but everyone knows it’s there. One push, and officials from ComA will descend on the school so quickly, you would think they were staked out in the trees. The button’s only been pressed twice since I’ve started school – once, when Mikey Russell made a ball fly across the racquetball court, without touching it, and the second time, when Lena Pereles flipped out and started hacking at the ComA’s Rulebook with a pair of scissors. I really don’t want to be number three. 

“Callie’s not herself today,” Marissa says, grabbing my arm. “She’s getting her memory tomorrow, remember? It’s enough to put anyone on edge.”

            Ms. Farnsworth purses her lips. My heart misses a few beats and then, thank the Fates, she moves her hand from the button.

            “I was hoping you could tell us about the time you received your memory,” Marissa continues. “It must have been so exhilarating, learning that you would someday become a teacher in this school.”

            “Well, I suppose I could.” Ms. Farnsworth pats the glass beads around her neck. “As you know, my class was one of the very first to receive the memories in a structured manner Before the Agency intervened, the memories struck individuals like a bolt of lightning – randomly but so vividly, it gave the survivors of the Dark Days the hope they needed to rebuild the future…”

I mouth “thank you” to Marissa. We turn to our desk screens, and I tap out a word here and there, barely comprehending what I’m typing.

It’s over. I’m safe. She didn’t report me. 

And then I hear, from somewhere behind me, in a voice so low it might just be my imagination: “It’s not like the Agency has any control over it.”

Enter the Contest

And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Cynthia Hand, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 37. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the green team and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

Continue the Hunt

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author! Click here!

Enter The Extra ARC Giveaway

In honor of this special event, I'm going to give away 1 extra signed copy of THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE. Just follow the directions in the rafflecopter below:

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Another Giveaway and A Bit of News

Wow, time is moving fast. THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE comes out in two weeks!

I got another wonderful package in the mail--5 real copies of the Australian version of TLTWSG.

Pretty, right?(See below for how another rafflecopter, where you can win a copy or one of the last 2 ARCs before the book actually comes out.)

Which brings us to how, yes, TLTWSG is going to be available in some other countries:

Here's the list so far:

• Australia from HarperAustralia (Happy sigh--I love my Australian fans and I will someday finally get over there to meet them!)
• Italy from Harlequin Mondadori
• Germany from Darkiss
• Hungary from Maxim Konyvkiado

I also wanted to announce that TLTWSG will be available as both an ebook and an audiobook, all out on February 10th.


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Update on Foreign Editions

Thanks to everybody who tweeted and blogged and posted about this giveaway. It's been so fun! So far I have taken 3 trips to the post office and made a lot of people cranky with how many packages I had to mail. But it was worth it.

I still have a lot of books left, but I am out of the British, Australian, German, Taiwanese, and Polish copies.

I do have a lot of the Brazilian, Danish, Croatian, Czech / Slovak, and a few Lithuanian, a few Hungarian, and a few of the Australian audio versions.

I also have a few of the Hallowed paperbacks, the US style, and the Boundless ARCs to give away to anybody who tweets or posts about the giveaway.

Thanks again, everybody.

Peace out.

C

Unearthly Foreign Edition Giveaway

I've been quiet lately, writing a new book. I can't tell you much about the book yet, except to say that it's a contemporary stand-alone and it will likely be out in Winter 2015 (sorry, it takes me a LONG time to write books), and it's on a subject that's near and dear to my heart.

So I've been quiet, because my mind is occupied with something that I can't share with you. And I've been busy with my summer.

But school is starting in a couple weeks and I will crawl out of my writerly hidey hole and brush myself off and hang out on Twitter and this blog and facebook and all the places again. I promise.

In the meantime, I am trying to clean up my house to prepare for school. This week, as I was cleaning, one thing became abundantly clear:

I have too many books.

That's kind of a given, I know.

But I noticed this time I was organizing said books that I have WAY TOO MANY foreign editions of my books. I mean, I love that I get free copies of my foreign editions. I love their awesome covers. I love to flip through to see how a foreign language translates some of my favorite lines:

"Schwing dich schon rein, Karotte." German translation of Tucker's: "Get your butt in here, Carrots." Hee.

I also love to read the acknowledgements section of the book to my friends and family who are in the acknowledgements. This is good fun.

But I do not really need, say, 12 copies of the Polish version of Unearthly. I look at those copies, and I even feel a little guilty. People could be reading these books. People who are not me, because I cannot read Polish. The only foreign language I can fluently read is French, which is ironic, because France is one of the only European countries not to buy the foreign rights for Unearthly. :) It's a shame for all these books to be sitting here gathering dust.

This is just one of the many places where I have stashed my foreign editions.

Therefore I am going to have a big giveaway.

Now before you get too excited, let me just say out front that I am only going to send these books to U.S. addresses, which, I know, sucks. But I looked up how much it would cost to send 12 copies of Unearthly to separate people in Poland and it was more than $200. Which I honestly can't afford.

So. Here's the terms of my giveaway. I am giving away free signed copies of my foreign editions from the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Taiwan, Turkey, and the UK. Yes, free. I will give them away on a first come, first serve basis.

BUT I will only send to people in the U.S. Which can work out one of 3 ways:

1. You can speak/read the language the book is translated into (which will be easy for the UK and Australian versions, although if I get a flood of requests for these books I will give preference to those who are natives of Australia or Great Britain. Because these books are really for you.) and you are currently residing in the United States. Awesome. Free book for you. Scroll down my list and see which copies I have. Then just shoot me an email at writercynthiahand@gmail.com and follow these instructions exactly:

• Use the term "foreign edition giveaway" in the email's heading, so it will not get lost in the scary black hole that is my business email.

• Give me your name, your full US address (you'd be surprised at how many requests I get for things where the requester doesn't include the zip code, to which I say ARGH), and what copies of which books you would like me to send you. To be fair, please do not ask for copies of multiple languages, like a UK and a Croatian version, for instance. And do not ask for multiple copies of 1 book, like 2 copies of the German edition of Boundless, for instance, unless you can give me a very, very good reason. (I will listen to very good reasons.) I am also happy to send you the foreign editions of all 3 books (Unearthly, Hallowed, and Boundless) if I have them.

• Be patient, because I will wait to gather a bunch to go to the post office, and I will send these at Book Rate, which is slower than a cold snail.

• Enjoy your book. Shoot me an email if you find part of the translation that is particularly funny or beautiful. As a wordsmith, I love to hear about how the meaning can be changed in translation.

• When you get your book, it would be nice, and make my foreign publishers very happy indeed, if you would say something about the book to someone: tweet or blog or write a review or something like that. This is not a requirement, of course, but it would be nice. It would also be AWESOME if you would email me a picture of you holding your book, so I can put together an "Unearthly Around the World" video.

2.  You can speak the language the book is translated into, but you do not live in the U.S. But you do have a wonderful friend who DOES live in the U.S. who will agree to mail the book to you once they receive it. Then just follow all of the above steps except give me your friend's name and US address, and be even more patient, because it's going to take even longer.

3. You can speak the language the book is translated into, but you don't live in the U.S. and you don't have a friend willing to mail you the book. In this case, sit tight. I will be having a giveaway raffle for the rest of my foreign editions in a few months.

So here we go. The list:

Australia / New Zealand copies of all 3 books

Australia! I have 8 copies each to give away of Unearthly, Hallowed, and Boundless. Aren't the covers divine? I love these. I also love that in this book Clara calls her mother "Mum" and it describes the forest fire as a "bush fire." I want to go to Australia in the worst way. It's actually on my bucket list. So, as I mentioned, anybody who speaks English can receive this book but I will give first dibs to readers who are actually from Australia and New Zealand (I didn't forget you, New Zealand!).






Brazilian? (I think?)  version of Book 2. 7 paperback copies

Croatian copies of Hallowed and Unearthly

Croatia:

I have the following editions:

4 hardcover and 5 paperbacks of Krila Andela (Unearthly, Book 1)

2 hardcover and 4 paperbacks of Sjena Andela (Hallowed, Book 2)

I love how they've added wings to the original US cover and made Clara blonder--very cool.







Czech / Slovak edition, 9 hardcover copies of Unearthly (Nadpozeska) , Book 1

Danish edition: 2 paperback copies of Unearthly

 

German copies of all 3 books

Germany:

Sadly, I don't have that many of these. I have 5 of Unearthly (Dunkle Flammen), 2 of Hallowed (Heiliges Feuer) and 1 of Boundless (Himmelsbrand), all in paperback.

Sidenote: can somebody tell me the translation of these titles?

Another sidenote: Fun fact: In the first draft of Boundless, the first scene took place in Germany, while Clara and Angela were visiting there. My editor made me change it to all happen in Italy (which made sense), and then later those scenes ended up being a totally different book: Radiant.

Another fun fact: Radiant is available as an ebook only, EXCEPT for in Turkey, where you can also buy the hard copy, or you will be able to very soon.

Hungary: 5 hardcover copies of Hallowed, Book 2. Not sure why, but I don't have any copies of Book 1



Poland: 2 copies each of Unearthly and Hallowed, paperback
 

Turkish editions

Turkey:

5 copies of Koruyucu (Unearthly, Book 1)
6 copies of Kutsanmis (Hallowed, Book 2)

Both are paperback.

Side note: When I was in college I spent a semester in Greece, Italy, and Turkey studying archeology, and I found Turkey to be the most surprising and wonderful place to visit. So much of their archeological sites are unspoiled.

Taiwan: 3 copies of Book 1, 2 copies of Book 2

 The UK:

6 paperback copies of Unearthly. Like I said, I will give these to anyone who speaks English, but will give preference to people originally from the UK.

Fun fact: When I was 7 I won a writing contest where the prize was a 10 day all-expense paid trip to England, Belgium, and France. I loved England so much, and tragically lost my rolls of film with all of my pictures. But I still remember the lavender gardens near my dorm at Cambridge. Sigh. On the ferry to Belgium I vowed to myself that I would come back someday. I haven't been back yet, but it's at the top of my to-do list. I want to take a writing retreat there with my friend Brodi Ashton so that we will have the right atmosphere to do a funny historical project together.

Also UK related: I have copies of the UK audio version of all 3 books: 2 copies of Unearthly, 3 copies of Hallowed, 4 copies of Boundless. These are CD recordings, unabridged, by Eloise Oxer.

And finally, if you had the patience to wait until the end, I am going to give away 5 paperbacks of Hallowed and 5 ARCs/hardcovers of Boundless to anybody who can show me that they tweeted / blogged / posted / pinned about this giveaway somewhere. I'll only send to the U.S., but I will give these away to anyone.

Happy reading, everyone!

I'll be back with regular posts soon. Soonish. When I am done with this new book.

xoxo

C