*Don't forget about the short story contest I announced last week! You can find the link to that here if you're interested in entering. 

This blog post is a long time coming. I know y'all are here for the aesthetics, so I'll keep my intro as brief as possible. But before we jump into some aesthetics and snippets from my upcoming debut novel, How We Rise, I thought I would tell you that at the end of this post are some updates about the book and what you can expect in these coming months.

But first, let's get to the aesthetics! (You can find the Pinterest board here.)


~ She looks out the large window near the table. Beyond the backyard, she sees something I don’t. “Ten minutes from here, out towards the farmland, they built a military base about one year after you left. It houses many soldiers, but it’s more than that. It’s where they take prisoners.”

~  I grab the keys for the moving truck off the counter, and we go outside. I lift the back door to the truck, revealing a huge amount of furniture and boxes . Raegan’s jaw drops slightly.
 “Careful,” I say. “You’ll catch flies.”
 She smirks. “Funny. I guess you really had to pack your whole life into here.”
 “I think this is more stuff than when we all left for California in the first place. My mom is a hoarder.”
 “I heard that,” my mom says, approaching the truck. “Less talking, more moving.”

~  Maybe they want you to fight, to rise above all of this,” Peter says. There is a knowing look in his eyes.
   I shake my head, a shiver running down my spine at the thought. “At the expense of everyone’s lives? Is it worth it?”

~ Peter takes a step closer. “Say something. Please. Your silence is unnerving.”
  I glance at him. “I’m usually pretty quiet.”
 “Never with me.”

~ I lean against the counter and cross my arms. “You are irritatingly accurate.”
  Peter smirks. “Well, you’re frustratingly stubborn.”

~ I close my eyes. “What if we fail?”
   I feel his hand slide down my arm to my hand. He grips it between both of his, his warmth pouring into me, scaring away the chill that shouldn’t even be in my body when it’s so hot outside. “What if we don’t?”




I finished the final round of edits for How We Rise, as given to me by my wonderful editor. So, upon celebrating that victory, I gave the final draft to my critique partners for a final proofread/look through before I go into formatting, which I begin this week!

I'm hoping to have my book ready for preorder by the end of this month!!

The final publication date is still under wraps, but you will be getting all that information very, very soon.

You may also be wondering... what about a book cover?

Don't worry, there is a cover, but that reveal will be later this month as well, probably when the book is available for preorder. Trust me, the cover is AMAZING and I can't wait to share it with you!

That's about it for the updates, but this month holds a lot of fun, exciting new things for my book and my career as an author.

If you want to stay more in the know about everything going on, make sure you follow me on Instagram, which you can find the link to my page at the end of this post or on the sidebar of my blog.

Let me know in the comments below what you're working on right now. I want to hear all about your current W.I.P.

Until next time...