August 2026

Hello friends. How are you doing? In the Northern Hemisphere, the dog days of summer are almost over. That pesky Sirius star will stop rising with the sun, and it will be just normal hot. Hopefully you are staying cool and having a great, relaxing time, taking a break, going on vacation, having a staycation, or whatever it is you want to be doing. 

Me? What am I doing? Reading and writing. One of the best times Lea and I ever had on a trip was when we rented a place that looked out at the ocean, and we sat facing the ocean while we read books. That is our little slice of heaven right there. People ask me all the time how I have time to write as much as I do, and the reason is that we really love our house, we love our view, we have books to read and devices that allow us to write and be creative, and so we just sort of do that. 

The only downside to all of that reading and writing and being creative is that I consume a lot of stories, and so, because I’ve read some amazing stuff, I’ve created my own standards for what I like. Some books I read are five-star, amazing, out-of-this-world epic books that I will totally read again. Unfortunately, on the other end are some books that end up on my DNF list. For some reason or another, those books simply didn’t resonate with me. 

In the past month, I’ve run into a few books that I couldn’t finish. Similarly, there have been a few TV shows we stopped watching after one or one and a half episodes. I never go into any book or movie, or work of art, with the hope that I will dislike it. I want everything to be good. I have never picked up a book, movie, album, or any work of art with the hope that I will hate it. Even if it isn’t for me, I still want the thing to be good.

It bums me out when I stop something, not necessarily because it was a huge waste of time, because art is never a waste of time, even art I don’t like, but because I think about how it was that I came across the piece of art in the first place. The reality of the situation is, most art goes unnoticed. Right now, there is some amazing indie author whose book has six reviews because she doesn’t have the money to pay for constant banner ads at the top of Goodreads or Amazon. Right now, there is some singer/songwriter who has written your next favorite song, but you’ll never hear it because the algorithm on your streaming service won’t push that song, or the indie artist doesn’t have enough support to get played on the regular radio, so they just sort of disappear into obscurity. 

I get it though. I do. Affordability is a real word, and budgets are tight. The smaller artists don’t have the money to push their art, and the consumers don’t want to drop 10 bucks on something they’ve never heard of. It is safer to pick the book that was named as the book club choice on your favorite morning show, or by your favorite celebrity. I will admit that I’ve found some amazing writers that way, so I’m not saying those things are bad, but I am saying that those things take up so much space and make so much noise that the other folks don’t have room. 

Still, there are tons of things people can do to help those indie artists break through. The ideas are totally free, but they do take some time and attention. If you are out and about in the world and have some time to kill, go to the library and just wander the stacks. Start with the newly released books, and if nothing catches your eye, just wander. You can do the same thing by picking up a DVD or CD from the library. There is literally no risk to you. It’s free, AND maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised. 

If you don’t want to leave the house, you can download library apps and do the same thing. Scroll through the “available now” books, or movies, or albums and just take a shot. You can search by your favorite genre or by your favorite audiobook narrator and see what happens. If you don’t like it, you can just stop. If you do like it, you can tell a friend, or recommend it for a book club, or leave a review on a website somewhere, or reply to me and tell me what great thing you are reading that I should read so I can feature it in my Notes from my Bookshelf section, or all of the above. 

Indie art matters. Spread the word. 

Notes From My Headphones

There is a singer/songwriter called Steph Hayes, who put out a few albums back in the 2010s, and she sort of faded away. To be fair, I only heard of her because Lea discovered her and added her to a playlist. Since you have signed up for an author’s newsletter, I can promise that you will love her song “Banned Books.” Lyrically, it is genius. Sonically, it is a lo-fi masterpiece. Please, listen. Let me know what you think. 

Eric Hutchinson is still an active singer/songwriter. Lea and I have seen him live 5 or 6 times, and we’ve never been disappointed. He has a big 70s throwback vibe with his vocal and musical arrangements. His most recent song, a duet with Tess Henley called “Anything You Need,” is a fun song with a fun video of animals doing cute animal things. My favorite song of his by far is “Good Rhythm.” Please check out this amazing live solo performance. Are you not entertained? 

Notes From My Bookshelf

I am lucky enough to call multi-hyphenate talented person Alyson Shelton a friend. She is a filmmaker, writer, podcaster, poet, and really, really genuinely super nice. Her comic Reburn is one of my all-time favorites. She contributed to and edited a collection about sibling loss called The Loss of a Lifetime. The essays are moving and heartfelt. As a sidenote, Lea was the copy editor on that book, so that is really cool too. Please check out her website, read her work, and leave her reviews. In fact…I owe her a few myself. Sorry Alyson. 

A few months ago, I picked up an ARC of Eleanor Wells’ All Our Yesterdays. It is the first book in the Velvet Records series about the music industry in the late 90s and early 2000s. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. There are a lot of very specific GenX references in the first book, so I am looking forward to being seen in the rest of the series as well. 

Notes From My Keyboard

Currently, in the pages of Regardless of You, the final installment in The Austen Chronicles, Walt and Winnie are on an epic roadtrip. They are having a great time. They deserve it. Things are about to go sideways. In the previous books in the series, I found myself delaying these big moments by adding another chapter or two just to hold off the inevitable hard thing they must face. I just hate to hurt them, but I know I must. That is the story. I already know there will be at least one more chapter once they get back to Mansfield, before the earth shakes, so I have a bit of time.

In other big news, Jane is now available for pre-order. You can get it from your favorite local bookstore IRL, or you can get it directly from the publisher and get a discount. If you can’t wait to get your hands on the book and want to read a digital Advanced Reader Copy, I have included one for you. All you have to do is click here. It will take you to my Google Drive, and you can download the watermarked PDF. If you do read the ARC, I would really, really appreciate it if you leave me a review on Goodreads or on StoryGraph or wherever you leave book reviews. That really helps me get the word out.