Sunday Sips-September 5th, 2021

Happy Sunday!

I’m sitting outside on a beautifully mild day writing this and I cannot wait for more of these days. The weather says Fall but the calendar says Summer. Which to believe… Since my heart also says Fall, I’m going with Fall. Happy Autumn!

I said last month that I’m back on my chai tea latte kick and I’ve discovered something to really push things into Fall mode. Whenever I drive through my local Starbucks, I usually ask them their recommendation for a different flavored syrup to add in my chai tea latte. Well, this past week they suggested adding pumpkin cream (or maybe it’s called foam, I’m not sure) to the top instead and OMG it is to die for. It’s the perfect blend of my beloved chai flavor with hints of pumpkin creaminess added in. I highly recommend trying it if you haven’t.

Lately my Friday ritual has been to treat myself to a Starbucks followed by a car wash so this is me relaxing for all of 1.2 minutes drinking my delicious tea while riding through the car wash tunnel. And yes, I always think of the sexy car wash scene from my debut novel, *Detour*. IYKYK.

I have been listening to some amazing music lately. Some weeks are better than others of course but I find most new songs through the Release Radar, New Music Friday (both are new on Fridays), and Discover Weekly (new on Mondays) playlists on my *Spotify*. The more you listen to and like, the more tailored to your preferences the recommendations are I believe, and IMO they do a good job showing me the latest music that I actually enjoy. A couple of my faves this month are “My People (We Ready)” by Hidden Citizens and Bryce Fox, which gives me major *Creekwood* vibes, and most of Halsey’s new album, “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power”. I haven’t listened to all of the songs yet but “I Am Not A Woman, I’m a god” is fantastic. I just love that woman’s voice so much and am happy to hear new music from her. My music range has been pretty wide as I finish up writing my current WIP that’s a *rockstar romance* slated to release next year. There’s such a mix of genres on that book’s playlist and I can’t wait to share it publicly when we get closer.

Speaking of writing, I’ve been busy planning things out and I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on what’s coming in the next year. As I look at the calendar I’ve noticed I seem to have a slight favor to trying to publish in July and January. It makes sense as it *typically* takes me around 5 1/2 months to write, edit, and prepare a book for release. *The book* I wrote last year (oh, 2020) took me 7 months to write alone though. But I mean, can you really blame me? Our entire world was turned upside down and I found myself homeschooling my three children practically alone, not to mention our family made a move during that time as well. Other than that book, it usually takes me on average about 3 months to write a book followed by 1 1/2 months to self edit. What can I say? It’s not that I’m a slow editor, I’m extremely thorough. And maybe a little slow too. LOL. Overthinkers tend to take longer, plus it’s not something I feel comfortable rushing at this point in my baby author career. Maybe when I’ve got much much more experience under my belt, but for now, those are my typical timelines. With my three kids heading back to school this week, I’m hoping to get more words in and finish my rockstar romance featuring a rapper and popstar (who first appeared in my second Creekwood novel, *Changing Lanes*) ahead of schedule.

This will be my first year having a kid in each: high school (9th), middle school (6th), and elementary school (2nd). I’m not ready—emotionally. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I even have a teenager and preteen, now I gotta send them back to school after largely being fully remote for the last year and a half. My younger daughters went back to in-person this past spring for the last two months of school but my son stayed full remote for his final year of middle school. They were on a hybrid schedule with only two days of in-person classes and he didn’t find it necessary to return for that small amount of time when he was able to attend all of his classes from home via live streams. He got accepted by a local private STEM high school which makes things a bit more complicated as his school isn’t in district anymore and is quite a drive away now. He’s excited though as am I. Really I am. Just…nervous too. Lots of nerves.

Since he’ll be on the bus for longer lengths of time, I wanted to make sure he was able to do homework on the school-provided laptop with a hotspot from his phone so I got him a backpack with a portable charger. I recently bought my middle schooler one that came with a charger and we really like it. Hers is this *gorgeous flowered one* that I’ve been wanting for myself as well and my son’s is this *sleek one* that my hubby is now eyeing for his own laptop. They’re both built for laptops and have chargers built-in so they’re perfect for the times honestly. I got all my kids new *water bottles* as well because I noticed my girls burned through so much more water than normal while being in school with masks on. I’m new to the brand Takeya but I haven’t had much luck with several other brands I’ve tried so I’m giving them a shot. On the other hand I’m sticking with the tried and true *lunch boxes* we’ve been using for years. I really, really like the metal Planetbox lunch boxes. They’re so easy for the kids and fit a good amount of food with added storage pockets in their carriers. They’re dishwasher-safe which is a must, and with my son having a sever peanut allergy, I’ve been packing lunches for all three of my children almost every day of their school careers so far. So when i say tried…I mean it.

In the rare moment I get to myself I’ve managed to make my way through the second season of Outerbanks on Netflix and I just heard the news that Riverdale is back so I might jump into that as well. I have the same exact feelings toward both shows—I hate them as much as I love them but I cannot seem to move on from either despite the last couple seasons of Riverdale scaring the hell out of me. I’m still holding out hope that Julie and The Phantoms will get a second season. Hey! A girl can dream!

With the cooler weather arriving I have a tentative plan to reread one of my all-time favorite books, *The Night Circus* by Erin Morgenstern as well as her newest book, The Starless Sea. I preordered that baby but still haven’t worked up the courage to actually read it. I hold The Night Circus in such high regard so I just need to jump in already. To prove just how much of a mood reader I am though, did I pick up either of those this past week when I felt like reading? Nope. I grabbed my worn copy of *Water for Elephants* by Sara Gruen instead (which is actually free in Kindle Unlimited right now surprisingly) and am currently rereading that gem. LOL I love that book so much and apparently I’m in the mood for a good circus read so it works.

For Labor Day, this weekend through Monday, everything in my Etsy shop is on sale. All bookmarks, even clearance, and signed copies of my books, Detour, Changing Lanes, and Blind Spot, are 20% off which makes them cheaper than unsigned copies sold on Amazon. There’s some incredible new bookmarks listed for Autumn too so make sure to stop over and check those out if you haven’t already. The *Autumn Mood Board* one is my personal favorite right now. My family went crazy for it as soon as they saw it.

You can find all *three of my novels* Free in Kindle Unlimited on Amazon or treat yourself to an autographed paperback copy of *Detour*, *Changing Lanes*, and/or *Blind Spot* before my Labor Day sale ends. (Quantities are limited so act fast.)

Make sure you’re subscribed to my *newsletter* so you don’t miss any news. I send one out every other Sunday morning otherwise you’ll hear from me next month. Take care and stay safe. Thanks for reading.

Ashley

*signifies link