Can anyone explain to me how it’s already June? How did half of 2017 slip by without me noticing? When did that happen?

The first part of the year has been a flurry of activity for us in the Ashwood household. Little Miss arriving on the scene in February means that most of our days and nights have blurred together since then.

What seems to have gone even faster than the last six months is the last three years. Nugget turned three at the beginning of this month and I honestly don’t know where the time went. He came home this squealing bundle of chubby limbs and bright red hair, and now he’s turned into this little man whose favourite animal is a giraffe and his favourite colour is red (today, anyway) and he has more attitude and confidence than anyone I’ve ever met.

I couldn’t be prouder.

This summer is going to be a whirlwind of activities and events. Nugget is going to “Nanny Camp” for a week at the end of July, and I am escaping with Sandra Walsh and J.H. Knight for a night or two away at a thrown-together writing retreat (where very little writing will actually take place, I’m sure). August is another trip away for the whole family. In between that, we have company coming and BBQs to attend. Birthdays. Dinners.

God, I love summer.

I also have a packed writing schedule this summer, and some really exciting projects in the lineup.

J.H. Knight and I are so frickin’ close to finishing up our co-write. In fact, the top of my to-do list for today is writing the very last chapter. I can’t believe it. It feels like we’ve been working on this one forever, but it’s going to be so worth it once we’re done. She’s the master of writing angsty scenes and holy shit, parts of this book absolutely tore my heart out.

I can’t wait for you to read it.

In the meantime, if you’re curious, here’s a draft of the blurb:

John Turner has been living a lie most of his life. Growing up in the rural Georgia town of Magnolia Ridge, the only person he’s ever let in is his best friend, Chloe. To the rest of the world, they’re the perfect couple, but just between them, she’s helping John hide in plain sight.

Matthew Kinsley, a cop from San Francisco, moves to town looking for a slower pace and to reconnect with his southern roots. Starting over in Magnolia Ridge means taking a step back into the closet, but Matthew finds that with John for company, he doesn’t mind so much.

As the two start to explore their possible relationship, a horrific murder rips the town apart but brings John and Matthew together in ways neither could’ve imagined. Matthew must choose where his loyalties lie while John resists the urge to run again. Together, they have to discover who the real devil is before another life is destroyed.

If everything goes according to plan (although, when does that ever happen?) I will finish four, possibly five, books this summer.

The one mentioned above, titled When The Devil Wants In, we’re hoping to submit to Dreamspinner in the next few weeks.

The foodie-themed group project is set to wrap up sometime this summer, so keep an eye out for that.

I’ve begun working on a fluffy little novella. It’s GFY/OFY and set in the PNW, tentatively titled Textual Relations.

Next up in the queue is a May/December romance called The Other Side of the Fence. This one has been jumping around in my head for months, and even now, while working on other stuff, the characters keep pushing their way to the front. I’m hoping to have it completed this summer as well, and there’s the possibility that this is going to be the first book in a series, but, being a total pantser, I won’t know for sure until I’m midway through writing this one.

And last, but certainly not least, I’m hoping to wrap up writing on the third (and last) Zero Hour book. I’ve been picking away at it, but slowly. Something wasn’t right and it took me a long time to figure it out, but I started over at square one with the characters and story arc for this book and I think it’s going to work out. Now I just need to actually finish writing it.

Anyways, that’s it for me. If only there were more hours in the day!

What are you up to this summer?