Well hello again!

Now, first things first, you might be thinking, oh Nicole, you forgot to insert a title, but in fact, (insert pithy title here) is my title this month. Why? Well, cuz I’ve been writing all month like a crazy person; of course, I write every month like a crazy person but this month it feels ‘extra’, so my power to come up with a simple title for my monthly Newsletter is lacking.

What have I been writing? Well, for those of you who loved Big Trouble in Little Italy, do you remember Carlo? (Of course you do, many of you have commented to me with sighs of “Oh, Carlo”.) Well, I’ve been working on his story, and man, is it fun. He and Alessandra are not cooperative and problematic around every corner, and it’s wonderful! At this point, his book is slotted for release into the world in June of 2023.

I am also working on the book coming out in February called The Italian Holiday, because let’s be honest; Who doesn’t need a dreamy trip to Italy over Valentine’s Day? I’m so excited for you to read this latest book - it's a stand-alone, but trust me, you’re gonna love it! The release date: FEBRUARY 7, 2023!

Here’s a little snippet:

The small street opened up and my feet faltered on the worn cobblestones. We found ourselves in a gorgeous little piazza, but it was the structure at the other end of the piazza, a structure that had been standing since 125 BCE that caught my attention and stole my breath and my ability to move.

The Pantheon.

Glorious in all her dignity.

The slight piazza dipped downward, as if setting the building before us on a Roman stage. Soldier like rows of marble columns held up the roof of the pantheon that gave way to the circular structure on top.

Across the façade were the Latin words about M. Agrippa, an epithet that touted the emperor’s hand in reestablishing the Pantheon for the use of the Roman People.

“Have you been here before?” Lorenzo’s deep voice almost a whisper.

I nodded my head.

“Oh.” He seemed disappointed.

“Every single time is like the first time though.” I sighed, “She’s gorgeous.” I was unable to take my eyes off the building that had seen so much of Rome’s history. “Could you imagine if those walls could talk?”

“Come on.” Lorenzo smiled and took my elbow, prodding me into action.

“Oh, do we have to go?” I wasn’t done looking yet.

“Yes. But only right there.” He pointed to one of the small table lined cafés to our left. Each of them had outdoor seating with a perfect view of the Pantheon.

I felt giddy, it was mostly the lack of sleep, food, poor hydration, being jumbled about in the back of a taxi and the shock of seeing the Pantheon, but did it really matter? Rome just got a lot more interesting and sometimes, you have to take the gifts of these little moments and take one hell of a giant bite of out of them. 

This is a fun story.

I have new fans of my writing, and I can't thank you all enough for your support, but this month, Kristi's mom has the best story.

So, Kristi’s mom was headed to Chicago to see family. Needing a book for the flight from Denver to Chicago, she borrowed Big Trouble in Little Italy. By the time Kristi’s mom landed in Chicago she had read the whole book. Now, is she a speed reader? I inquired about this as well, but it turns out Kristi’s mom likes to arrive several hours early to the airport, just in case.

She enjoyed the book and wanted to start on the second one as soon as she could, so since the family she was visiting had errands to run, she decided to just hop into Barnes & Noble and grab Simply Protocol.

And Kristi’s mom searched everywhere.

To no avail.

So she inquired with an employee where the sequel was. When said employee declared they didn’t have it and couldn’t even find it in their system, she pulled out the copy of Big Trouble and waved it in front of the employee declaring, “What do you mean? I have the first one right here, I need the second one!”

Discouraged but not defeated, Kristi’s mom decided she’d go check out Target.

Target employees couldn’t help her out either.

She eventually called Kristi and said, “I need to read the next book. How am I supposed to get it? Barnes & Noble and Target don’t have it.”

And a conversation ensued on the independent writer and all the work we do as writer, editor, cover designer, marketer, accountant, coffee maker, gardener, travel agent…actually, the conversation might not have gone that much in depth.

Dearest Kristi’s mom, from the bottom of this independent author's heart, thank you for the praise that comes from accosting Barnes & Noble employees and thinking my books should be found in the mainstream! I’ll get there!

12 Independent Romance authors got together to create this anthology full of Christmas themed novellas. It's also the only way to read my story: Let it Snow!

This is a limited edition. It goes away at the end of January. So get your copy while you can.

Simply Protocol story