The Love Factor

The most important development concerning my first book is that I have a TikTok now.

At first, I was hesitant to join. I love social media, but I'm a 36-year-old mom with a desk job. How could I compete with fresh-faced sophomores belly dancing in crop tops? Would my videos flop? Would the kids make fun of me?

My 2nd book

I am editing my second book, a romance novel about a disgraced attorney forced to work retail after two years in federal prison.

Sadly, it doesn't have a title because I am terrible at thinking of titles. Or rather, I am excellent at thinking of titles that imply the wrong genre.

For example, I wanted to call my first book Dangerous Equations, but my publisher told me it sounded like a thriller.

"It is a thriller," I said. "Did you miss the part where they conduct the nonparametric Wald-Wolfowitz runs test for randomness in binary data?"

Anyway, I've been trying to think of retail puns for a romance novel. Checking Her Out... Shoplift My Heart... A Refund on Love... ?? As you can see, I'm getting desperate. If you have suggestions, please send them to quinn.ivins@gmail.com.

Two of my favorite authors (and favorite humans) just released new books, and I have already devoured both of them.

Wrong Number, Right Woman by Jae

I swoon over two types of characters in FF romance: Prissy ice queens who are secretly sad, and tough-yet-vulnerable butch women.

This book features the second type. Denny is a strong but shy butch lesbian who deserves all the things, and I wanted to give her fifty hugs. She receives an accidental text from Eliza, a sweet younger woman who thinks she's straight until... not so much.

WNRW is the ultimate comfort book. There is no angst, no drama, and no stress. It's just two awkward, adorable people slowly opening up to each other.

I loved it so much, I made this video to celebrate the release (YouTube link):

Usually, I share a crayon drawing with you, but today I'm going to present a different type of creation. I recently made "slime" with my toddler, and while he preferred to mix the colors together, I made my own sparkly pink princess slime.

I'm pleased with the result, but I'm not sure what to do with it now. It feels wrong to just throw it away, but like... it's a pile of slime. I guess I'll just leave it on the cat tree in a ziplock for now.

What are you leaving on the cat tree in a ziplock (literally or metaphorically)? E-mail me and let me know, along with any other newsletter feedback you may have.

As always, thanks for reading. :)