It's Been a Bit...
Find out what's been happening since Temple of Swoon came out, and a little bit about why I've been so quiet. Plus, read on for a giveaway opportunity!
I started this newsletter months ago. First, I had grand plans to send out an after-tour recap. But I got sick. So I decided to send out a one-month pub-aversary newsletter instead. Then I got edits back for book 3. Fine. Once I finished my edits, then I was REALLY going to work on the newsletter. Like, for really real this time.
But then life had other plans.
So now after almost 3 months post-pub, 7 airports, 6 events1, and 1 extension, I finally have time to reflect. Here’s what’s been happening since you last heard from me (and continue reading for a chance to win some books!).
TEMPLE OF SWOON BECAME AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!
Pub day was a blast. Now that I’d already had one book out, this time I was much more relaxed. My sister came out from Ohio, and we spent the day celebrating, hitting up bookstores, and picking up my new purple Converse (to match the TOS cover, of course) before heading to Third Place Books for my launch event with Sarah Hawley. We did polls on the best Pringles and M&Ms flavors, discussed the lasting impact Rodrigo Santoro has etched in my mind, and I introduced the entire crowd to the pianoforte version of Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. Here it is for those of you who haven’t had the pleasure:
So much emotion!!
From there, we hopped on a plane and flew down Lark & Owl Booksellers in Georgetown, TX. What an adorable store! I was joined by none other than Ali Hazelwood and Kayla Olson, who was also celebrating her release of The Lodge. We talked about our mutual love of Survivor, lots and lots of tennis, and I even demonstrated my impeccable impression of Rafa Nadal’s serve routine. We had to hightail it out of TX, however, because a snowstorm was coming. Fortunately, we had the foresight to change our flight before we’d even left Seattle, which was good because our original flight out of TX got cancelled. So after a night of changing hotels two times2 and less than four hours of sleep, we were on our way to St. Louis, MO!
We had a full day to tour around St. Louis, eat BBQ, checking out more bookstores (including the fabulous Novel Neighbor and Open Door Romance who were hosting my event the next day) and meet up with the Literary Hype Woman to record a podcast (listen here). But wouldn’t you know it, a snowstorm was on its way to St. Louis!! So we had to move up the event by a few hours, and sadly I know that impacted people’s travel, but we still had so much fun talking about all of Hollywood’s hunks, including Rodrigo Santoro again, and, of course, Harrison Ford!
The next day, we drove from St. Louis to Cincinnati, OH. Guess what… they ALSO had a snowstorm! Oh, what luck I had! But I was with my sister, and we just kept rolling with the punches and laughing all along the way. I finished off my tour with my pal Kaitlyn Olson at Joseph Beth Booksellers, which was extra special because my mom is from Cincinnati. And as an extra extra special tour wrap up, TEMPLE OF SWOON became an instant USA Today Bestseller, hitting the list at number 44!! Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen!
Love Y’all and… MORE SNOWSTORMS!
I probably should have titled this newsletter, “What Did I Ever Do to Snowstorms?!?” But I’m jumping ahead. Let me back up.
In February, I had the pleasure of heading back to Decatur, GA for the second annual Love Y’all Romance Book Festival! I went last year and had so much fun that I knew I needed to go back. And after THE WORST LYFT RIDE OF MY LIFE with Rachel Runya Katz, we made it to the conference! Phew… it was something (one of those rides where you start texting your friend sitting next to you about how bad it is while it’s still happening). But Love Y’all was so much fun that I almost forgot about that car ride (j/k I will never forget that car ride).
Since I was already on that side of the country, I’d made plans to head up to Nashville, TN after Love Y’all, where I was supposed to do an event with Kimberley Lemming at Parnassus Books. But when I say snowstorms are against me, I really mean it. A storm rolled in the night before the event and sadly we had to cancel. Fortunately, I’d stopped by the store the day before to sign preorders, and I also had the pleasure of hanging with my good friend, Jenna Levine, not once, but twice! I also enjoyed some Nashville hot chicken not once, but twice. LOL. It was so addicting!! But, man, do I hate snow.
Side note: Many authors, like myself, have to pay our own way to go to these events. Susan Lee has been very open about this lately, which I admire because it’s not always something that’s talked about. When events get cancelled or don’t go as planned, even when it’s no one’s fault, it can be a real kick in the pants… and a real hit to the ole checkbook (do people even have checkbooks anymore?). So I’m not gonna lie, it sucks. Will that stop me from scheduling events in the future? No way. Meeting readers is one of my favorite parts of this gig. But hopefully when THE LUST CRUSADE comes out next year, I’ll have better luck with the weather. I think the snow owes it to me.
Speaking of THE LUST CRUSADE…
I just finished a round of edits for book 3 in the Raiders series, THE LUST CRUSADE, and I love it just as much as I did when I first turned it in. I’ve already gotten some questions about it, so here are some answers:
Are any of the side characters from ROTLH or TOS in TLC? There will be some familiar names and faces, but the main characters in TLC are entirely new.
What tropes are in TLC? Brother’s best friend, forced proximity, fake engagement, and only one bed and the beds keep getting smaller and smaller (my personal take on the OOB trope).
When does TLC come out? Right now, TLC is slated for January 2026, but that is subject to change.
What’s coming after TLC? I’ll be writing another adventure romcom with Berkley, although this book will not be part of the Raiders series. Don’t ask what it’s about because I only just started writing it lol.
Is there anything else you can share about TLC?
Well, TLC has changed a bit since I first drafted it, but one thing that has stayed exactly the same is the opening line. It’s honestly one of my favorite opening lines I’ve ever written so let me share it with you here:
Greece: birthplace of many of Daniela Guiterrez’s favorite things. Libraries. Gyros. Democracy. Cheesecake. And Dr. Theo Galanis.
Swoooooooon! I feel like this line says so much about these characters. She’s a librarian. He’s an archaeologist. Their family gatherings are surrounded by love and food. I was inspired to write this book after I trip to Greece a few years ago, and it will be obvious that the food left a lasting impression because I talk about so… much… food in TLC. My editors said reading it made them hungry. My job here is done.
Now, on a personal note…
At the beginning of the year, I mentioned in a newsletter that 2024 was the hardest year of my life. You may have noticed that I’ve pulled back a bit on social media. Heck, I already mentioned how it took me MONTHS to write this very newsletter. Well, that’s because I’ve been busy getting divorced.
I’d debated whether to share this for quite some time. On one hand, I like to maintain some semblance of privacy. Getting a divorce is a very personal matter after all, full of all sorts of emotions like grief, loss, and often anger. On the other hand, I already share so much of myself in my books—nods to my hometown, my favorite snacks, my heritage, my obvious obsession with archaeology. Even TOS—I wrote that book during a very tough time of my life before the divorce was in motion, and that may be obvious now (for anyone who has an ARC, you’ll see a different dedication that reflects this). But in the end, I decided to share what’s been going on because not sharing made it seem like “divorce” was a bad word or like I should be ashamed. There may be bad marriages. And even bad divorces. But many marriages end in divorce and for all sorts of reasons. Mine wasn’t special or unique to anyone but me and the people directly involved. It is, however, part of who I am now. And I’m okay with that, because the alternative—staying in my marriage—was something I was not okay with. I’m not ashamed to say so.
Being a romance author and, specifically, writing a romance novel while going through a divorce presents so many confusing emotions. Do I even believe in love anymore? How can I write about love when I am getting divorced? Am I a romance fraud?!?! This newsletter would probably be too long if I fully analyzed each of those questions (and that’s what therapy is for), but I did write an entire romance novel during the time my divorce was pending—The Lust Crusade. And you know what? I’m damn proud of that book. Each book an author writes is special in its own way, but TLC will always be the one I wrote for me.
Maybe someday I’ll talk more about divorce. Today is not that day. But for now, I hope those of you who have or will experience divorce know that you are not alone. I am not an expert, but if you’re looking for resources, I found lots of helpful information through the Divorce, Etc. podcast. Or if you’d like a romance book rec featuring a divorcée who has to go on dates picked by her kids in order to save her job, I highly recommend Sophie Cousens’ Is She Really Going Out With Him? This book was pure delight. Please take care of yourselves and know your worth.
Onto a FUN note… who’s ready for a GIVEAWAY?
First, thank you for reading this far. Or, who knows, maybe you just scrolled down to get to the giveaway part lol. How you got here doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I’m doing a giveaway for newsletter subscribers only!
One randomly selected person will win signed copies of BOTH of my books—Raiders of the Lost Heart AND Temple of Swoon! Plus, I’ll throw in some extra swag. To enter, click on the button below, fill out the form, and make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter. That’s it. Must be 18+ and have a US or Canadian mailing address. I’ll keep this open until 11:59PM pst on 4/18.
One. Final. Note.
I know this newsletter is getting looooooong. If you want to know where you can meet me in the next couple of months, check out my IG. But I wanted to leave you with one thing that has given me joy in the last few months: good ole Rick Astley performing a cover of Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club LOLOLOL! After I mentioned my favorite rendition of Never Gonna Give You Up at my book launch, my dear friend Jasmine Silvera sent me this video knowing it would put a smile on my face. And now I want that for all of you, too. This man can sing (and I need to know his skin care routine!!). Please. Enjoy.
As discussed later, it was supposed to be 7, but one sadly got cancelled due to weather.
You might ask, “Jo, why did you change hotels TWO times?” Well, because we changed our 2pm flight out of Austin to a 5am flight, we decided to move to a hotel that was closer to the airport. And then when we arrived at said hotel (with an 8.8 rating and over 1k reviews), we left less than 3 minutes later when we discovered bugs in the room. NO THANK YOU. So, we moved again. Three hotels in one night. Fun times.