Announcing Strictly Business

Six months ago, I tearfully pulled the release of my next book, Strictly Business. It was supposed to go to the masses on March 4th. I even had a preorder campaign. There were only a few preorders, but it was something, and I was proud of it. 

Then burnout got the better of me. 

For a while, it was all I could do to get out of bed in the morning and put one foot in front of the other. I was working long days (I still am…) and coming home so mentally exhausted that no matter how much I wanted to write, create, and tell stories, I just couldn’t. I didn’t have the mental capacity to do so. The inability to do something I love so much bummed me out further. The only thing I ever want to do is write stories and tell stories, but there is rent to pay, dogs to feed, and books to buy, and so I have to write when I can, which, sometimes, isn’t nearly enough. 

Six months ago, Strictly Business simply wasn’t ready for the masses. 

It is now. 

I’m so proud to share that Strictly Business will be available as an ebook, on Kindle Unlimited, and in paperback on August 28th! Do you want to see the cover? You want to see the cover… 

An untamed country star. A polished professional. One deal that’s strictly business—until it’s not.

Beckett Wade does what he wants. They call him a country music star, but he considers himself anything but. His music doesn’t fit the mainstream, he hasn’t had a radio hit in years, and he refuses to play by his label’s rules. When he’s not on stage, he’s in the woods—hiking, climbing, camping. Beckett has sworn he’ll never settle down. Then he meets her.

Olivia Alexander is polished, ambitious, and always has a plan. Taking a leadership role at a Nashville marketing agency is her biggest challenge yet. Her first assignment? Convince her stubborn, outdoors-obsessed neighbor—Beckett Wade—to sign on as a spokesperson for an outdoor equipment client.

Beckett agrees on one condition: before he signs on, he’ll put the gear to the test—and Olivia has to test it with him. Her idea of being “outdoorsy” is wine on a patio, but she needs Beckett’s name signed on the dotted line. Trading heels for hiking boots, Olivia soon discovers the woods aren’t her only challenge. The real danger is how easy it is to fall for Beckett.

The problem? This partnership is supposed to be strictly business. And Beckett has sworn he’ll never fall in love.

I’m really proud of this book. I wrote the first draft three years ago, right after I moved back to Nashville from Los Angeles. They say you write what you know, and in this case, it’s true. Olivia is a lot like me. I even wrote my dogs, Knox and Griff, into the story. At one point in the editing process, I considered taking the pups out, or maybe renaming them, but in the end, my boys stayed. As you may know, I had to say goodbye to Knox in January after almost 13 years of constant companionship. It’s a little tribute to him to have him memorialized in these pages, fetch obsession and all. And of course, I’m obsessed with Griff. 

While Olivia is like me, Beckett is… A lot of men I’ve met along the way. Living in Nashville and working in the music industry as a journalist, I had the opportunity to meet (and date… What?!) my share of country music singers. He’s a blend of some of my favorites. If only I’d met him in real life… 

Strictly Business also marks a sort of turning point in my career as an author. It involves more “FAFO” from me and pushed me from a publishing standpoint as I did new things like buy my own ISBNs and load it onto Ingram Sparks so it can be (hopefully) sold in stores. It’s the first time I worked with a copy editor, and the last time I designed my own cover (if you hate the cover, don’t tell me. I did my best). 

The release of Strictly Business also moves me into my Political Gain era. Some of you know it as the Fourth Wing fanfiction I published last year. I’m excited to dive fully into making it a completely original series (five books!). More on that in the coming months, though. 

Strictly Business is not currently available for preorder. I’m hoping I can change that, but pulling it back in March had some unforeseen consequences that I’m working through with the powers that be. I’ll keep you posted. 

I hope you’ll give Strictly Business a chance. Beckett is swoonworthy, even when he makes dumb decisions. I laughed out loud while writing some of their banter, and I even wrote a song (just the lyrics, let’s not get crazy) for it, a new experience for me. 

Keep watching this space, my newsletter, and social media. I’ll be sharing all sorts of sneak peeks and fun over the week leading up to Strictly Business. 

And one more time, thank you for letting me pull the cord on this book six months ago. It’s a better book than it was then, and I am so appreciative of the time I was able to take on it. I learned a lot in this process, and I’m still learning. Allow me to be a lesson for you – take the time. Do work you’re proud of. Let it be what it is. 

Now, let’s release Strictly Business.