The eleventh chapter of The Gold in the Dark is out! I’m living for this week’s chapter illustration—it encapsulates perfectly the mood at the end of the chapter. Also, don’t you think that middle portrait looks a bit like a very dour Michael Jackson? Don’t tell Ally. ;D New chapters, complete with chapter illustrations, release every other Sunday at 11 AM EST.

This week in writing updates I’ve been working on writing a short story tie-in for Specter that will be free to everyone who signs up for my mailing list. I have so many thoughts about the mailing list aspect of being an indie author. Literally everybody in the biz says it’s crucial to staying in contact with your core audience, but I write YA, and I sort of think that my audience might not be big on newsletters? Is Instagram a good newsletter alternative for indie authors with a younger audience?? Probably the answer is do both. The issue is that out of all the social media stuff I do, the newsletter is decidedly the least fun. But maybe I just need to give it a fair shake and work on discovering how to make the newsletter my own.

In other news, we are just three weeks away from Specter’s release! There’s been all sorts of fun Specter stuff in the last couple weeks, from the book trailer to a post about why the book is set in Connecticut.

Also, who killed Melissa White? Like, seriously, who? Inquiring minds REALLY want to know.

So if you are at all intrigued by any of this, and especially if you are looking for a book like Stranger Things, then please consider adding Specter to your Goodreads TBR or preordering at any book retailer. Even independent bookstores should be able to preorder Specter—and you can even request your local library order a physical or ebook copy!

All right, that’s all for now. Have a great rest of your weekend, and enjoy Chapter Eleven. ❤