​I’ve mentioned a few times on social media how the other Forever After authors and I put together a photoshoot for our covers, and I have had SO many questions and interest in this, I decided to put together a blog post about it!

Choosing to do a photoshoot was actually a hard decision for us. First, LOGISTICS. There are five authors in our series, and we are spread all over: Utah, Arizona, Missouri, and Massachusetts. How could we make this work? Second, MODELS and HAIR. None of us are models, unfortunately. Well, except for Arlem, but I’ll leave that for another time, haha. And while we have mad writing skills, hair and makeup is not our forte. Third, COSTUMES. If you’re not aware, Regency dresses are sometimes hard to come by. 😜

But after a lot of thought and discussion, we decided that it was important for us to have unique covers, with models and images no one had ever seen before. And so we pushed ahead with our photoshoot, and the planning commenced!

That’s where the amazing Arlem Hawks comes in. If you don’t follow her on Instagram, go do that immediately! She posts the most amazing things that she makes, including these dresses, Regency stays, and petticoats. This photoshoot would not have been possible without her. She is an amazing seamstress and sewed every single dress you see on our covers. I KNOW. Sewing is not a talent I have, so I am grateful she does! 

​Not only did Arlem volunteer the use of her amazing dresses, she also flew in to Utah and helped me organize and run the shoot. She is the BEST! And then we were so lucky that our other authors had incredible family and friends that we enlisted to model, do hair, and take photos for us. We are SO grateful for their help, and in making our covers as beautiful as they are. 

​We met with our four gorgeous models on a Saturday in November and spent two hours doing hair, makeup, dressing, and posing! It was a BLAST. A huge shout out to Stephanie Lance Photography for her incredible photos (and for being patient with us as we figured things out as we went!). It was seriously such a fun day, seeing all our beautiful models decked out in Regency dresses, hairstyles, and accessories! 

​The best part of doing our own photoshoot is that we got to pick exactly what we wanted. For example, I was able to choose the hairstyle and dress for my model, knowing what my character looked like and what I wanted for the cover. And I think it turned out AMAZING, if I say so myself.

Here's the beautiful (and generous and wonderful and kind) Amanda, who plays the part of my character Rose in Beauty and the Baron.

And here are a few shots of her. We knew we wanted to photoshop different backgrounds behind each of our models (the different locations for our stories) and so we weren't concerned about the background. Just in case you were wondering about the outlets, haha. 

And just for fun, here is the actual photo that made it onto my gorgeous cover, designed by Shaela Kay of Blue Water Books. Isn't that so fun??

I am DYING to share the other photos of our gorgeous models, but since we haven't revealed all the covers yet, you'll have to wait and see for yourselves! All in all, we counted our first photoshoot a success! We learned a lot and are already looking forward to our next one, where we'll be even more prepared. 

I hope this gives you all just a little taste of how much thought, work, and planning has gone into our Forever After series. We are determined to make these books beautiful inside and out, and are again so grateful to those who gave their time and talents to help us achieve this! 

Beauty and the Baron is available NOW on Amazon, and The Captain and Miss Winter (a retelling of Snow White and Rose Red) is available for PREORDER. I can't wait to share all these incredible stories and covers with you!

Last year was absolutely incredible. The highlights:

- My first book, The Truth about Miss Ashbourne, was accepted by my publisher in January and published in November.
- I attended two amazing writing conferences, and loved attending classes, improving my craft, and meeting so many wonderful writers and friends. Writers are the BEST people. 
- I joined an AMAZING critique group, who have become some of my closest friends. 
- I finished my second book, Miss Adeline's Match, and it was accepted by my publisher in July (for publication in 2019)
- I wrote two novellas, a Beauty and the Beast retelling and a Christmas Regency, both set for 2019 releases.
- I wrote my third book, tentatively titled Knowing Nora, also set for a 2019 release. 

If that looks a little crazy, that's because it was! But I enjoyed every second of it (well, almost, haha) and I am so excited for what next year will bring. I have four releases lined up already! I can't wait to share all these stories and characters with you all.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me this year! I can't tell you how much I've appreciated your kind words, excitement, and encouragement. The writing life is full of ups and downs, but it is made so much easier when I have such fantastic people cheering me on.
​
A Fond Farewell to 2018 and a Happy Hello to 2019!!

​Here it is! I'm thrilled to finally share the cover for my debut novel, The Truth about Miss Ashbourne!

​
​Isn't it gorgeous? I'm a little obsessed with it. My publisher sent me a few options to choose from and I knew immediately this was the one! It's incredible how perfectly this cover fits my book and especially Juliana. She is calm and collected until she's backed into a corner—then her feistiness tends to make very memorable appearances!

Covenant Communications is hosting a giveaway to celebrate the cover reveal. Head over to their Facebook page to enter to win one of THREE copies! The Truth about Miss Ashbourne will be released Nov. 1, 2018, and is available for preorder on Amazon! 

My first book, The Truth about Miss Ashbourne, has officially been sent to press! It's a little crazy knowing I can no longer tweak it to my heart's content, but I am SO happy with the final product. This is a book that I truly love, and I hope it makes its readers swoon and blush and get those amazing butterflies that I am addicted to! 

A cover reveal is coming in August (eek!), and hopefully an announcement about my next project! Stay tuned!