Hello Precious Reader!

Before I go too far in depth, let’s take care of some business: Sadly, no one entered my contest. (Womp womp.) So, there are no winners to announce. Not surprising since I neglected my blog for several years.

A week ago, I had a great conversation with author, Marie Tuhart, a many years-established author of erotica. (Check out her latest series: Desert Destiny here.)

She’s so kind, smart, and fun to talk with. If you like high-octane erotica, she’s definitely one to read. Weird fact, years ago she held a contest for one of her books where the winner would have a character named after them. I ended up being the randomly chosen winner! Little did I know that the main character, named after moi, would be the center of an erotica about a triad relationship. (I know, ooh la la!) You can imagine my surprise when that little piece of information floated my way! I had a good laugh about it, and it’s still a hot read. If you want to read it, check out Embracing Desire. (Insert blush here. Book is below.)

After our conversation, it became clear that 2024 is not the year to re-release a story and my goal was too aggressive for reality. I’ve decided to hold off on my goal of getting my books back on shelves by Dec 2024, and instead am focusing on Spring 2025. At least it gives me some more time to navigate all of the prep that goes into self-publishing for the first time to make sure I do it right. (A huge shoutout to Marie for her mentorship and support as I’m actually moving forward with republishing my books. Thank you!)

I’ve got Capture Me re-edited and am in the Beta Tester phase! I’m collecting Beta Readers to read my refreshed version of my first Roxy Summers Mystery book. Would you like to be a beta reader? If so, email me at katherinebacher@gmail.com. Let me know by Oct. 11th. I’ll be sending out the manuscript on or by Oct. 12th and will need your comments and edits on or by Oct. 31st. A good Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of a murder mystery is a great way to settle into the spooky season!

Back to life … back to reality. (Sorry, it was right there!) My time with my neighborhood’s “HOA” of sorts is finally completed. My reign as a member of the Board of Directors has finished. It hasn’t quite hit me yet but giving it a few weeks and realizing how much more time I have to focus on work and stuff may help. I’m finding I’m less stressed out, less tired, and sleeping more. How about that? I’m grateful for more of the “me” hours to focus on my family, my home, and being together. Having said that…

Speaking of breathing room: Our family went through two weeks of hell with a cold bug that started with our son, then my husband a day later. After half a week caring for them, they finally were on the mend. Then I got it 4 days after my husband. Life with a small child and two weeks of zero cleaning, our place is a mess! It’s good timing though, as around this time of year I get a “hibernation prep” vibe and start doing the final purge of the year, ridding my home of stuff and doing a major deep clean before bunkering down for the fall and winter. I tend to go through 2 purges per year. Once in late spring, and once before winter. Either way, it’s my favorite time year and I’m glad to have made it through this one! 2024 hasn’t been easy and I’m proud to say I’m still standing!

That’s right! October is my favorite month because Halloween is my favorite holiday! I love the cooler weather, the crisp air, the blue skies, the rainstorms, and all of the changing colors of the leaves. However, I recognize I’m spoiled for atmosphere, living in the PNW and our area being green most of the year with extra bursts of color in Fall/Autumn. This month I also start planning what I’ll be making family and friends for Christmas. I prefer homemade gifts, usually in the form of food and treats, but sometimes handmade items. Last year I crocheted hats and blankets. In the past I’ve made seasoned nuts, “movie night” treat baskets, cheese board snacks, and so on. This year I’ve been really into pickling and making jellies, so maybe there’s something in that.

Comment below with your favorite season(s) and why. What are your favorite things to do this time of year? I love making soups, bread, potato-based dishes, and watching scary series. We don’t typically end up living places that receive trick-or-treaters, so we usually go to my in-laws and watch a scary movie… unless Buddy Bacher is there, we’ve had to adjust what we watch. I’ve already watched Wednesday twice but may do it again soon. I enjoy the Cloverfield series of movies and still need to watch the third one that takes place in space. I also love spooky-related cute things and absolutely adore the Hotel Transylvania animated films. Pilot and I start listing out shows with tons of episodes per season with several seasons to help us get through “THE GREY” that is Washington winter of December-March.

What are Fall/Autumn rituals in your home? Ours is to “purge” belongings, do some light clothes shopping to ready Buddy Bacher for the year, a deep clean of our dwelling, and making a list of movies/shows to binge for the next several months, and Christmas gift brainstorming. Share below!

– KB