I’ve some good news and bad news. Since I always believe in ending on a high note, here’s the bad news:
My first book, Capture Me, was pirated by LibGen. If you haven’t heard, this last week all of the author world was abuzz over The Atlantic article that brought to light the massive META (Facebook/Zuck) data breach that was used to train AI programs. This included, 7.2 million authors’ hard work being stolen and used to populate the website LibGen, a place that allows people to download books for free. I spent an evening this week writing DCMA letters to the website from both the Author’s Guild template (which sends a template letter directly to the LibGen source), and a separate one from my email address.
I deeply ask for your support in not using LibGen to download books. They did not get permission from authors, and it leaves us smaller known authors out of our own income.
Plus, stealing is wrong.
The other bad news: There are a lot of Amazon boycotts happening. Believe me, I have thoughts about this. Since my books are still not available for purchase yet, it doesn’t directly affect me, but it affects so many other people. Without going into further detail, I simply highly recommend you purchase books directly from the author. It gives them more profit, you’re not susceptible to your license of the book being revoked by a big (virtual) box store, and you know that you’re supporting the author directly.
In some medium news: Pilot, Buddy Bacher, and I were super, super sick for the last two months straight. I’m not even kidding. Buddy Bacher started a half-kindergarten program this year and between him at school and Pilot in person at work, they both traded off bringing a bunch of viruses into our home. Pilot’s even descended into pneumonia (which, thank goodness is gone now).
We’re all still coughing a bit, but this last week was the first week all of us went back to our duties full time. I secured a new client for four drawings from my new illustration business, http://kawaiisublimestudios.com and have already delivered 1/4. Due to contract details, I cannot reveal the first work for a couple of months. In the meantime, I have some other drawings I’m working on to showcase on socials during the down time. If you’d like some art from me, check out my Kawaii Sublime Studios Instagram for samples, and check out my website. Contact me for any portraiture, memorialization, development of fan art or character design, book cover design, logo design, etc. The possibilities are endless!
NOW, THE GOOD NEWS!
I heard back from my Beta Readers for my first book Capture Me re-write, and now that I’m not down with the various plagues, I’m off to start re-editing book two: Crush On You while incorporating the feedback I received from Betas for book one.
Admittedly, Crush On You was not my strongest work. I was crunched on a deadline and always wanted a chance to rewrite it. I’m deeply considering some major changes. I’m also considering changing the titles of the new books to make re-publishing easier for them. (No issues with copyright laws, even though the books are all mine again.) I’m still looking into how I can sell both print and e-books directly from my website to you as well. There’s a lot of tech work I’m unfamiliar with, and it also doesn’t come cheap if I can’t do it myself. I have a bit of a learning curve ahead of me right now.
With everything happening in America right now, I just want to wish you peace of mind and self-care during these times. If you haven’t figured out through my books and my blog, I’m grateful to be a blue dot in a blue county in a blue state. Many, many people are not so lucky.
Take care, know that you have my support, and keep an eye on my Instagram for more day-to-day updates.
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!
It’s funny how that sounds now, since the invention of Bridgerton the TV show (of which I’m obsessed, love #Polin, and btw #GiveUsMichael). Despite the neglect from me to you (clearly, I’ve made blogging a priority in my life… that was sarcasm), I do think to blog, then it’s late and I need sleep. Between some newer projects and restarting some old ones, it appears my plate only has so much space and this item fell by the wayside. Mostly it’s parenting a young child. Buddy Bacher is going through a phase of nightmares for the last year (they’re now FIVE years old, if you can believe it!), and what little sleep I do get is interrupted or poorly and I have to prioritize life.
This spring, I launched a new art and illustration business, Kawaii Sublime Studios and had a long-term contract client for several months through the spring. You can check out my work on my Instagram here. If there is any work you’re interested in where you need some drawing or design work done, please look me up at kawaii.sublime@gmail.com. You can check out my new logos on both Instagram pages. They’re extremely similar, but one is definitely writing while the other is drawing on my tablet. Let me know what you think!
That’s right! I draw! I write, I draw, I edit, I sing, raise my child, run my household, have been the Secretary for my “HOA” thing. My time with the HOA is up on Sept. 30th, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity, but also relieved to pass the baton. (Ever watched a town hall meeting on the show “Parks and Recreation”? It’s kind of like that. A lot like that. I’m an odd combo of Donna and Leslie. My guy, Pilot is totally a blend of Joe + Ben, so it makes sense.
Being on the HOA was quite the time suck, and I’m grateful to have literal days/weeks back to myself. This includes continued launch of my art and illustration business andtaking steps to relaunch my Roxy Summers Mystery Series.
You heard that correctly! I’ve spent the last several weeks going through Capture Me (Roxy Summers Mystery #1) and finished my run through of edits. I’m trying to find a way to afford an editor and decide if I’m going to resubmit to a new publisher or self-publish. I’m mostly looking towards self-publication, but I’m a total noob and the online advice is more generic instead of step-by-step instructions. It’s like instructions from textbooks from 1950s rather than video game walkthroughs. I love a good walkthrough. My ultimate (aggressive) goal is to get Capture Me (Roxy #1) back on the shelves on or by the end of 2024. I genuinely don’t know if I’ll make it, but I’m motivated.
One of the reasons of meeting this goal is, frankly, vanity. It’s September, and that means it’s MY BIRTHDAY MONTH! WHOO! In fact, it’s a milestone birthday. I’m turning 40! Officially joining the “Middle Aged Club” and I am SO excited! Seriously!
My 20s were spent unlearning a confusing and difficult childhood, learning how the world works, and discovering what healthy relationships actually look like. My 30s were spent mostly healing from the traumas of my past, and to gain experiences to figure out who I actually was once the unlearning was finished. (Meaning, a lot of therapy.)
My 40? They’re going to be focused, no longer wasting time on things in the past that I can’t change. Instead, choosing to let it go (including making some difficult life decisions to remove toxic relationships from my life). Instead to spending my time CELEBRATING who I am, building a rooted life with Pilot and our child, and enjoying this precious short time of my kid’s childhood with building a healthy and strong foundation so they don’t spend their 20s wallowing and learn these lessons (hopefully) sooner than I ever did.
In celebration of all of these things, life resuming to somewhat-normal without the HOA, the relaunching of my Roxy Summers Mystery series, AND my 40th Birthday (whoo!), I realized that promised you a chance to win FREE BOOKS(*) and I would LOVE to ship some free books from Left Coast Crime to you since I genuinely forgot to post about it. There will be up to four (4) winners depending on the number of people who enter, 1 book per winner!
How to enter: 1) Like this post + Comment below with how you prefer to celebrate your birthday or share a funny birthday story.
+ 1 Additional entry if you FOLLOW my Kawaii Sublime Studios Instagram page and comment below your username so I can double-check and put in an extra entry for you. + 1 Additional entry if you share your favorite Roxy Summers Mystery Series character and why they’re your favorite. + 1 Additional entry if you share a photo of you with any of my books on Instagram AND tag @kdbacherauthor on the Instagram PHOTO itself. (Must complete this step in its entirety for the entry to count.)
(*) Contest Rules:
No purchase necessary to win.
Must be age 18 or older.
WordPress is not a sponsor of this giveaway. Left Coast Crime is not a sponsor of this giveaway.
Prizes are only available to ship within the continental United States of America. Cannot ship outside of the United States. Cannot ship beyond the continental United States. (Sorry, no Alaska or Hawaii. The charges are too high.)
No P.O. Boxes or
Contest ends on September 30th, 2024, at 11:59 PM (PACIFIC STANDARD TIME). Any entries beyond that date and time will not be accepted.
Winner(s) will be notified on October 1, 2024, on or by 11:59 PM (PACIFIC STANDARD TIME).
Within twenty-four (24) hours of winner announcement, winner(s) must send Katherine Bacher an email at katherinebacher@gmail.com with their name and mailing address to receive prizes (no P.O. Box addresses). If prize(s) goes unclaimed, winner forfeits their winnings, and the prize(s) will go to the next eligible candidate.
As always, love and hugs to you all and good luck with the contest! – KB
It’s been quite some time… almost TWO YEARS! I can’t believe it!
Here’s the short version:
Nope, I didn’t die. Kid is healthy, and so are all of us.
No, I didn’t forget you. (How could I? You’re who got me started!)
No, I haven’t given up writing.
Here’s the (somewhat) longer version:
Nope, I didn’t die. Kid is healthy, and so are all of us. After my last blog post, life became quite hectic for Pilot and myself. I was at my third trimester, Pilot and I had moved to a new home, we were expecting the birth of our son, the adjustment to becoming first time parents, my book rights were reverted back to me, and then Covid-19 happened. Pregnancy was extremely difficult for me, and made the newborn phase for all of us quite tiresome. More on this in the future.
Nope, I didn’t forget you. There is a lot going on in the world at this time. I won’t condense what happened to me and my family in one post. Instead, I’m going back to basics. I’m using this blog to help me warm up back to writing a little each day. Becoming a first time parent was quite overwhelming and, frankly, I wasn’t able to find the time to write due to exhaustion. (But more on that later.)
This blog post, on April 10th, 2021 is a promise of a monthly blog post to you, Precious Reader, but mostly to myself. That I haven’t lost the writing bug, and proof that is truly my life’s purpose to bring words to the world that, hopefully, make you smile, make you think, and most importantly, laugh your asses off.
No, I haven’t given up writing. Like most of you, Pilot and I are hunkering down and working from home. This means that life adjustments were made to find a way to create an at-home office for Pilot while we lived inside of it. This has prevented office space for me as items were moved to various rooms, desk surfaces became priority real estate in our small apartment for things like dinner, and the fact that I am now a full-time Stay At Home Mom (SAHM), his work has priority over my needs for technology in exchange for a roof over our heads and food on the table.
While I haven’t given up on writing, it became a lesser priority in 2019-present day to preserve my sanity. This blog post is my tiptoeing back into the writing world. My publisher and I are no longer under contract, and the rights to my Roxy Summers Mystery series were reverted back to me. I’ve been sitting on my books for several months due to motherhood, and also trying to decide what next steps there are for me. I’m greatly considering a career change that will allow me more time to write books.
For those who follow me on social media you already know what’s been going on. For those who don’t follow me on social media, here’s a quick breakdown:
Pregnancy was tough. Our birth story isn’t a happy one, even though it ends with a healthy toddler and healthy parents (now). More on that in the near future.
After George Floyd’s death, I became quite vocal in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
Our family was on the receiving end of an attempted hate crime in June 2020. When we reported it to the police, the officer tried to intimidate me from reporting, and also tried to turn Pilot against me during the filing since he’s White. More on that in the near future.
I received several death threats on social media simply for not being a White person, and for defending Black Lives. This caused me to take down any photos of my child, my family, and friends, except for Pilot. He is a public figure in his own right and doesn’t care that his face appears on my social media. My child’s face will always be blocked, even on this post.
Covid-19 hit the world.
In more recent times there has been a steady increase of active harassment and violence against the Asian and Pacific Islander community, of which I am a part of.
Our family and friends have dealt with a lot of personal losses since 2019, including some of my own family. Since 2019-present: Seven people in our family’s life contracted Covid-19, two of which were on ventilators and weren’t sure if they would make it. Despite some deaths in the family, those who contracted Covid-19, gratefully, survived it.
I’m literally getting my Covid-19 vaccination today. I’m receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccination. One and done, Precious Readers.
The Present
As I’m sure most of you are in a similar situation, Pilot and I have spent the last 21 months discussing how to make our lives recession-proof, which morphed into “plague-proof.” We have been incredibly grateful that Pilot has continued to stay fully employed at his job, and reached his three-year milestone last November. I’m so proud of him. He found a job that brings him so much joy, despite not having seen any members of his team face-to-face in over a year. I’m grateful we already had a plan in place for me to become a SAHM prior to the pandemic, so it wasn’t as much of a disruption to our lives as it may have deeply impacted yours.
If you, or a loved one, is suffering the affects of Covid-19 in any capacity: as a pandemic that is affecting your job, your ability to find and keep shelter, your mental health, your physical health, the life of a loved one, the loss(es) of a loved one, I highly encourage you to reach out for help with your local community resources, if you can. Or find someone in your life who is able to find resources for you.
On January 1, 2021, Pilot and I decided we needed activities in which to look forward in participating. They didn’t have to be anything that put us at risk, or our child’s health at risk. We believe in science, we believe in masking up, we believe in social distancing. One of those activities was an outdoor photo session.
Let me explain. In my childhood, my parent’s didn’t really believe in the use of cameras. There are few photographs of my childhood, of my parents, or of our family. Pilot may be a talented and skillful photo/videographer, but he’s an aviation and real estate photo/videographer. He cannot take a portrait photo to save his life. I want our child to be able to see the memories we’ve built together. If we over-document our child, it’s because I’m a forgetful person and want to recall our lives together while Baby Bacher grows. Funnily enough, I came across a random Facebook Marketplace ad asking for “models.” I didn’t really think much of it, until I read the description.
Kalie and Devon, the owners of Filling the Frame Photography were looking for regular people of all genders, races, sizes, backgrounds, etc. who wanted a confidence boost, all to expand their portfolio. It would be done outdoors and/or socially distanced in a safe environment. This was intriguing, and I reached out. Surprisingly (to me) they were excited to work with us.
Pilot and I haven’t had a professional photo of our immediate family since our wedding over 10 years ago. (Our anniversary is next month! Squee!) We had never had a professional photo taken of Baby Bacher. Here was our opportunity!
Wehn we arrived, I was provided a dress to wear for the photos. While I was humorously far too short for it, she liked Pilot’s teal sweater and Baby Bacher’s outfit, so we kept a “blue” theme. I haven’t felt that fancy for a professional photo since my wedding and high school Proms. (Okay, being from conservative, Christian, private schooling, it wasn’t called “Prom.” It was called “a banquet, followed by a non-school sponsored, musical, aerobic activity.” Which, frankly, sounds far more creepy than simply calling it a dance. But, since some denominations of Christianity don’t like dancing, it has to be called the sterile, depressing name that it was.)
I did my own makeup, but my hair is not quite how I wanted it. You want to know why? It started hailing during our photo session. I wish I was kidding. You see my exposed arms? I was freezing! We were getting pelted with rain, and then hail started slicing down. Little pinpricks were smacking us on the head. Apparently nature had other plans as to how that session would go.
We worked only with Kalie, and she was one of the warmest people I’d ever met. Despite Pilot’s many talents, he absolutely hates being the subject of a camera. He freezes and the situation turns into one of the early scenes of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Kalie got him to completely relax on camera, kept Baby Bacher calm and entertained, and even managed to get a few solo shots of our little buddy.
We are so grateful to Kalie for her time and the opportunity to work with her. The experience was literally one of the brightest spots of entertainment in our lives in almost 2 years. As you can tell by the photos, it was fun, relaxed, super easy to be in the moment, and preserved images of us as a first-time family with so much joy. I will be forever grateful for these awesome photos provided by Kalie’s hard work. If you live in Western Washington, I highly recommend Filling the Frame Photographyfor yourself, you and a loved one, your family, your pet, whatever. We will definitely be hiring her again.
The Future
A quick moment of seriousness: Essentially, this is a blog about my journey of being an author, and I hope it to remain as such. At times, political issues may arise in the future as they affect my life and how I currently live it now. If someone leaves any comment of hateful speech against me or another person, I will delete those comments and those people will be banned. Anyone who writes comments against the science around the virus Covid-19 will be deleted and those people will be banned. While I am a Christian, I believe in wearing a mask, getting vaccinated, and social distancing until this pandemic becomes a paragraph in a history book and is no longer physically present as a threat in our world.
Boiled down: I have a zero tolerance policy on hate speech, racism, anti-science, and threats.
And now, back to our regular programming…
Be on the lookout of your inboxes, Precious Reader. I am committing to writing monthly blog posts for myself and you. It will contain stories about our pregnancy, Baby Bacher’s birth, our lives, career starts and stops, and everything mentioned here. I’m looking forward to getting acquainted with you again, and I hope you’ll enjoy restarting this writing journey with me. I’ve missed you, and I hope you’re happy to hear from us as well.
A book is a fantastic last-minute gift for cozying up by the fire for your loved ones! Give the gift of adventure today!
Did you know you can send e-books to other people? You can! Amazon has an oh-so-convenient feature where you can select an e-book, and THEN instead of “Deliver to” yourself, you select “Transfer via Computer” to another person! (But… don’t forget that extra copy for yourself!)
I have a more definitive date of Missing You‘s release for everyone: August 13th! Gahhh! It’s less than one month away! Squee!!!
It’s been a bit busy on this side of the computer prepping for the big day. If you follow me on Facebook, you already know the FINAL DRAFT was sent in to publishers. You’ve already seen the GORGEOUS cover, and I’m so excited to bring Roxy’s next adventure to you. During my future release party I’m going to have some deliciously, lovely gift baskets up for grabs, so be on the lookout (or BOLO, if you watch crime shows, like I do) for the Release Party announcement soon to come!
Pre-order links will be up soon. Once their up, make sure you pre-purchase your copy as soon as possible, as there maaaaay be a hint about a fourth Roxy Summers adventure in the back. (Hint, hint.)
Roxy’s adventure in Missing You takes place in Alaska. Definitely not feeling winter blues. It’s been in the 90-degree Fahrenheit weather in Washington. For us PNW folks, air conditioning is not a standard feature to have in homes, so we’re melllllllting! Fans have been on nonstop, pups are sitting in front of the fan, and ice cubes are aplenty in their water bowls. We have some breaks from the heat by taking drives in the car, which has air conditioning. The Bacher Fort, alas, does not.
I want to start hearing from you, so I’m going to start asking one question per post to you. I’d love to see comments, or email me at katherinebacher@gmail.com with your responses. I love hearing from you! I really, really do!
So, this post’s question is: What is your favorite summer treat to cool off? We love frozen grapes, fruit salad, and ice pops.
Thank you for being such loyal blog readers, hello to any newbies! More Roxy news coming at you soon!
I’m so excited to introduce to you a local author, Marie Tuhart!
Marie Tuhart is known for her steamy, sexy, erotic romance books! She’s launching her new Desert Destiny series with Her Desert Prince (Desert Destiny Series #1).
Read below for more details about this fog-your-glasses book!
Her Desert Prince Desert Destiny Series #1 by Marie Tuhart
Catherine Taylor is no stranger to life’s school of hard knocks. At the tender age of 18, she left her dysfunctional family behind and struck out on her own, finally free to embrace her passion for creating art. After years of hard work, she has achieved some degree of acclaim. When she is offered the opportunity to work in the small middle eastern country of Bashir to create the defining mural for the new children’s critical care ward, Catherine embraces the chance to meld her love of children and her love of art. What she doesn’t think she is ready for is the blatant and instant passion she feels the moment she meets the successful country’s crown prince, Malik.
Malik al-Hakim has been raised with the sole purpose of someday becoming the king of his beloved country of Bashir. Years of careful preparation by his loving family has him ready to take the yolk from his father one day, but nothing could prepare him for the instant lust he feels the moment he sees Catherine. Never one to let an opportunity slip by, Malik pursues Catherine convincing her to explore their desire. But when political intrigue places Catherine in danger, Malik soon realizes lust has evolved to love and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep the woman of his dreams safely by his side, no matter how hard she tries to fight their fate.
Keep reading for an excerpt of Her Desert Prince:
She stepped outside, the scent of jasmine filled her senses and her muscles instantly relaxed. The quiet snick of the door closing spurred her into action. She took the first path until she found a nice grassy area beneath a palm tree. She sat down and opened her sketchpad.
Her fingers flew over the pages as she captured the scenes flittering through her mind. She lost all track of time until a husky male voice said, “Hello, beautiful.”
Her head snapped up to see the stranger from the airport.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, pulling the sketchbook to her chest.
“I was about to ask you the same thing.” He slipped closer. “What are you drawing?” He craned his neck but couldn’t see anything.
“Nothing.” She closed the book with a snap, but her cheeks turned pink, making him even more curious about what she’d been drawing.
Then a memory nudged his brain. “You’re the artist commissioned to do the mural at the hospital.” He shook his head, trying to reconcile her with the woman at the airport.
“Yes.” Her chin came up, and he couldn’t help but grin. She was defensive about her work for some reason. No worries; he thought it was great. But part of him wanted to haul her into his arms and kiss her again. Instead, he followed a saner choice and sat down on the grass across from her.
She wiggled an inch or two away, then her gaze met his. She was wary of him, but he caught a hint of curiosity in her gaze.
“I’m Catherine Taylor.” She held a hand out to him.
“Malik.” He grasped her hand, lowered his head, and caressed her knuckles with his lips. A slight shiver moved through her body and transferred to him. So she was affected by him. Good. He squeezed her fingers.
Marie Tuhart lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her muse, Penny, a four pound toy poodle. Marie loves to read and write, when she’s not writing, she spends time with family, traveling and enjoying life.
Marie is a multi-published author with The Wild Rose Press, Trifecta Publishing and does some self-publishing. To be alerted on new releases on Amazon or Book Bub. Also you can join Marie’s newsletter where she gives her group advance information on her books, runs contests and does giveaways just for newsletter readers. Marie can also be found on Goodreads, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.
If you don’t follow me on social media, I have an announcement:
Due to stuff and things, the release date for my book, Missing You (a Roxy Summers Mystery #3)was pushed to AUGUST 2018. I know, I know, I’ve been dangling the next book release like a literary carrot for months, but… reasons. Sometimes life happens, and in this case, it was a timing issue. If it helps, Missing You is with my loyal Beta Readers, and I’ve already begun to receive helpful feedback.
In other news…
Guess what? I’m all signed up to attend the 2019 Left Coast Crime conventionWhale of a Crime!This is both an author AND reader event where hundreds of people from the west coast will congregate over their love of mysteries! All sub genres fall under this umbrella: Cozy, Thriller, Romantic, Humorous, Suspense, etc. Each year, the conference is in a new city. For LCC 2019: Whale of a Crime, it will be hosted in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada! My sort-of backyard! The conference is from March 28-31, 2019. If you want to join in, you do have to register, so I recommend registering early. This is the biggest convention for mystery lovers on the whole west coast.
At LCC 2019: Whale of a Crime, I’ll be attending the various panels during the event. I will not be hosting any panels, but look forward to bumping elbows with my fellow lovers of all things mystery, whether tame or intense. If you happen to be there, look me up, and I’d love to have a photo taken with you. I look forward talking with you about anything lighthearted and humorously sleuthy!
It may be a bit of sad news, but I hope I also brought tidings of ultra-cool, great news!
Haven’t read the Roxy Summers Mystery Series? You have time to catch up! Start with Capture Me and meet Roxy in a case of cat-and-mouse for a grand Seattle adventure! Then, travel with Roxy to sunny Los Angeles for a food competition to die for in her sequel novel, Crush On You! Roxy’s third book, Missing You releases in June 2018. Keep an eye out on my bookshelf page for pre-order links closer to the release date!
I wrapped up edits for MISSING YOU right now! Yes, RIGHT NOW! Literally right now! What I need now are YOUR EYEBALLS! If you’re interested in an ARC (advanced reader copy), and want to help me out, email me at katherinebacher@gmail.com with the email subject line as: MY BETA. You’ll receive an email with instructions. This is the final step before sending Missing You to the printers for its June 25th release!
Thank you for your support! Go Roxy!
– KB
Haven’t read the Roxy Summers Mystery Series? You have time to catch up! Start with Capture Me and meet Roxy in a case of cat-and-mouse for a grand Seattle adventure! Then, travel with Roxy to sunny Los Angeles for a food competition to die for in her sequel novel, Crush On You! Roxy’s third book, Missing You releases in June 2018. Keep an eye out on my bookshelf page for pre-order links closer to the release date!
I have a special treat for you! Samantha Heuwagen is debuting her first novel with our publisher, Trifecta Publishing House. Her first book, Dawn Among the Stars: The Starless Series releases on May 21st, 2018. I feel so excited to have another author added to the Trifecta family, and so should you! Please enjoy this guest blog by Samantha Heuwagen about her book and her professional life. Get your copy of her book today!
“I need help,” the voice said over the phone. “I need to talk to someone about my problems.” As a mental health clinician my mind raced to set the call up for success so I could get them into my office and start their journey towards healing.
You see I work with a variety of mental health problems as a sex therapist. From depression to sexual trauma I’ve been
able to help many people change their lives and reclaim their power. I’m extremely lucky to work in the profession that I do, but I can’t help thinking: does the outside world understand what I do?
The answer is no.
The looks I get usually fall into two camps. Either people love the idea of talking to a therapist–– free therapy! Or they clam up and try to change the subject. I’m used to it now, but it’s still interesting when it happens. And yes it tells me a lot about you, so watch out if we ever meet in person.
Because of this muddled confusion Dawn Among the Stars was born. Alright, you caught me––in reality I had this dream that wouldn’t let go! Yet as I figured out the characters and their hopes and dreams, I realized they all had something in common. They were all dealing with some type of mental health issue while trying to understand the Universe around them.
I quickly understood I wasn’t just writing about aliens––though there are aliens and they’re awesome for the most part. I was writing characters that were taking care of business, fighting for their lives, and falling in love, all the while dealing with really serious mental obstacles; doing it all with class, integrity, and intelligence.
It felt natural for me to write about mental health in a realistic way because it’s time for the discourse surrounding mental illness to change. If treated, people can live happy and healthy lives. But unchecked it can suck the life out of someone and their loved ones. It’s not a sign of weakness to see a helping professional; it’s quite the opposite. It takes strength and a solid sense of self to ask for help.
In today’s media there are no positive images of someone successfully navigating the difficult road to wellness. Dawn Among the Stars changes that by showing a heroine fight through her panic to challenge the world around her. It depicts a man struggling to understand his complex emotions and come out the other side better for it. It showcases a family open to diversity to help them reclaim their sense of safety. The three main characters go through hell to save their beloved planet yet still manage their mental illnesses.
Dawn Among the Stars is a love story, but not in the traditional sense. It’s a love story about wellness and doing what is right to keep a strong sense of peace while battling mental health and aliens.
Samantha Heuwagen works as a Marriage and Family Therapist and specializes in Sex Therapy in Atlanta, GA. She is a graduate of Mercer University School of Medicine where she earned her second Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Her first Master’s degree is in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of South Florida where she first realized her passion for sex education. She is a certified sexologist with the American College of Sexologists. When she isn’t working with clients, she teaches at Kennesaw State University sharing her knowledge about sex and feminism. Her debut novel, Dawn Among the Stars, the first in a multi-part series, releases May 21st, 2018 through Trifecta Publishing House.
Find Samantha Heuwagen at the following Social Media platforms:
What did you think about us having a guest blogger? Would you like to see more guest bloggers on this website? What topics would you like to discuss? Leave a comment and share below!
Katherine Bacher 
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