Hello and happy Friday, humans of the Internet!

I’ve been sitting on this announcement for a while now, and we all know how much I hate keeping secrets. A few of you caught onto my cryptic tweet announcing that I would not be participating in the most recent #PitMad event the other day… and I’m thrilled to officially announce that the rumours are true:

Pop the champagne, because I’m getting published!

My LGBTQIA+ contemporary fiction novella, Elaine’s Gift, has officially been contracted with NineStar Press!

NineStar is a boutique publisher based out of New Mexico, USA that is owned and managed by LGBTQIA+ people, dedicated to showcasing LGBTQIA+ stories and authors. It was important to me to work with a queer-friendly publisher on this project, since representation in media has always been such an important issue to me as a media professional. I’m so privileged to be working with NSP for my very first foray into fiction writing, alongside my new editor (it feels surreal to actually say that) Ashley Kingsbury!

Although I can’t give away much at this point since we’re still in the beginning stages, I can say the projected release date will be sometime next year. I can’t wait to bring you along with me as I learn the ropes of becoming a published fiction author.

Although the journey is only just beginning and the road will be long, I’d like to say a quick thanks to everyone who has helped me along so far. Specifically my awesome (and patient) friends, family and colleagues who have served as beta readers, copy editors and therapists during this process. I love you all more than I can express!

About Elaine’s Gift

Three addresses. Three names. One mysterious note.

Still reeling from the recent death of her wife after a long battle with cancer that drained her passion and her bank account, 27-year-old Kit Barrows is a ghost of herself. But one morning, what begins as an average day takes a turn for the unexpected when Kit discovers a book on her nightstand with a note inside, written to her… in her wife’s handwriting.

Kit is then led on a journey of healing & self-discovery, where she will learn that even from the grave, Elaine still has a few lessons to teach her about life and love.

Coming Soon: Querying Tips

As I alluded to in the previous installment of this series, querying is the bane of a writer’s existence. Getting published in the journalism world versus the fiction world are two entirely different beasts. Over the past few months I’ve learned firsthand how stressful it can be to sit there refreshing your inbox repeatedly while you wait for that fateful email. I’ve also learned how defeating it can feel when you receive a rejection… and then another rejection… and then another rejection.

Trust me when I say I got a lot of rejections before Ashley blessed my inbox and saved my sanity.

However, throughout this mind-melting process I did receive a lot of positive feedback from agents and publishers on my query letter. So, for the next installment of my Delving Into Fiction series I’m going to share with you how I did my letter and what the querying process looked like for me, for those of you who are looking for advice on that kind of thing.

So, that will be coming soon. Stay tuned!