What happens when an author leaves Bookstagram & Booktok?
Well, it seems like they start to write a hell of a lot more!
Okay, I can explain skipping yet another newsletter: I sprained my ankle!
Thankfully it’s not as bad as I thought it was. Right after it happened I was convinced I broke my ankle, but it’s just a bad sprain. My whole foot looked gnarly and bruised AF, but thankfully I’m healing up pretty well – just in time for my trip home! Breakfast tacos and HEB, here I come 🌮
Anyway, I think after this month I’m going to switch things up and send a newsletter once per month. I’m getting tired of being up in your inbox with the same shit – jumping projects, no news in sight of a new release – and I imagine y’all might be getting irritated with me at this point too.
Anyway, let’s get into it.
I’m no longer on Meta platforms or TikTok
If you just went over to FB, IG, or TikTok to check if I’m lying, you’ll still see my profiles up – I’m leaving those for now to have my handle claimed and occupied so nobody is impersonating me for whatever reason. But I’m logging off these platforms with the intent to never get back on unless it’s to delete them.
Removing myself from the centers of the bookish world as an author is a questionable, if not even risky, move. I deleted my personal profiles last year and haven’t looked back, so I’ve really been looking forward to letting go of my author profiles, too.
What really sucks is just how much of the bookish community operates solely on Instagram or TikTok. I really hoped after the initial TikTok ban scare folks would’ve learned and moved to platforms they have more control over (yes, if you’re an author reading this and don’t have a newsletter yet, I am judging you harshly), but the most anyone has done is moved to Instagram or Substack with no alternative.
While I am a total chismosa and will miss out on the latest drama, I’m honestly looking forward to not knowing anything going on in the bookish world unless it’s on Substack (
, anyone?), Reddit, or landing in my inbox through newsletters. Ignoring social media has really helped restart my creativity this year, and now I’m completely away from the epicenters, I’ve written around 10,000 words in a week, which I haven’t done in quite a while!Speaking of…
Writing updates
Yeah, remember how I said earlier I’m tired of only reporting on project jumping?
I teased a spooky season project in my last newsletter, which I wholeheartedly regretted as soon as it was sent out 😂 Once again I’ve gotten into the weeds of brainstorming and outlining, so what was supposed to be a straightforward and simple erotic horror is anything but now. Which is fine… but it totally throws my plans out the window 🙃
Could I still do a straightforward erotic horror novella? Oh yeah, absolutely. But the backstory is now too interesting, and I don’t want to turn back. Unfortunately, this means it’s in the simmer pot to percolate for a little while.
So I switched gears and decided to work on the Witch Father novel for a minute 🫣 If you remember in my huge, all-encompassing writing updates newsletter from February, I was debating between continuing on with it as a novel or the novella series I originally planned. Well, the longer I stared at the novel title I came up with a year or two ago, the more I realized I couldn’t let it go. Now, I’m making adjustments to my outline to make it a novel.
I’m not saying the Witch Father novel will be ready for spooky season because it won’t be. I’m not writing anywhere near what I used to. (If you really want to know, in my prime I could write anywhere between 2,000-7,500 words per day; now, I’m lucky to average 200-500 per day when I try really hard, or just over 1,000 once or twice a week if I’m really lucky.)
I think a birthday release (January 2026) may possibly be in the cards for the Witch Father. I’m really trying to aim for a new release on my birthday every year, but my moody ass can’t make any promises for any particular story right now.
All that, and I’m still jumping between stories.
Remember for-funsies project LITS? Yeah… I reread the outline and basically I think it’s the most genius thing I’ve come up with, so I’m pretty enamored with it once again. HEAR ME OUT, hear me out: the outline is mostly done and solid, and it’ll be a novella, so it’s a viable project.
So what the hell did I write those 10,000 words for in the past week?
It’s for something I haven’t told anyone about. I ain’t even about to tease. Protecting my peace and joy with this one!
“Aurora, why can’t you make up your mind and stick to one project?” you might be asking. Well,
(@thereadersofi on Instagram) has demanded repeatedly, anyway 😂I don’t know the answer to that besides maybe I’m just not supposed to be writing during this season and I’m trying so hard to defy that. Or maybe this is my new normal and I’m still refusing to accept it. Or maybe I’ve been trying to work on things that just don’t spark joy for me like it used to.
The Tales of the Scorned
Release day is right around the corner! ARCs are being sent out tomorrow from Luna Literary.
Those not ARC reading, preorders are open! Remember, all royalties will be donated to three organizations that fund, provide, and benefit reproductive rights within the United States: Lilith Fund, Brigid Alliance, and Planned Parenthood.
Southern Discomfort is a sapphic second chance Southern Gothic romance in Volume One. Valerie locked herself firmly inside the closet when her best friend Noelle confessed her love on the night of their graduation. They may have lost touch for a few years, but when they run into each other again, it’s like nothing really changed – especially after they are forced to endure a forced exorcism together at their local church. Valerie has to confront her truth: that she has a second chance with the girl she loves, and the bigots in their lives need to pay for their sins.
Content warnings include:
Bigotry
Blasphemy
Degradation (light)
Homophobia, lesbophobia, biphobia
Religious trauma
Sacrilege
Sexism
Sexual assault (unwanted groping)
Three years of Anything for the Devil
Holy crap, it’s been three years since Anything for the Devil has been out in the world in some shape or form. Time flies when you’re having fun.
Since I’m going on vacation in a couple of days and won’t be near a computer, I’m holding off until I get back, but mark your calendars for a sale in honor of Anything for the Devil’s three-year anniversary during the last week of this month! I’ll be sending out a coupon code exclusively for my subscribers in the next newsletter.
Please note: physical orders are shipping within the US only. International folks, I do have signed book plates available to mail (without tracking).
Shit I’m into lately
Unfortunately, I have not been reading, like, at all the past month. Just not in the mood. I am pretty excited to eventually get into Sarah Blue’s Pucked Up Omegaverse trilogy at some point. Probably during my flights.
Howeverrrrrr my playlists have revved up recently.
To heal the broken heart of my fave slam band, Slamcoke splitting up, I’m really getting into Amorphis the past few days for no suspicious reason whatsoever 👀 This is in the playlist, but I’m certain some of y’all appreciate music videos still.
If you’re wondering if I just fell in love with yet another long-haired man with nose piercings, maybe mind your own fucking business, damn dude 🤣
Books you should read
If you haven’t read anything from Audrey Rush yet, do you even like me???
Our desire ends in death.
Working at a funeral home provides the perfect opportunity for me to get rid of the evidence. As I’m investigating the property, I find a woman indulging in intimate “self-care” among the dead.
Ren works at the mortuary too. Every day, she buries herself in her self-loathing, using pills to numb her senses. As I stalk her, I learn that more than anything, she wants to be sensually used until that bitter end.
I see her potential: An empty void. A vessel waiting to be filled. A toy for me to break.
We make a deal—I’ll use her to practice my murderous craft, and in return, I’ll help her end it all.
As we near her final days, I realize that torturing Ren with pleasure and pain is the greatest high I’ve ever known.
Then a rival takes matters into his own hands, giving her the ability to finish herself. I won’t let that happen.
I’ll force Ren to realize that not only do I own her final breaths, I own her death too.
Author’s Note: This dark stalker romance follows a serial killer and his obsession with a depressed crematory operator. An extended content list can be found within the book and on the author’s website. Read discretion is advised.
Stay fucked, y’all ❤️🔥
Ill keep you up to date with chisme bb 🤣🖤✨️
I’m a month late on this post but, dude, you seriously inspire me 🖤