A Summer Celebration – August 2025 Wrap
August unfolded into a month of celebration, milestones, and memories. I’m so excited to share the highlights.
Celebrating My First Year Being Published in Anthologies
On August 6, I celebrated my first whole year being published in anthologies. I absolutely loved taking photos with all of my books.
I wrote this special blog post to take a trip down memory lane and highlight my anthology accomplishments from the past year. I can’t wait to keep writing and submitting short stories.
Two Anthology Acceptances
My August started with two anthology acceptances.
On August 1, I found out my young adult quiet horror, “Strokes of Time,” got accepted for The Devil You Know, a horror anthology by Dragon Soul Press releasing on October 30. I couldn’t be happier this story found a home.
The next day, I got the exciting news that my young adult Christmas meet-cute, “Holly Berry,” will be included in KissMet Quarterly’s holiday anthology, The Greatest Holiday Romance Stories Ever Written, coming on October 31. This story has my heart, and I can’t wait for readers to meet Faith and Matthew this holiday season. I’m so grateful to be on this list of talented contributors.
I now have a total of fifteen acceptances. My goal is to have twenty by the end of the year.
More Anthology Updates
I have a few more anthology updates, because of course I do. I’m the Anthology Queen, after all.
First, I’m delighted to share that I finally launched my anthologies page. This was a long time coming, and I can’t wait to keep the page updated with new and forthcoming publications.
Next, I’m over the blood moon—IYKYK—to share that my strawberry field story finally exists after it lived rent free in my brain and I yapped about it on Twitter for a while. Drafting this one was quite the ride. Originally, the story was supposed to be horror, but once I started writing, I was like, nope, this is going to be a new adult dark romantasy. I’m a true plotter and even outline my short stories, so let’s just say I got thrown such a curve ball and ended up living the pantser life for a day. When I finished drafting, I sat there for a hot minute and wondered what in the world I had just written. Then, I read the story back and couldn’t believe it poured out of my brain. I seriously feel like I drafted this one in a trance or something. Since it’s a new adult dark romantasy, I’m thinking of it as a cousin of “Dabria’s Shadows,” my all-time favorite short story, so I’m definitely obsessed with this one. I’m currently getting feedback from friends and revising. The deadline for the anthology is September 15, so I’ll be sending the story very soon. Fingers crossed this one gets accepted, especially after all the hype and attention it has gotten. I can’t wait until Carmine and Frazier’s story is in print.
Turns out, I didn’t spend all month hanging out in the strawberry field. I officially started edits for my butterfly anthology, Kaleidoscopic Quill. I’m having so much fun revisiting the accepted pieces and working with the writers. This whole process has been beyond enjoyable so far.
In September, I’m going to write and submit two other stories, a new adult Christmas romantasy and a young adult dark fantasy. Since I couldn’t decide which one to draft first, I posted a poll on Twitter. Thirty people voted, and the final results were forty-seven percent for the NA Christmas romantasy and fifty-three percent for the YA dark fantasy. So, I’ll start with the young adult one. I can’t believe how close they were. This shows me that both concepts are intriguing, and I can’t wait to work on these stories next month.
Also, I have two anthology publications in September. First, Seasons of Romantasy: Autumn by Quill & Flame Publishing House features “A Slice of Fire and Apples,” a co-authored young adult romantasy under the pen name, Sadie Lielle. Second, my young adult gothic horror, “The Amber Opal,” will be out in GORE 5 (Curses): A Halloween Anthology by Poe Boy Publishing. I’m excited for both of these books and can’t wait to share photos and unboxing videos.
So, things are going great in anthology land.
My Last-Minute Submission to Micromance Magazine
When I say last-minute submission, I mean writing, revising, and submitting all in the same day. I fear I’ve unlocked a new level of chaos.
Long story short, Micromance Magazine posted toward the beginning of the month that they have to fill five spots for their 12 Days of Christmas series. When I saw the post on Twitter, I was like, I really can’t add this to my full plate. Still, I bookmarked the tweet anyway because I have no chill and knew I would get FOMO. Dear reader, I was right.
Last night, I was out to dinner, and a whole story wrote itself in my head. While I was eating my steak and fries—yum—I kept thinking how there was no way I could pull this off in one day. I went to sleep with the story playing on a loop in my brain, and this morning, it poured out of me. Since I never like to submit something without at least one person reading it, I sent the story to my best friend. She loved it. So, I line-edited the story, then submitted it to the magazine.
In short, there were less than twenty-four hours between when I got my idea and hit send on the email.
I’ve never done something like this before, but I adore my Christmas proposal story. If I get chosen for one of the five spots, I’ll never stop talking about how wild this whole experience was. I should find out in September. Fingers crossed.
Starting Revisions for My YA Locked Room Thriller
At the end of last year, I drafted my young adult locked room thriller, and at the start of this year, one of my editor friends gave me feedback on the book. My original plan was to start revising the manuscript in April, but since I decided to query again, I’ve had to dedicate all my time to my gemstone fantasy. I’m at the point where I feel like I’ve done all I could for my querying project, so I read my thriller to take notes on things I wanted to change and revised the first chapter. I adore this book, and if my gemstone fantasy doesn’t land me a new agent, I’m wishing upon all my lucky stars that my thriller will be the one. I’m still actively querying and have several requests out, so we’ll see, but I love my thriller and can’t wait to keep working on revisions.
One Year of Hear Me Out
On August 23, Hear Me Out turned a year old. This chapter has meant so much to me, and I’m grateful for all my Butterflies who have listened to the album.
The Hear Me Out chapter will last a little longer. New music is coming soon, I promise.
Round Three at the Murrysville Farmers Market
I had a blast playing another two-hour set at the farmers market. The crowd was amazing this time.
My last performance of the season is next month. I’m ready to make it a great one.
The 2025 ISSA Awards
The ISSA Awards were this month in Atlanta, and though I was unable to attend and didn’t win another crystal, I’m so grateful to have received six nominations this year.
Thank you to all my Butterflies for supporting me on my songwriting journey. I’m so lucky I get to do what I love.
My Nominations for the Mississippi Music Awards
One of my songwriter friends texted me and told me I received three nominations for the Mississippi Music Awards being held in April. This was a total surprise, and I’m super excited. I’m up for Song of the Year with “Kind Heart,” Best Pop Artist, and Female Artist of the Year. Thank you so much to the Mississippi Music Awards for this recognition.
200 Episodes of Write on Track
I can’t believe I wrapped up August by releasing episode 200 of Write on Track. Since May 2021, I have loved every second of hosting this show, and reaching this milestone reminded me how much my podcast means to me. Thank you to my guests, listeners, and everyone I’ve interacted with on this journey. I’m looking forward to many more fabulous conversations about songwriting, music, and life.
August was such a wonderful month for me. I definitely had a lot to celebrate. September, show me what you’ve got!