Publishing has a way of being a rollercoaster with ups and downs and then, after a bunch of excitement, completely flatlining for a while. Someone told me that it’s a lot of “hurry up and wait” and I agree.

I thought after launching Son of the Siren, my debut YA fantasy, things would become a regular ebb and flow like the sea, but it truly was all over the place. And there was a bunch of surprises for the year, too, amid some disappointments. Welcome to the world of publishing!

January 2025

In January it was announced that Son of the Siren was getting an audiobook. I was absolutely stunned with the news, but also, overjoyed. From January into February, and then all through to the end of March, I worked with my publisher Oliver Heber Books in conjunction with actor J. Kindred to produce an absolutely amazing audiobook. Son of the Siren is probably going to be the closest to epic fantasy I’ll ever write in terms of its span of landscapes and characters. J. Kindred made each part completely unique in terms of acting, accents, and voices…and he also wanted to sing all the songs I wrote in my book, so we let him. He did an incredible job, and I’m not just saying this because it’s my book. It’s just like listening to a dramatic radio play. It’s one of the coolest things to ever happen to Son of the Siren since its release.

April 2025

My publisher Oliver Heber Books (specifically Tanya Anne Crosby) learned that I was working on a trilogy and offered me a contract for them. This was probably the most magical thing to happen all year, because, while I had mentioned I was working on the trilogy through social media, I hadn’t formally pitched it to anyone, and then I got this offer. To be honest, I was afraid I would never have another book with OHB given the sales performance of Son of the Siren. So to have Tanya offer this out of the blue (and then, to make it more bittersweet, I’d been thinking about these books for over a decade) was nothing short of amazing.

May 2025

I signed the official contract with Oliver Heber Books for my trilogy, and then the announcement popped up in Publisher’s Marketplace:

But the excitement wasn’t over for me in May. Shortly after the PM announcement, Ingram Spark reached out to me to announce that Son of the Siren was

selected for inclusion in the Ingram Spark Author Exhibit at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference & Exhibition 2025, taking place in Philadelphia from June 26 – July 1. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your work to over 12,000 librarians, educators, and industry professionals expected to attend one of the largest library events in the world.

In addition to being displayed at the Conference, Ingram Spark would also give participants

• A review of and update of your book’s metadata by our team of book discovery experts
• Two printed copies of your book displayed within the IngramSpark Author Exhibit at ALA Annual 2025
• Inclusion in both print and digital catalogs featuring your book cover image, ISBN, author name, title, price and short description— available in print at the Indie Author Exhibit, on Ingram’s ordering platform – iPage and on Edelweiss – an industry book discovery platform.
• Active promotion by IngramSpark representatives who will be onsite to showcase your book and engage with conference attendees
• A copy of the printed catalog mailed to the address listed within your IngramSpark account
• Special offers for our reader marketing services, including Ingram iD and Bookfinity

I had been praying for some sort of spotlight on Son of the Siren to appear to hopefully get it in libraries, and more importantly, in the hands of young adult readers, so I jumped at this chance. I was happy to share it with my publisher, too.

July 2025

The ALA conference happened and Ingram Spark kindly sent me a photograph of my book at their table:

It also marked the one-year anniversary of Son of the Siren being released. I didn’t have a lot of fanfare around it (I hadn’t gotten a lot of reviews on it, so my focus was getting more blurbs and editorial reviews on it).

August 2025

I paid American Writing Awards for an editorial review because they were on a very decently priced summer sale, and you got a free entry into their writing competition with every review purchased. My review of Son of the Siren was very positive.

Probably the bigger surprise for me was that Son of the Siren nabbed a BookBub feature at the end of August, where it would go on sale for 99 cents. BookBub features are notoriously hard to get. With Son of the Siren not having decent review numbers, I never expected to get something this wonderful to happen. I wouldn’t know it in August, but later, when sales data/royalty data kicked in, I could tell the BookBub deal made the first major impact on my sales in ages.

November 2025

I received an official email and copy of the awards medallion from The American Writing Awards notifying me I was a finalist in the FICTION – YOUNG ADULT category. I had completely forgotten about this competition, so when I found out I placed as a finalist, I just about passed out. But here’s the proof:

Looks pretty nice with that medallion on it, doesn’t it?

Anyway, the only other thing special about November was that my manuscript, The Name and the Key, was due at the end of November. With school and grading kicking my butt, I asked for a one-month extension. I’m so thankful I got it.

December 2025

Turned in The Name and the Key to my editor and publisher on December 15 and am anxiously awaiting the editorial letter from Kim, as well as her comments. I am used to taking as much time as I need (as in, years) to write a book, and along with that, I’m used to revising it 900 times before it sees another publishing professional. That did not happen this time. I basically word vomited on the page, edited a bit from what my beta readers suggested, and turned it in. I’m happy with it mostly, but I have doubts about the romance in it, and if it’s there’s not enough happening. But I know that when the new year starts, I’ll have that information. I just hope I don’t have to rewrite it substantially.

Including today, there are three days left in the year.

I don’t think anything else exciting or miraculous will pop up in the next few days, but then again, weird things happen sometimes. I’m currently waiting to see if I was picked for a grant I applied to (it’s highly competitive for fiction writers and other artists, and is only offered biannually for writers)…but other than that, my trilogy’s second book is calling my name.

I’m looking forward to 2026!!!