I’m so excited to announce that Shaded With Love Volume 2 is now available on Amazon and all proceeds will go to St. Jude’s! The pages that Jessica designed for each of us involved look absolutely amazing, so you do not want to miss out on this coloring book! Spend hours relaxing while you color the day away! And what’s even more exciting: it’s already a #1 best-seller on Amazon!

Be sure to like the Shaded With Love Facebook Page because lots of takeovers have already be going on throughout release day and will continue into this evening, which means lots of giveaways! I wasn’t able to participate as I worked all day and the evening time slots were spoken for already, but don’t let that deter you from participating in the release day party on the page! It’s sure to be a blast!

Next, I promised you signing talk! I recently had back-to-back signings these past two weekends in March, and I had a wonderful time at both! First, I was in Kansas City for Kinky in KC 2017, where I was able to meet the wonderful Laurelin Paige! She’s one of my favorite authors, and just getting to talk shop with her in regards to writing and book covers was a dream come true. If you haven’t read her books yet or had an opportunity to meet her, I highly recommend it! Thia Finn sat near me, and she was so entertaining throughout the day; I hope I get to see her again at another signing in the future! It was also fun being able to actually DRIVE to a book signing! Kansas City is only four hours away from my hometown, so it was nice not having to worry about flying and packing all my books and swag a certain way to make it all fit! I’m definitely looking forward to KIKC in 2018!

My second signing took place in Raleigh, North Carolina for the Authors in the City event! The list of amazing people I met there is endless! I started off by meeting some bloggers and authors, some that were new to me, some that I’ve been friends with for months, and they were so friendly and fun, I’m thankful to have finally met them in person! Stephanie and all her gals at Stephanie’s Book Reports put on an amazingly, well-organized event that I’m so grateful they gave me the opportunity to attend or else I wouldn’t have made the connections with the authors and readers that I did! Isabelle Peterson has the most bubbly personality I’ve ever seen and I absolutely love her for it; she can bring a smile to your face no matter what! Samantha Chase has the best swag (i.e. chiclet gum in the small rectangular boxes with her book covers on the outside so they look like tiny books! GENIUS!) I met a fellow author and ginger, Rachel Lacey, and I’m so excited to read her books; definitely check them out if you haven’t yet. Sidonia Rose and Mr. Sidonia Rose were an absolute joy to sit across from, and it’s been awesome following them to each of the same three signings we’ve all been to this year. And…you guys, I finally got to meet Sawyer Bennett and she even knew who I was when I introduced myself. I could have died right there. She’s one of the women in this industry that I seriously look up to, and it was wonderful to finally meet her in person. She’s been so supportive of my writing career, donating to my release day parties and allowing me to takeover in her Facebook group. I definitely crossed off a bucket list item when I got to hug her! Fingers crossed I get to attend AITC 2018!

But the absolute best part of book signings: meeting all the readers! Your love and passion for reading brings me joy unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I love getting to talk books with you and connecting with you over our mutual love of reading. I love watching as you meet your favorite author in person and the elation that comes over you, because I’ve experienced that too (see above comment about Sawyer Bennett and several others)! I love putting faces to names I’ve seen here on my website or on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram, and getting to know you on an all new level, even if we’re not discussing books. I love that even if you haven’t read my books, you’re willing to listen to me tell you about them and possibly check them out in the future. I love that you stop at my table just to tell me you love my book covers. I love that you share your book blogger information, because I truly do want to follow you everywhere and include you in everything I do because if it weren’t for book bloggers, I wouldn’t even be attending book signings. So, you, the reader, make these events the true magic that they are, and I thank each and every one of you who attends! If you haven’t been able to attend a book signing, I highly recommend that you do. You will meet people who are just like you, who love to read just as much as you do, and you will love it!

With that all being said, I’m also so happy to be home. I’m done traveling for the year which means my sole focus can be on writing more books! I’m taking a small break to relax and catch up on some reading, and then I’ll be writing my little heart out like crazy for the rest of the year in hopes of getting the last two Love in the City books in your hands, where they deserve to be!

I think that’s all for now! I hope you check out the authors I’ve mentioned above if you haven’t already, and don’t forget to grab the #1 best-selling coloring book on Amazon, Shaded With Love Volume 2!

Happy reading (and coloring)!

xo,

Steph