Hi lovely readers!
Quick update here.
If you’ve pre-ordered Sun Daughter, the final book in
the Spellwood series, you may be getting a notification soon that I’ve adjusted
the release date to July instead of June. I just wanted to give a little explanation
about that.
For some background: my sassy, wisecracking, unicorn-loving baby
girl has spina bifida, segmental spinal dysgenesis, and some other physical disabilities
that she was born with. In April, she had a major spinal surgery and a long
hospital stay that included time in intensive care, and it. Was. Terrifying.
I’d given myself a lot of time to write the book before the surgery,
MONTHS of time, and time after as well, but I’d underestimated how difficult it
would be for me to concentrate on ANYTHING in the several months leading up to
the big day. And in addition to my daughter’s surgery, I had a surgery to treat
a pre-cancerous condition that I have. I had a lot on my plate, and I wasn’t
able to write at all. I felt like every spark of creativity within me had died,
and I was so blocked and overwhelmed.
(I think some people might wonder at this point why I was even
attempting to write a book during this time. I have mentioned a few times here
and there that both my kids have disabilities. Between the two of them, there
isn’t really a time on the calendar when we don’t have some kind of major
medical event happening or going to happen in the future. And my condition has
been an ongoing thing for several years at this point. So, I’ve written lots of
books during many medical situations, surgeries, and interventions, and that’s
just life for me! However, I wasn’t expecting how hard the spinal surgery would
hit me. It brought up a lot of trauma from my daughter’s birth and it was a psychologically
challenging time for me.)
Anyway! I have great news and more great news!
The great news is that my daughter’s surgery was a huge
success (we are so thankful to her five surgeons who performed this risky and
rare surgery) and she has almost completely recovered at this point. We’re
still juggling a lot of extra physical therapy and other medical stuff, but
when you have two kids with special needs, that’s kind of just how life goes,
so it’s pretty normal. Also, I’m doing really well, and my cells are all normal
and non-cancerous.
The other great news is that I am back to writing, and I
have all of my creative drive and spark back in abundance. I’m so excited about
Sun Daughter.
I just need more time to get the story where it needs to be,
so I’ve moved the release date back.
I’m so, so thrilled and impatient to share this final book
with you all, and after that, I’m already looking forward to finally starting a
new series that I’ve been daydreaming about for months. So, keep an eye out for
more info on that as well.
In the meantime, thanks so much for being my lovely readers,
and thank you for understanding the delay.
Much love,
-Kate