aestengl

Before we get too deep into 2026, I wanted to take a moment to shout out some of my favorite cinematic  romances enjoyed in 2025! These are all, in my not-at-all-humble-opinion, superior to Bridgerton in every particular. (Note: while, as a romance novelist, I know I’m meant to love Bridgerton , I find it far too heavy-handed and stuffed with superfluous storylines to be remotely swoony. The only season I’ve managed to watch most of was season 2. Even then, I was skipping around a lot.)...

As is sort-of tradition by now, I like to take a little time on January 1 st  to list out my INTENTIONS for the coming year. Not goals. Not resolutions. Those both sound WAY too scary to me, I’m not going to lie. But my publishing INTENTIONS for 2026 are as follows: February 12 – CurseBound  (WarBride: Book 3) March 12 – SoulFire (WarBride: Book 4) April 10 – A Spot of Tea and Sorcery: volume 1 May 10 – A Spot of Tea and Sorcery: volume 2 June 10 – A Spot of Tea and Sorcery: volume 3 July 10...

In preparation for my upcoming work year, I’ve been doing a little behind-the-scenes work to get myself and my process into better alignment. Basically, I want my actual strengths as an author/creator to line up properly with my work efforts. Put my focus where it needs to go, that kind of thing. I’ve been asking myself what I love MOST about being an author and how I can emphasize those elements of authorial life. And, in contrast, I’m also analyzing what I love LEAST about this author-life,...