Hey there,
So I built raised garden beds. Ordered them online, figured “how hard can this be?” and the answer is: the assembly took three days, which was the easy part. Filling them with soil and sand? I’m two weeks in and still not done, because wheelbarrows full of earth are absurdly heavy and shoveling is apparently a full-body workout nobody warns you about. My back is wrecked, my palms are calloused, and I’m fairly certain writers were not built for this kind of labor 😂
But the kale I planted back in December is finally coming good, and I can’t wait for the real seeding to start. Homegrown kale is SO much sweeter than anything from the store. I’ll send you some pics next time. (Assuming I can still lift my phone by then.)
Spirit Elfen News
I’m deep in proofreading the rewrite of Spirit Elfen, book 2 in the Spirit Walker series. The big change is the shift from third person to first, and wow, it makes a difference. You’re inside Adi’s head now, feeling everything with her instead of watching from the outside.
I wrote the original nearly ten years ago, and I’d like to think I’ve grown a bit since then 😏 The bones of the story are the same, but the voice is sharper and the emotions hit closer. I like this version of Adi better, too. She’s funnier when she’s allowed to talk directly to you.
More news on release timing soon. For now, it’s me, a red pen, and a truly terrifying number of tabs open in my manuscript.
Haven’t read book 1 yet? Or want to reread before the new version of book 2 drops?
Did You Know?
In medieval Europe, rosemary wasn’t just for cooking. It was believed to ward off evil spirits and protect sleepers from nightmares, so people tucked sprigs under their pillows and hung bundles over doorways during solstices when the veil between worlds was thought to be thinnest. (Given what my characters go through at night, they could probably use a whole hedge of the stuff.)
Some Fellow Romance Authors You Might Love
I’m just getting back into the newsletter swap scene, and I’ve been approached by all kinds of romance writers wanting to show off their covers. They’re not all dark fantasy, but I personally read across the genre, so here are a few books worth a look:
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Hit reply and tell me: do you garden? Grow anything? Kill everything? I want to know. No judgment at all. I once forgot about a basil plant for so long it turned into a science experiment.
If you enjoyed this, forward it to a friend who loves romance!
Until next time, xo Ella
Ella J. Smyth | Forever Heart Press