Life Updates, Open Tabs, and What’s Coming Next

If you’ve noticed that I'm slow to respond to emails, or that I haven't been as active on social media as usual, I wanted to open up the curtain and tell you exactly why.

Don't worry—the inkwell hasn't dried out! If anything, my mind is overflowing with new stories. But over the last year, a few massive life milestones have converged all at once, and I’ve had to learn how to manage my mental bandwidth before my system completely lags.

As many of you know, my latest novel, Nightwinger’s Lethal Lullaby, went out into the world recently. Usually, the moment I hit publish I start planning the next book. But this time I needed a breath. So, yeah, I'm not working on anything right now.

Here is what has been happening behind the keyboard, and what it means for the stories to come.

The Real-Life "Open Tabs"

First, there is the family side of things. Our only daughter packed up to pursue her university degree in another country. Even though she is thriving and doing amazing, she will always be "the baby" to me, and the constant hum of parental worry takes up a surprising amount of daily energy. On top of that, my husband and I are currently in the middle of planning a massive, life-altering change: we are planning to retire to another country in the near future. It’s equal parts thrilling and terrifying, and the logistics alone are a full-time job.

Right now, our daughter is finally back home for her summer break, so she is sitting squarely at the very top of my priority list.

Then, there is the beautiful, daunting weight of being an independent author. We run everything completely in-house. I am incredibly lucky to have a talented husband who wears a million hats—he designs my covers, formats the print interiors, acts as my primary critique partner, and catches the plot holes in my rough drafts. But even with a partner in the trenches, balancing the actual writing with running a website, posting on my new Substack (Ink & Omens), keeping up with reviews, and managing social media can leave a person feeling stretched thin.

It is hard to keep churning out complex stories when you occasionally get hit with that classic writer's imposter syndrome, worrying if anyone out there is actually looking for your specific niche. (Though, I have to tell you, every single time a kind review pops up from one of you, my creative spark instantly roars back to life!)

The Mythological Pipeline: What’s Waiting on My Desktop

The irony of taking a creative break is that the imagination doesn't stop working just because you're tired. Even while I’ve been folding laundry or scrubbing the kitchen cupboards, my brain has been busy building the next book universes.

Right now, I have a few major projects competing for space in my head:

1. The Next Romanian Folklore Legends: I am so incredibly proud to share the myths of my homeland with global readers. We’ve already explored the mischievous sky fairies (sânziene) and the vârcolac (our version of the werewolf), the tragedy of the strigoi (vampires), and the incubus-like zburătorul. Picking the next myth to anchor the Paranormal Misadventures series is a challenge, but the lore is deep and dark, and I’m not done with it yet.

2. The Werewolf Duology: I have a brand-new paranormal romance duology roughly outlined. The first book, currently under the working title Mine to Keep, features a juicy second-chance romance. The sequel will be Mine to [TBD] and is pretty vague at the moment.

3. The Hotel Project: A friend once told me that her house used to be an old hotel, and it immediately sparked a story idea. I have a rough outline for the beginning, and depending on how the inspiration hits, this werewolf story might actually merge into the Mine to Keep sequel. Or not. We'll see.

4. Ghost and the Ripper: I loved the story I started in Ghost in the Attic, and it would be a shame not to continue it. While I gave Angela and Kenji closure, Angela still needs to solve her father’s murder, and Kenji needs to confront his mentor. I’m playing around with combining their nicknames for a flashy new series title.

A Promise for the Next Chapter

So, what’s the verdict?

Over the next year or two, as we're dealing with moving our entire lives to a new country, things are naturally going to slow down a bit. I’m actively choosing to remove the digital distractions and the guilt of trying to be everywhere at once so I can focus on my family and our big transition.

If you don't see me online as much, please don't forget about me! I'll try to resurface at least sporadically. I am absolutely not giving up on writing. The stories are there, the passion is there, and more books are absolutely on the horizon. I’m just taking care of the life behind the keyboard first.

Thank you all for being the most patient, wonderful readers an author could ask for. Stay tuned—the next chapter is going to be an adventure!