Greetings Rock 'n' Rollers! It's been a fantastic February so far! Brains and Brawn became my seventh book to be featured on the Kiss App, and the Teacher Trilogy has spent time on the top of category lists on the app. I'll be doing a live reading next Friday on Instagram from Teacher and I'd love for you to join me for a little Pre-V-Day Love!
In other news, I've lost 16 pounds so far on my journey to kick Diabetes in the nads. For those of you dealing with. health issues…solidarity! More importantly, I had a major breakthrough in Havenhart Academy Book Two, which is coming your way…a little later than Spring, but I'm hoping for late summer…but my friends, this book is wild. To be writing it after planning it out back in 2012 is surreal. I know it's going to be a better book because, well, I've learned how to actually write since my first version of Healer ahahah. And some of you have been with me since Haunted came out and hopefully you can spot some differences (ie: there's not a river of tears in every scene, I understand punctuation better haha). Just goes to show an old dog CAN learn new tricks!
And as for today's confession…an older dog can learn new music? OMG this one had me cracking up! You know I love Spotify and those end of year lists they send you are awesome. Well, my good pal Carmen Cook, better known as The Revenge Garden Reading Lady, has a whopper of a confession today! I'll let her explain:
First of all, I want to thank RL for offering me a safe place to make this confession. When she mentioned it, I immediately said, “You mean a story like THIS?” and launched into the first story that came to mind. Once she was done laughing her ass off, she agreed, that yes, my confession is EXACTLY what she was looking for.
I probably should be more embarrassed about this whole thing, but I actually find it incredibly funny. You see, I’m a creature of habit. Especially when I’m busy (and let’s face it – as a working mom with a side hustle who decided 2020 was the perfect time to go to grad school –I’ve been stupidly busy for months). I slide right into my comfortable little bubble and wallow there happily until something jars me to broaden my comfort zone.
At the end of 2020 (pausing for the boos and hisses that will inevitably come with mentioning the past year) my seventeen-year-old son was the one to give the swift kick out of that comfort zone. He approached me one evening with his phone in hand and announced, “You have a problem.”
That problem? Spotify was listing me as the top 1% Jonas Brothers listener.
I still don’t completely believe their analytics because the kid and I shared a Spotify account. The little bit I got to use it didn’t equate to what I would have imagined a top 1% listener would get to. But it did.
I’d started listening to Jonas Brothers after watching their documentary on Amazon Prime, which showed their concert tour. (I watched Carrie Underwood’s Storyteller concert, too). See, I was doing research for the next full length Sapphire Creek novel, Coming Home, which features Erin Chase, who you meet in Coming In Hot (book 1 of my Sapphire Creek Series). I became fascinated by the first JoBro (as we superfans call them *hairflip*) documentary which spoke directly to the brother’s raise to fame and how they fell apart as a group. The personal dynamics, jealousy, ego and love pushed and pulled these young men who’d been on the fringes of my reality (my kids are just young enough that they were still watching the Wiggles when the Jonas Brothers were on Camp Rock or the other Disney show they did). I knew who they were (of course) but had zero contact with them.
I became fascinated with balancing the reality of family life and extreme fame, and I started wondering what would happen if they hadn’t had parents who kept the focus on family. What would happen if these young men had to rely on friends to keep them grounded in whatever version of reality they felt was the most important in that moment.
One of the best compliments I continue to receive about my Sapphire Creek crew is when people tell me they wish they were friends with them. They want to be sitting in the Bitterroot Tavern and have a drink and several laughs with this group of friends who have been there for each other through thick and thin—even when some of them have moved away to try to start life elsewhere. They want the best for one another and accept their friends for the people they are—even while challenging them to be the best version of themselves possible.
So. If that makes me a top 1% Jonas Brothers fan (seriously? Spotify show your work, there’s no way! LOL) I’ll take it.
Coming Home will release May 16, 2021 and is available for pre-order now.
About Me:
Carmen Cook grew up in Montana, riding horses and dreaming of life beyond the mountains. As soon as she could, she started traveling, heading across the country for college before backpacking through Europe. She earned her degree in theatre and moved to the Pacific Northwest where she promptly threw down roots. It wasn’t long before her imagination started running away with her and she began to write. When not behind a keyboard you’ll find her chasing her husband and sons around a football field, loading up guitar amps for lessons and imagining what to write next.
Visit www.carmencooknovels.com to keep in touch.
Pre-order Coming Home here:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/39pyLIU
All other retailers: https://books2read.com/u/brq9eE
Book 1 of the Sapphire Creek Series is Coming in Hot: https://amzn.to/3nz2R1G
Carmen was also a part of the anthology Color Theory, which came out this week! Ihope you'll check out Carmen's Sunday Readings from the Revenge Garden on Instagram. They're super fun!
I also wanted to say Congratulations to Marie Evans for being my winner for the What's Your Preference poll in last week's post. I'll try to do more polls in the future as it's always fun to see what you folks think.
I hope everyone is being safe and taking care of yourselves. I was reminded this week of how important it is to reach out if you're feeling low and to also reach out to those you feel are maybe having a hard time. If you need help and can't seem to find it, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255 or your local Youth and Family Services unit. I love you all and you're in my heart. You matter.
That's it for this Confession Time post! Stay Tuned for more Rock 'n' Romance…
