I’m tired of all the noise in the book world.
Authors: Write to market. Use BookTok. Post three times a day. No, five. I went viral. You need pen names. Your pen names need consistent branding. Readers need to know exactly what to expect. Publish faster. No, slow down. Write series. Rapid release. Don’t self-publish. Self-publish.
Readers: When’s the next book coming out? Are you writing in this genre again? Why is there a cliffhanger? Why isn’t there another book in the series? Why aren’t you in Google Books? Why are your books priced the way they are? I’m on a fixed income. You should write more like Nora Roberts or Stephen King.
Gurus: You need BookBub ads. Better storytelling for your marketing. Three content pillars. Post consistently. Build an audience. A stronger hook. The first three seconds matter. Do more. Do less.
Blah. Blah. Blah.
Ugh.
Somewhere along the way, the joy disappeared.
Then I read a quote: “Comparison is the biggest thief of joy.”
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. For days. Weeks.
What actually brings me joy?
Books.
I like holding them. Smelling them. Looking at them. Collecting them. And yes, even reading them.
I love writing stories too. Creating characters. Giving them impossible problems. Letting them find someone worth fighting beside.
But if I’m being honest, I’m not writing only for myself. There’s a part of me that hopes someone will say, “I read your book, and I really enjoyed it.” Or, “I loved that character.” Or even, “It was a nice little escape.”
I’m not completely selfless. I’m human.
So I’m trying something different.
I’m building a quiet corner of the internet. No algorithm to chase. No content calendar telling me what to post. Just a place where I tell stories to people who actually want to hear them.
That’s it. Simple.
I write. You read.
To do that, though, I need to do it my own way. I need to stop taking the contradictory advice. I need to stop comparing what I’m doing to others. I need to build my own thing.
And I did.
I’m calling it the Wet Dog Reading Room
Because that’s what reading has always been for me. Not neat. Not curated. A dog-eared paperback with a coffee ring on the cover. A dog who insists on lying across your feet while you read, wet from the rain, not caring that you just sat down. Real reading is messy and a little chaotic, and it happens in the corners of a busy life, not in some pristine reading nook from a magazine spread.
Here’s the plan.
I’m going to write the stories I want to write. They’ll all have romance, because that’s what I love. They will be something you can read in one-sitting or one-weekend. Rom-coms, romantic suspense, speculative fiction, cozy mysteries. They might be sweet. They might be steamy. They’ll probably feature broken women, beta men, and happily-ever-afters.
Then I’m going to give those stories to you. Free. Before they’re available anywhere else. Because I want you to read them. And I hope you love them.
If you do…
Stick around.
- Reply to my emails
- Tell me what you thought
- Leave a review
- Comment on Facebook
- Tell a friend
- Buy the book someday, if you feel like it
And if enough people enjoy what I’m creating, I’ll write another one. You’ll read it. You’ll tell me what worked. I’ll write another. And another.
No chasing algorithms. No shouting into the void. Just you, me, and a story I hope you love.
If one of my stories isn’t for you, that’s okay too. Not every book is meant for every reader. But maybe the next one will be.
Come sit in the Wet Dog Reading Room with me.
Bring your muddy paw prints and your coffee rings. Bring the version of reading that actually looks like your life, not the curated one.
You can join three ways. (Or all three ways.)
Sign up directly to the Wet Dog Reading Room Newsletter.
Download one of my free stories to get started. All links here.
In short: I got tired of algorithm chasing and conflicting advice. I just want to write the stories I want to write and have them find a home with people who want to read them. So I built the Wet Dog Reading Room, a free, quiet space where new stories go to readers first, before anywhere else. Join above.
Wow, that sounds like a lot of chaos. I can understand why you are moving to this different place and style for your books. It sounds like a lot less stress.
It really was a lot of chaos. Every time I tried to follow one piece of advice, someone else was shouting the opposite. It felt like trying to write inside a tornado.
This new space already feels calmer, just stories and the people who want to read them.
And truly, thank you for taking the time to read and reply. It means a lot.
I love this idea. I’ve felt the same way about writing. Having to constantly feed the algorithm just to get seen (which doesn’t even work now unless you pay) has begun to starve my creativity. I’m excited to see how this works for you.
I hear you. It’s such a strange feeling when the thing we love gets tangled up in all the “must‑dos” and “should‑dos” until the creativity starts drying out. Stepping into this new space feels like giving myself permission to breathe again, and I’m really hoping it brings the “joy” back.
I’m planning to let it run for at least six months and share what’s working (and what isn’t) somewhere halfway through. It feels good (and exciting) to try something different. Now to just find those readers who this works for.
And truly, thank you for being here since way back in my Blood & Holy Water days. It means a lot to still have you along for the ride.