Welcome to 2023! While I have not been doing well in my “determination” to make two posts on this blog every month, I have had a number of opportunities to share on other authors’ blogs. You are welcome to check out some of those posts below:
This year I will also be sharing a devotional once a month on author Alexis Goring’s Devotionals for the Heart, which you can access here:
While blogging gives me an opportunity to share on many different topics, I’ve also been hard at work on the Gott Mit Uns Series. Over 60K words have been written into Book 3, and I am also excited about a Christmas novella which is nearly complete and due to release at the end of June (just in time for Christmas in July promos)!
A lot of authors write shorter books for Christmas, and while I was intrigued by the idea, I certainly hadn’t planned on it until I hit on a subplot in Book 3 that I felt lent itself to a heartwarming story. Immersed in weeks of Christmas cheer, I found an inspiring atmosphere in which to write!
In this little book, you will experience one character’s first person point of view (Hint: it’s not Emma or Jakob). Writing this felt very natural and it was hard transition back into third person. Suddenly, I wanted to describe everything all my characters were feeling in their own words!
Speaking of Book 3, if you’ve followed me at all you might know that Book 2 ended up being half of the story I originally planned on telling. Hence, Book 3 has come about fairly easily, with the addition of a secondary character arc. I’m wrestling with what point in the Schmidt family timeline I want to end the book, but I will drop a few hints here. Whether at the end of Book 3, or the beginning of Book 4:
Freddie Smith (aka “Sani“) will make a comeback.
I am hoping to give Ernst and Ulla a role to play as well.
According to my current plan, the end of Book 3 will serve to tie all three books together and set the stage for the Schmidt family to move out of the war years and into Germany’s future. However, I admit there are a few characters still stuck in the war years whom I would like to catch up with in the future.
In other news, I recently wrapped up a class on Amazon Ads. I highly recommend Bryan Cohen’s Author Ad School. I’ve taken it twice now and am excited to see more people interacting with my books on Amazon. For anyone else out there who may be thinking about self-publishing, I would give you a hearty “Go for it!” because there are many, many tools out there to help you get your books in front of people.
Bryan is offering the course again in April. You can check it out at the link below:
My newsletter comes out the first week of every month. In it, I share a brief update about what I’m working on, as well as monthly promotions I’m involved with, which you can take advantage of to discover a variety of new books that you might enjoy. They are often focused on a specific genre or trope, such as Historical Fiction, WWII, Edgy Christian, and recently, a fun one in which “time is running out on our lovers as… the weight of history falls down on them!” (Sounds like Jake and Emmy to me!)
One other feature I am planning to include more often is a short book review or recommendation, something I’ve read that I hope will appeal to my readers! Be sure to subscribe at the button below to be kept up to date:
I have another blog post in the works, which I plan to post in February. In it, I will share about how characters in fiction can help us relate to ourselves and others. Until then, happy reading!
Aubrey Taylor Books 