So... everything I said would happen... happened. And then life decided that wasn't nearly enough. My dog had surgery... and then complications... which meant a whole lot of rehab, worry, and celebrating every little milestone. I finished writing Book 2. Then I edited it. My beta readers read it... which meant (you guessed it) more editing. Book 2 now officially has a title: The Rule We Keep. And it's currently with my editor for... wait for it... ...more editing. Somewhere in the middle of...

Book two is officially 70% written. Which feels both exciting… and slightly terrifying. I just started writing chapter 31, which means the finish line is finally starting to peek over the horizon. Not close enough to touch yet, but close enough that I can see it if I squint a little. Maybe. Lots of fun parts and lots of parts I'm doubting. It's just, you know… the usual writing process. Right now, I’m still deep in drafting mode, trying to get the rest of the story down before switching...

Here we go! Another rabbit hole! I spent so much time trying to figure out what every chapter needs in order to be considered “done.” I read articles, watched videos, bookmarked threads… and everyone seemed to have a different answer. Except they didn’t. It was all the same core ideas, just phrased differently. So I took all those overlapping lists, combined them, and turned them into a simple chapter review checklist. I even made myself a little half-sheet fill-in slip with a Yes / No ...