This is my first-ever blog post as an author, which feels a little strange because I’ve been writing about myself on the internet since I was twelve. First on Xanga, where my profile was Hollister-themed and the song Hero/Heroine by Boys Like Girls played automatically whenever someone visited my page (just listened for the first time in…a decade? still a banger, I fear). Then on Myspace, Tumblr, Blogger, until one day, about eight years ago, when I decided to stop writing about myself and start writing about other people. Fake people, to be clear.
Here’s a picture of me from early 2016, on a roof above the IGA Market in Pittsburgh (RIP), right around when I would’ve started writing my first novel. So young! So naive!
I wrote my first novel when I was still in college, and thank goodness it never saw the light of day. I’m grateful for the experience of writing it though, because it taught me that I could, indeed, write a novel if I put my mind to it! I just needed to do it a little better.
Fast forward a few years. I wrote another novel, and it was better. Fast forward a couple more years, and that novel landed me my incredible literary agent. In between, I wrote and published a chapter book series called WITCHES OF PECULIAR under the pen name Luna Graves. I love that series so much, and would really love to keep writing it one day! But in order for that to happen, you guys need to buy more copies. Tehe.
Anyway. While Incredible Literary Agent took novel #1 on submission, I sold novel #2 to my wonderful editor at Aladdin. The novel was sold on proposal, which means I hadn’t written the whole thing yet. So from March - December of last year, I spent my days chained to my desk, writing my little heart out. Guess what book that was?
If you guessed ALL MY BESTS, I’m giving you a thumbs up through the screen :)
I didn’t know, before I started writing, that AMB would be the most difficult book I’d written thus far. Literally––the book is dual POV, which meant every single detail in one section had to be cross-referenced with the other section, down to the word––but also mentally. My characters’ emotional arcs are inspired heavily by my own experiences, resulting in some truly surreal writing days. I’m so happy with the way it turned out, but getting it across the finish line was certainly no easy feat.
The book comes out November 12, which is about three and a half months away. That might seem far to you, but in publishing time, it’s practically a blink (if publishing had a race with a snail, it would be a real nail-biter). From now until then––and, let’s be real, probably well after the fact––I’m going to be super annoying about begging you to buy it, because preorders are so important for debut authors like me. They indicate to my publisher that there’s interest in my book, which will make them want to promote it even more and maybe even let me write a sequel (wink wink). But the good news is that I’ll also share every discount, giveaway, and preorder perk I can conjure up along the way. Hopefully, there will be plenty.
Here’s what I’ve got for you right now: I’m partnering with Tertulia to give you a hefty discount on ALL MY BESTS if you order before November 12. If you sign up for a free 30-day trial (no strings attached, cancel anytime!) you can get my book for 50 percent off with free shipping. That means the paperback is $4.49 and the hardcover is $9.49! And if you don’t feel like signing up for a free trial, no worries. You can still get 20 percent off with the code ‘BRITNEE’ at checkout.
Click here to buy ALL MY BESTS through Tertulia.
I’m still finding my footing here, figuring out exactly what I want this blog to be and how often I want to post. As a teen, I loved reading Sarah Dessen’s The Friday Five (which still exists!), where she posted every Friday about five things going on in her life. I really treasured (and still do treasure) getting to peek behind the curtain and see what a working writer’s life is really like––their schedules, the media they’re consuming, and other things that provide a little insight into who they are. I wonder if other people would like that, too, re: me?
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. This is just the beginning of what I hope will be a long and exciting foray back into the world of oversharing on the internet. In the meantime, you can visit me on Instagram and Tiktok—on the latter of which I’m currently sharing 30 days of writing tips.
Until next time!