Elle Fielding: December '22 Newsletter

A year of experimentation and growth as an author

June family holiday

Well, here we are in December. I could say, ‘what a year it’s been,’ but I say that every year. 😊

Here’s a short recap.

March

Back in March I joined TIRAA, The Independent Romance Authors Association. There, I met like-minded individuals and authors with varying levels of experience. The supportive nature of this organisation has helped me push past my comfort zone this year, and I’m so grateful for that. Often not a joiner because I fear being an outcast or rejected, I was hesitant to join, but I was welcomed with open arms, and even included in their Christmas anthology, which was released wide on November 1st.

April

I caught Covid. The headache was a doozy.   

June

Sick on and off. Family holiday in Bung Bong. The name reminds me of the Law & Order sound effect.

August

I quit my job to focus on my mental health. With words like recession and inflation being thrown around constantly here in Australia, I question my sanity regularly. But…I’d be questioning my sanity if I’d stayed. Making the decision was difficult, and I don’t know if I did the right thing. Sometimes, however, you just have to live with the doubt and get on with it.

Side note. As an author and online writer, I constantly struggle with how much to share about the state of my mental health. I’m not a fan of pretending to be something I’m not. That said, not everyone wants to listen to someone talking about drowning in misery and anguish. I’m consistently challenged to be authentic while not being a Debbie Downer. If I border on giving you TMI at times, I apologise.

September

I published my first book in more than eighteen months, Trusting the Enemy Next Door. It was my first ever wide release, and it was exciting to have this book available on so many platforms. As I’m still new to this whole being-an-author gig, I’m admittedly still experimenting with what works. After three months on other platforms, I’m now trialling this book in KU, so if you’re a KU member and you haven’t read it yet, check it out!

November

TIRAA’s anthology, Wrapped in Romance, hit major online book retailers.

Speaking of which…

Wrapped in Romance—A Christmas Collection of 12 Naughty and Nice Novellas—is on sale for .99c right now. It’s only on sale for forty-eight hours, and the sale started hours ago. Please don’t miss out! This anthology is only out for a limited time, and with varying steam levels and an abundance of tropes, I’m positive you’ll find something to tickle your fancy.

All the links are listed below.

In October and November, I also promoted my newsletter by giving away free copies of Winning Her Rival’s Heart. This promotion ended on November 30th, and I’m excited to announce that I have now republished WHRH. That’s right, for the first time in five years, Winning Her Rival’s Heart is on Amazon and available in KU.

For those of you not in the know, Winning Her Rival’s Heart—previously Winning at Love—was first published on August 2nd, 2016. After feeling like a failure because I didn’t sell a billion copies (like I’d hoped), I removed the book from Amazon in November of 2017. Since then, it remained published online for my readers, and a couple of years back, it was reedited by the talented Lili Grouse. Now, finally, it’s live once more!

My expectations are more reasonable this time around. Perspective and hindsight, and all that. If you have a Goodreads account, feel free to add it to your read or to-read list. 😊

December

I guess that brings us to now. On the third, I published Let Me Be the One. It’s live on Amazon and can also be read in KU.

More news

Lili Grouse (my multi-talented editor) is running a free promotion on Amazon for two of her books:

Leap of Faith (Free 16th—18th)

Delicate Negotiations (Free 15th–19th)

Finally…

• All of my books are now available in paperback form. Yay!

• Dance with Me (Midnight Frenzy #1) is complete.

• I Love You, My Neighbour and All Part of the Service (Sweet and Sexy Mistakes 2.0) go live on Substack this week! Read them while you can.

I think that about does it!

Wishing you a happy and safe December.

All my love,

Elle