Long Time, No...Communication Whatsoever: An Author's Apology for Failing to Update You on an Exciting Development

Sometimes, when your child is at summer camp (she’s 19 days into a 30 day sleep-away experience and have we received a single letter? No) and you only have a long-term guest who really doesn’t need your interference and your husband never closes the Kayak tab anyway, you find yourself in a charming AirBnB in Mexico City, mainlining pastries and unable to quite pin down your character’s motivation.

If you're ever in CDMX, go to Odette. Incredible.

Sometimes.

If you’re me, anyway. And specifically today.

But while novel writing is going to elude me (it’s not the pastries. Pastries, I love you; I would never make that kind of accusation) I can still be productive. Time to dust off the ol’ newsletter and remind y’all that I have a book coming out this fall!

This may be news to some of you. After all, my last post was celebrating the one-year anniversary of my cover reveal video, and that was in 2022. If you depend on this outlet for all news Vanessa King: Author, then you’re way behind. Apologies! I only have myself to blame. And you should come find me on Instagram. My stories are great. Lots of plant and cat content, book updates, usually something with a Muppet, deep Milennial cuts, and frequent nods to my new favorit pasttime, Honkey-Tonk Two-Stepping. No, I am not good. But I am spirited and like to wear boots.

So here’s the scoop. Back in April 2022, I was asked by my then-publisher to come up with a new idea, something not Austen-related, and despite my disappointment that they weren't interested in the Sense and Sensibility retelling I’d been working on, I began to brainstorm.

About that time, Twitter (RIP) became saturated with promos for The Lost City. Channing Tatum was everywhere, clips of his character offering protein bars and seeming not to know what to do with cake.

A himbo.

An inspiration.

For the uninitiated, a himbo is simply a kind, beefy, stupid man. I'd hesitate to use the word stupid, but they're....not bright. At all. Any wisdom is 100% intentional, and they are incapable of irony. But they are beefy. And, above all, they are kind. See the provided graphic for clarity. I can make no claims on it; I merely encountered it online and took a screenshot.

Channing Tatum was my jumping off point, but my characters have elements of Kronk, George of the Jungle, and the raven-haired golden retriever himself, Dani Rojas. One is a combination of Jason Mendoza (If you didn’t watch The Good Place during its initial run, get on that) and Spider from "School of Rock," whose "You're so hot," exchange with Joan Cusack is GOLDEN.

Thanks, Internet!

Fun fact: that actor moved on to become the district attorney of Tyler County, Texas.

I have not checked his record.

I don't want to know.

Do not @ me.

A conversation with a friend--nay, one of my all-time favorite people, to whom this book is dedicated--who'd recently experienced a medical nightmare/total life upheaval got me thinking about my 2018 MS scare (waking up not being able to see out of one eye? 0/10, would not recommend), so my main character, eventually named Ellie, got that, too. I piled on some endometriosis for good measure, and to balance things out, also granted the profound joy of going to the gym and discovering what your body is capable of. And a hot dude to climb. I am a generous creator.

Over many, many, one might submit far too many months, I had enough written that my agent could go on submission, and a few months later, I signed a two book deal with Forever, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.

I then had to finish the book, which managed to happen, and now the pressure is on for putting something together for book two. I’ll cover that in another post.

But speaking of covers, would you like to see what’s literally in store(s) on November 4^th, 2025?

Isn't it cute!? This cover is a great time.

And the best part is, it's available for preorder anywhere you buy your books!

Want to purchase directly from the publisher? Have at it!

An indie purchaser? Bookshop(dot)org, baby!

More of a Barnes and Noble buyer? I have you covered.

Amazon if you must. Ubiquity, am I right?

And when you do preorder, hold on to that receipt. As I get closer to the book launch, there's going to be some super fun giveaways.

Have a great one, folks! I need to nap. That dulce de leche pastry in the upper right was DIVINE but it is sitting heavy...