Jessica McCarty, Author

 Happy December, friends! I hope it's warm in your neck of the woods. Here in Indiana, we're already experiencing snow and frigid temperatures. I've been doing what all book worms do and reading whilst drinking cocoa or hot tea. I'm working on a few projects as well. I strained out my first batch of fire cider, which I hope to try later today. And I'm hand sewing stockings for the littles from a blanket I bought at the dollar store and leftover bias tape from my corset project. On the topic of drafting, I'm sitting at just over 25,000 words despite being near the end of the draft. This book is going to be short . I'm thinking a hundred pages or so, a novella rather than a novel. I shouldn't be surprised. This book is all kinds of different. Yesterday, I had a lot of fun drawing on personal experience from when my sister & I went to a Once Upon a Time convention. If you're into fantasy and romcoms, this is the book for you! Reading . . . * Christm...

 For those of you wanting a writing update, I'm currently at 18,038 words in my draft and will be  adding to it rather than my normal method, which is to write a lot and then chop away what it doesn't need. This book is also different because it's a romance written in first person. They say to write what you know. So, get ready. I'm about to get real nerdy on y'all.😆 Reading . . . Being that it was spooky month, in October I re-read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. It's surprisingly true to the original while adding fun elements like the undead, ninjas, and a warrior Lady Catherine. It's cheesy and delightful, and I whole-heartedly recommend it. I also enjoyed  SpongeBob Comics: Treasure Chest . Lastly, I read That Fine Line and Double or Nothing  by Cindy Steel. Double or Nothing is my favorite of the Pride & Pranks series so far! *If you're looking for a giggle, I would suggest any of the aforementioned books. Making . . . Fi...

  Fall is here, friends!🍂🧣🥾 It's my favorite time of year. And between the hot summer and the opening of my next book (it's giving Gilmore Girls ), there's extra reason to be grateful. Yes, you heard that right, I'm working on a new book!😍I'm slow-rolling into this one for multiple reasons, one being that I can't seem to settle on a genre and therefore am existing in a I-don't-know-what-I'm-doing!?! bubble. Reason two is time. Three, I'm working with an outline, which requires more effort for me than simply pantsing the project. I've heard it said that your process changes and every book requires something different. Let me tell you, it's true! Reading . . . This month I read Are We There Yet? by Savannah Scott and Kiss Me Now by Melanie Jacobson. I love a good romcom, but sometimes I feel like I need a little more . . . heft(🤔). Kiss Me Now  definitely brought that in a sweet, funny, enemies-to-lovers story with characters that are also...

Something I've wanted to do for a while is share my favorite YouTube channels. But every time I considered doing it as a post on social media, I would get overwhelmed and set the idea aside. What better way to give it the attention it deserves and shift back into author mode than to post it here? Also, typing everything out on my phone sounded absolutely horrendous. And for those of you who are curious, I plan to start drafting next week.😉 As I type this, aesthetic photos look down upon me from my bulletin board and a blue binder containing character sheets, scene ideas, & town places sits to my left. I have dubbed my little town "Kirkley."🩷 Side note: A number of these YouTubers have books, so be sure to check those out as well! Bernadette Banner : If you're a fan of fashion history, hand sewing, and corsetry, this is the place for you! Charlie Follows : I really enjoyed the yoga teacher I was following online before Charlie, but I wasn't a huge fan of the ...

Champion's Sword releases July 16! The ebook is up for preorder. Paperbacks can be ordered on the publication date. Available on Amazon! It's both exciting and bittersweet to get the conclusion of this story into your hands. I've walked in the world of the Woodland elves for several years now. It feels a little strange to be letting these characters go. But I'm excited to dive into another story and new characters. In other news, A Desperate Love  has finished its journey with my publisher and, for the time being, will be out of print. I have the option to self-publish and am seriously considering doing so. Stay tuned for details! Reading . . . On a whim, I picked up Be More Unicorn  by Joanna Gray. I also read Some Like It Scot  by Pepper Basham. My feelings about this book? I think Larry the Cucumber summed it up best. "I laughed. I cried. It moved me, Bob." Touching, funny, heartwarming. I highly recommend and can't wait for Pepper's next book, espe...

 I'm roughly seventy percent of the way through this final pass of Champion's Sword ! Some chapters are taking a bit longer than others. But I'm confident I'll get through it all in the next week or two. The majority of formatting is finished. And I was so excited to add an "Also by Jessica McCarty" page to the beginning of the book.😭💖I still need to write the blurb. I like to wait until I've read the book for the final time before tackling that. That way I've got the story in its entirety fresh in my mind. There's just no easy way to condense a three-hundred-page book into three paragraphs. After that is cover design. Lastly, uploading and publishing! I'll be sure to keep you all posted. A cover reveal and publication date should be coming soon! Reading . . . This month, I read the last book in the Hawthorne Brothers series ( How to Kiss a Movie Star , Jenny Proctor). I'm really sad to be done with this series. They're just good clea...