Jessica McCarty, Author

 After taking it slow this round of content edits, I feel like I'm beginning to pick up the pace. I'm officially halfway through! My plan is to apply for copyright once I've completed this round. Then I'll move on to line edits. Basically, I'll go through the manuscript line by line and make sure that all the sentences sound correct, commas are where they belong, etc. Then it's on to formatting, cover design, and publication! This will be a series about book lovers who live in the same small town. You'll be able to read them out of order or as standalones, though reading them in order will be helpful. The main characters are all librarians, part of a book club, and/or just general readers. Don't let the title of the first book fool you-- My Sci-fi Library Romance-- this is a contemporary romance/Christian fiction series and not fantasy. MS-FLR is a nerdy romance about two librarians who really love books and their favorite fantasy TV show. So, stay tuned...

 Fall is fast approaching, and I'm already diving into my favorite season. I listened to Spells for Forgetting , which felt like a cozy hug or an old friend, before moving on to another Adrienne favorite (more winter-themed). I picked up some pink and coral faux pumpkins from the dollar store and put them in our playroom, which, to be honest, is more of a multi-purpose room. One side is dedicated to the grandbabies. The other has cookbooks, decor storage, tea, & herbalism books. Since I'm on vacation this week, I took time to better organize that room and the sewing supplies in my office. My fabric stash is much tidier now, and there's a dedicated space for my sewing machine. I've been crafting, weeding the yard, and harvesting from my garden. And I made sure to set aside three days for squeezing in edits. I'm nearly a third of the way through this round. I can't wait for you to meet Jasper, Lark, and the ladies of Kirkley! This is a romance for book nerds a...

  I took a break from content edits this week since I've been busy with work and such. The garden is in full swing, and I've been harvesting, peeling, chopping, and freezing. Most of my zucchini is in the freezer waiting to be used in future dinners, while the cucumbers are getting chopped up and eaten right away. Between my husband and I, they only last a couple of days. I'm equally excited and nervous about the tomato plants since I have several. Because I don't can, I might be looking at giving some away. Maybe that can be a future project.😉 Reading . . . I only have one book to share this month, The Cowboy's Game by Cindy Steel. Recently, I've had a lot of books I've started then set aside or decided not to finish. You wouldn't know that from the literal basket of books in my living room, but here we are.😂I'm reading a romance and a nonfiction right now, so stay tuned. As for The Cowboy's Game , it's the third book in Cindy's Pride...

With school starting in less than a month and the end of summer reading, it feels like summer is almost over. I'm slowly reading through my manuscript and taking notes (nine chapters to go!) & working on my garden, which is coming along nicely. The radishes have all been harvested. I don't have many carrots, but at least I haven't had any bunny problems so far. My tomato, zucchini, and cucumber plants are blossoming. Yesterday, I brought in my first zucchini and decided to keep track of how much my plants produce so I know how many to plant next year. I want to be more intentional about my gardening. I'd love to have enough to preserve, even if that's simply freezing some of it to cut down on grocery costs. Reading . . . My reading this month has been a little all over the place. I read a couple of romcoms, starting with Hearts in Circulation by Sarah Monzon. I love this series! It's just such a perfect balance of romance, humor, and heart. I also read The ...

 I've officially finished the first round of edits for My Sci-Fi Library Romance (& yes, that is the title😆)! This is a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romcom novella about two librarians who end up working together after eight years of silence, one of whom is a secret cosplayer. Next week, I'll begin reading through the manuscript to determine what changes need to be made before I move on to line edits. Stay tuned!! April & May reads . . . * Sir Gawain and the Green Knight The first Arthurian tale I've ever read. Surprisingly good. * The Enemy by Sarah Adams Re-read. * Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Brant Pitre * My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh I waited so long to be able to put this on hold. Half my enjoyment was just getting ahold of it.😂 * How to be More Tree An inspiring short and sweet little read. Did I mention it's about trees?😭🌳💚 * The Encyclopedia of Ugly Fashion by  Karolina Żebrowska By far my favorite read of them all! K...

 I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! Ours was quite busy, visiting my family and then heading home to host Easter for the kids. It was a rainy day, but it let up enough for us to take the grandkids outside for an egg hunt. My new favorite thing is dinosaur jackets and tiny rain boots. Those boys were absolutely adorable in their little outfits! Last week, I had a staycation and got a few items checked off my to-do list. I began a new sewing project, weeded the yard, purged my closet, started an herbal hair oil infusion, read (of course!), watched the new SpongeBob movie, went for a walk or two, and edited three more chapters. I'm feeling very accomplished! Reading . . . * The One with the Kiss Cam by Cindy Steel * The Temporary Roomie by Sarah Adams This was a re-read for me. * Fallen City by Adrienne Young While good, fantasy just doesn't really hit for me anymore. I'm still deciding whether I want to read the second book or not. Listening to . . . *Irish Roar || The...

  Today, I finished editing chapter eleven. I'm so excited, because I was finally able to insert a detail I've been having a hard time finding a place for. I also included a flashback at the beginning of the chapter. It's a great feeling, because adding to a draft is so counterintuitive for me. Plus, I'm just really happy to add any length to this novella. My current goal is to complete three chapters a week, which means I could wrap up this first round of edits by mid- to late April. I'm planning on two more rounds of edits after that (one content edit and one line edit), but it depends on how the manuscript shapes up as I work on it. I always struggle with how much information to give readers at this stage of the process. For now, I'll just say that this little book contains the following: *romance💙 *librarians📖 *nerdy references😎 *an aspiring author💻 *a secret cosplayer🦸 *found family👪 *a sci-fi tv show🚀 Reading . . . I continued with last month'...

  Happy February, friends! It's absolutely frigid here in Indiana, which means it's a great time for me focus on my WIP. I started applying the notes I took for my first round of content edits and have made it through two chapters, tweaking and fleshing out my little book. Editing is always the most difficult part for me, but I do enjoy the depth and clarity that comes from it as I begin to more clearly see who the characters are and work on bringing out the heart of the story. I can't wait for you to meet Jasper and Larkin, and I hope you're all warm and cozied up with a great book, wherever you are! Reading . . . My sweet husband preordered the last book in the When in Rome series, In Your Dreams , as a Christmas present. As with her last few books, Sarah includes a content warning at the beginning so you can avoid certain chapters if you  prefer closed-door romance. While I always appreciate this, I must admit that her books are getting more graphic, and I don't...

It's a new year, and you know what that means! Time to share my favorite reads from 2025.  If you're a regular reader of my blog, you've already likely heard me rave about these books, so I'll get right to it. In no particular order, I'm starting with a series.  How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother by the amazing Jenny Proctor. A Christmas-themed Hawthorne book came out in November, and I need it right now . Next, Some Like it Scot  by Pepper Basham. Don't let the title fool you. This book is a nice, clean romcom with plenty of heart. (My reading journal has two whole pages dedicated to it.😉) Lastly, Double or Nothing  by Cindy Steel. This is book two in the Pride and Pranks series, and I would recommend them all! Writing update . . . My first draft is complete! I'm taking notes and plotting where to insert certain elements. This is working a bit backward for me. Considering this will be a shorter book, this will add some length. It'll also allow me to be mo...

 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...

  Guys, I have three chapters left! Theoretically, I should be able to tackle these last chapters next week. I will say, though, that I've learned things often take me longer than I expect, and chapter fifty-one is a behemoth . Seriously, it's double the size of a lot of my chapters. After I've finished with edits, I'll read through the entire book to check everything one final time (and fix em dashes in the first half😐) before moving on to formatting, cover design, and publication. Yay! Reading . . . This month, I read So That Happened  by Katie Bailey (Donovan Family, Bk. 1), a grumpy-sunshine romcom that was super cute. And I finally returned to the Hawthorne Brothers series (Jenny Proctor) and read How to Kiss Your Grumpy Boss  (Bk. 2) and How to Kiss Your Enemy (Bk. 3). Somehow, I unintentionally picked three workplace romances . . . and movie star ones for my upcoming blog🙈, with the exception of Beg, Borrow, or Steal by the amazing Sarah Adams. I'll be repe...

 Happy spring, friends!🌞🌱 We've had a lot of rain here in the Hoosier state. It's getting warmer, and things are greening up. I can't wait for sunny days when I can go for walks and start working on my garden. This year, I'm planning to try my hand at container gardening. My garden plot is pretty small to start with. I like things that are straightforward and practical. So, this seems like it might be a good fit. And less weeding! Which is good, because I'm continuing to work through final tweaks for Champion's Sword . I should be done by the end of April. Then I'll move on to formatting, followed by one final read to check for commas and such. I'm looking forward to refilling my creative well and returning to drafting after so long in editing land.😉 Reading . . . This month, I re-read Spells for Forgetting  by Adrienne Young. And I finally got my hands on Ignite  by Kara Swanson. If you've read Champion's Key , you'll understand why this ...

 Tomorrow, I'll begin reading through my entire manuscript, splitting it up into two days. As long as everything flows and sounds cohesive, I'll move on to formatting, spelling and punctuation, and the like. I can't wait to get the conclusion of my duology out into the world, and I'm excited to dive into a new story! However, rather than jump straight into my next book (a fantasy standalone), I'm considering taking some time to fill the creative well and absorb all I can on two of the aspects of the world. They say your second book is harder than your first, and I'm feeling fairly wrung out after this series. But I've learned some things, one being that I don't think I'm built for series. My creative soul wants to make art and then move on to the new, shiny thing.😂I'm also a pantser/discovery writer. I had to do more planning and plotting than I normally do for the sequel. While it was necessary, it sort of bogged down my process. I want to go i...

 We're getting closer, friends! I'm still on track to wrap up line edits by the end of the month. While I'd love to give a release date, I don't know how long my list of to-dos will take. My hope is to possibly release April 1. Stay tuned! Reading . . . Unfortunately, I only have one book to share this month due to starting a couple of books and then setting them aside for different reasons. Currently, I'm slowly working my way through a 500-page nonfiction.😕I did, however, finish a whimsical children's book called Library Girl  by Polly Horvath. It was quite cute & humorous and highly enjoyable. That said, the ending wasn't as light-hearted as I would've liked (although certainly realistic given her situation!). A word of caution, it's my personal opinion that this book should be given to older children and with a brief discussion on the topic of community helpers, namely police. Much of this story circles around the fact that several librarian...

 It's that time again, when I share my favorite reads from the past year! I discovered Sarah Adams and read as many of her books as I could get my hands on, including Practice Makes Perfect , which I read twice. I picked up another book by Seth Grahame-Smith, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter . It had me from the beginning and was so different. I absolutely loved it. Speaking of different, my last pick for 2024 is Assistant to the Villain  by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. I read a lot of conflicting reviews online (honestly, it was about 50/50 that people either loved it or hated it), but I'm glad I gave it a chance. Sunshine character Evie desperately needs income. She ends up working for the Villain after a meet-cute in the woods. This book is cozy, absolutely hilarious, and all kinds of perfect. I can't wait to read the next one! Be sure to share your favorite books from last year on my socials so we can add to our TBRs! Reading . . . I did a lot of re-reading this month, revisit...