Jessica McCarty, Author

Hey, friends! Happy Friday! 🧡 Yes, you read that right. This will be the last blog post until November 1st. In order to bring you a more quality product, I will be limiting my posts to once a month. You will still be able to find me weekly on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  If there's anything you'd like to see in the "new and improved" blog, please let me know! So I'll see you back here in a month, just in time for turkey season. Yum! 😋 Blessings, -- J

Is it pirate week? I kind of feel like it is. Wednesday was the one year anniversary of A Desperate Love 's release! My week was filled with all kinds of piratey goodness. To kick things off, our library had a pirate themed story time on Tuesday. I wasn't there, but the irony wasn't lost on me. Thursday, of course, was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, when people speak like pirates by throwing pirate lingo into their conversations. Wednesday I did a "short" video on my book and my current WIP. It was a bit scary getting my face out there like that, but my sweet girl's worth it. I spent a good part of the day working on draft #2 in my fantasy series. Then I topped it off with an Instagram story featuring A Desperate Love and the cheesecake I made, because what's a book birthday without cake?! And if all that wasn't enough, YouTube keeps slipping Burn the Ships  by For King and Country into my suggested mixes. Let's k...

There's a plant growing up in my lilac bush. I don't know what it is, but it shouldn't be there. Of all the plants around our house, my lilac bush is the one not to mess with. It reminds me of my childhood. My grandparents had a huge yard we played in growing up. The side yard had a few lilac bushes and a couple of cherry trees. Opening the window and smelling the lilacs is nostalgic for me. So, needless to say, I was a touch miffed that another plant had the nerve to sprout itself up right through the middle of my beloved bush. But a strange thing happened. Suddenly we have all these butterflies. That softened the blow some. However, the black eyed susans are attracting them too. I was still annoyed. Then one day I'm standing at the window and a humming bird appears. A humming bird, guys! He's actually made a few appearances. It was as if God was sending me a reminder. He was letting me know that there's beauty in the change. There's ...

Friends, sometimes I know what to blog about. Other times, not so much. Therefore, please enjoy these spontaneous haiku. Fall Seclusion I need my blanket My hot chocolate and book Lost in my own world Green Thumb Gardener I am I grew a red tomato I shared it with Greg Too Nice Please, be nice to me Or I may come at you, bro And give you a hug ****** Currently reading: The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young Reading next: The Warrior Maiden By Melanie Dickerson ****** Fun thing: My sword wielding child, A Desperate Love , will be one year old in less than two weeks! When did that happen?! Blessings, -- J  💜

"Are there even any?" she asked me. I searched for an answer, flabbergasted. How could this teen not  know clean young adult novels exist? I had this conversation nearly two weeks ago. It's bugged me every since. This girl genuinely seemed to think a YA novel, sans tons of swearing and sex, was the unicorn of the literary world. So at the risk of appearing to do a repeat of last week, I'm handing you another list of recommendations. That way you can respond in a helpful way, unlike me with my silent blinking shock. The following are books and authors that I've personally read. They are clean fiction books for teens. Sara Ella The Unblemished trilogy--Fantasy Sara has a Little Mermaid retelling coming out in November that deals with mental health. I'm confident this will be an excellent read as well. C.J. Redwine The Ravenspire series--Fantasy These are fairy tale retellings with a slightly darker twist. I ...

I was trying to decide what to do for this week's blog when I saw a YouTube video by Nadine Brandes called "My Top Seven Favorite Book Series . . . So Far." It sounded like a good direction for this week, especially since I had zero ideas. However, I'd like to call mine "recommendations" rather than favorites. If I were to attempt listing my favorites we'd be here the rest of the year. Also, these are the books I've enjoyed  recently . Again, listing recommendations from everything I've ever read would be utterly ridiculous. So, here are my book recommendations by genre. Historical Fiction *Jody Hedlund *Melanie Dickerson Both of these ladies have wonderful series. Most of Melanie's are young adult books. A lot of them are written as fairy tale retellings. Jody has more books geared for adults. However, she has recently started writing young adult fiction, and I love them! Nonfiction * Jump by Steve Harvey * Capital Gai...

I was reading a devotional Monday and the writer told of an unusual prayer she prays. She asks God to surprise her. Intrigued, I thought, "Okay, God. Surprise me today." I was definitely a little hesitant to do so. Surprises aren't always good, but God is. I've continued this throughout the week. Here's what happened . . . Monday--I was text by a family member with a publishing question. If I'd thought about it, knowing the situation, I wouldn't have been super shocked. However, I was still wasn't expecting it. Tuesday--I was text by a young friend who just left for college. We don't really text much, and I assumed she was busy with school, so it was another fun little thing. I told my husband about my silly prayer, joking that all the answers were coming via text. Wednesday--God really shook things up. I wrote a couple of neat, unexpected backstory details for my characters. I discovered a new song to inspire my writing, Meet Me...