In the spring of 2023, after a particularly turbulent era in my life, I made the difficult decision to push pause on my writing career. It's not that I wanted to give it up, but I was tired of making and breaking promises—to my readers and to myself. I had no idea what was next. I was utterly lost.
And then I met Justin LaMonda, and everything changed. After a whirlwind romance, we were married in the fall of that same year in the wedding of my dreams: it was small, outdoors, insanely fun, and filled with lots of laughter and dancing. My oldest son officiated and our other kids stood up with us. It was perfection.
Our young marriage has been met with some fairly significant challenges from outside forces, but it's only served to solidify our certainty that our partnership is forever. And it is a true partnership—we are that obnoxious couple that does everything together, even work. He's helping me start a new business (Urban Fae). We write together under the pen name A.J. LaMonda. I edit his books and he edits mine. We pass back and forth manuscripts we're working on, both solo and together.
It's fun and creatively invigorating. Words are flowing again. I FINALLY released the long overdue Sabotage in the Sails. I have so many things I'm hoping to accomplish in 2025. No dates yet—I don't want to start the year off by setting myself up to break more promises. But I'm pleased with the progress that's been made.
In addition to being a phenomenal writing partner, Justin is a good husband. He sees me. Understands me. I have a tendency to want to do all of the things, and he helps me make decisions and set priorities to support our goals. In 2024, I left the high-stress job that depleted my brain and energy. When life gets crazy, he helps me focus instead of react. He's healing me in so many ways, body and soul, including helping me sort out some health problems I've faced since I was a teenager. That's a post for another day, but I will say that knowing what you're up against makes a difference. It helps me show myself grace and I'm learning to ration my energy.
I can see this post devolving into all of the ways Justin is the best thing to ever happen to me, so I'll stop. Just know there is more to come: more news, more books, more giveaways. Lost of good stuff, so stay tuned.
If you'd like to read how I finally got my very own meet-cute, you can get the short story Love, Delivered for free when you sign up for my newsletter!
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