Hiya, folks! It’s Leya Layne bringing you an update on my newest book, You’ve Got Bookmail, which releases today. My thoughts and emotions are all over the place! Welcome to Day 60 of 365 days of blogging.
You’ve Got Bookmail is a spicy contemporary romance between an unintentionally reclusive author and her mailman. Kassandra Gingham moves into a large house in the woods far away from her ex, so that she can heal and focus on her writing. When the small town gossip is directed at the unknown woman in the big house, Asher McNeil, the neighborhood mailman who has previously been on the receiving end of that gossip train, decides to warn her. Neither of them knew that the simple act of knocking on her door would change the trajectory of her writing and their lives.
I had so much fun writing this book that came from an idea thrown out in a random TikTok video. Of course, I’m a pantser, so some of the original thoughts changed as the story developed, but the basic premise is there: A book lover and a man in a non-traditional uniform, such as a mailman, fall in love. The fact that she is an author added an additional layer to the story, as she lives vicariously through her main character. This layer allowed me to write almost two stories in one.
An interesting development from the story within a story is that quite a few of my ARC readers requested the full story of my author’s main character. So now I’m writing that story to come out later this year. I’m also planning to include another romance that begins to develop over the course of the novel (you’ll have to read You’ve Got Bookmail to find out about that one). Thus, what had initially started as a stand alone romance novel will now have three parts.
While releasing a new book can be nerve racking, there is also something freeing about finally letting it get into the hands of readers. It has been a struggle to put all my energy into the next stories I’m writing while I geared up for the release. Marketing is a harrowing experience as well, trying to prepare for that successful release. And then there is the process of getting feedback in the form of reviews from ARC readers that can play with an author’s emotions if we’re not careful.
All-in-all, I am proud of the work I put into this book. I love the story. I’ve done the work to garner far more interest in this book than I did any of the previous ones, and I’ve managed to find readers who loved her enough to continuously hype her up on social media. Every release from now on is just going to get better (and easier) because I have and am learning so much from each process.
Now, if you’re ready to read You’ve Got Bookmail, you can find it on most online book vendors (Amazon, B&N, etc.); it is on KU for download; signed copies are on my website, along with an available swag pack; or you could do me a grand favor and request it from your local library.