The Last Summer Romance

It's been a while since I posted here, but that's because it's been a busy summer! I may never put myself through what I did this summer, but it was a learning experience. It started in May when I released the last book in The Donovan Tales trilogy, Home.

At that time, I started to put some effort into marketing the first book, my first mistake. I should have been doing that last year before Sanshain was published. I'm slow, but I'm learning, and today, finally, all three books are being read!

Here are some of the other mistakes I've made along the way in case anyone would like to learn from them.

The Donovan Tales is the story of a futuristic modified soldier who is retired from the military, attempting to reintegrate into society, and falls in love for the first time.

It follows his life for nearly three decades over three books. There is a happy ever after, but plenty of drama, heartache, and suspense.

That wasn't my mistake; I love these stories. My mistake was in choosing a genre. Instead of knowing it when I started writing, I tried to figure it out later.

The problem with that is marketing and finding the right readers, and it may be a while before I get these books to the right people. That said, I have had some nice reviews on the first book, Sanshain, The Donovan Tales: Book 1,

Start The Donovan Tales series here www.amazon.com/dp/B09CN53YHT

June was a flurry of editing, formatting, and cover designs for my new Dark Romance series, The Testa Affairs. Book one came out in July, and between marketing it beforehand and to the right readers, it had a much more successful launch. The second book came out on August 4th, and it's doing really well too. My mistake here may be not writing under a pen name. Not because I'm ashamed of the gritty material in these stories but because the genres are so different. Aside from being unable to come up with a good name, I decided it's all steamy romance, and all of my characters are imperfect, with plenty of room for growth. Each book has a different flavor, covering several sub-genres in romance. That may be my next mistake, but I'm hopeful there are readers who like that in an author and will enjoy my stories.

The Testa Affairs is about two brothers raised in a crime family and the woman that found the keys to their hearts. I received several good reviews for Choices so far.

This is a Dark Romance with trigger warnings. Please take a peek inside to see my author's note before picking it up.

Start The Testa Affairs here www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3BM33QX

So here we are in mid-August, and I'm gearing up for my last summer release. The fourth book in The Donovan Tales is a prequel to the stories.

Expectations is a story of Eric Donovan's best friend and boss, Brian Wilson, and how he met and fell in love with his wife, Darby. For fans of Eric Donovan, don't worry because there is plenty of story about his history. Expectations can be read without reading The Donovan Tales 1-3, but it may become your gateway drug into the series!

This book will publish on September 1, 2022, and time is short, but if you'd like an advanced readers copy, I have it on booksprout Find Review Copies | Booksprout or there is an ARC reader page on my website www.tacaldwellauthor.com where you can sign up. The book is free, and all I ask is for an honest review, which you can submit on Goodreads or Amazon.

Preorder your copy of Expectations here www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9TRKQ5J

So, there you have it, folks—four books in four months and a plethora of mistakes along the way. Yes, my summer has been busy, and my advice might be to learn to swim before you jump into the deep end. I didn't, but I haven't drowned yet. I have no regrets because the highs have exceeded the lows. That's kind of a lie; I crash hard when I mess up, don't know how to fix something, or have no clue what the next step is. However, I've been surrounded by the best people. They've gone above and beyond to help me through this journey. I'm sincerely grateful and proud that I set some goals, and as of today, I can check another one off my list!!!

Now, I'm going to put my feet up and relax. Right? Absolutely not. I will focus on the following two books in both series; the fifth book in The Donovan Tales should be ready by late fall/early winter. I'll keep you posted!!