Joan Wilder was always my hero. I was 8 years old when Romancing the Stone released (my family owns movie theatres, remember, so I saw just about everything on the Big Screen).
The day I met Joan Wilder I knew: I was going to be a writer.
(You know, if the whole acting thing didn’t pan out.)
Once upon a time, whenever I finished a novel, I would make this photo of Joan my profile picture. On Wednesday night, Joan returned.
I love that I still have so many friends who remember this tradition. 💜
Of course, now that I’ve come up for air, I’m looking around my house and trying not to freak out beneath the overwhelm. There is very little food in the fridge, multiple boxes of stuff I still need to build, use, and review for the Magic Shop, a desk piled high with notes and notebooks, and a garage filled with Yard Sale leftovers (bless Mom & Dad, who have been stopping by and taking loads of it to the donation place for me).
Plus, you know, actually prepping THIEFTESS for release. Covers, interior design, backmatter, maps, editing, copyediting, blurbs, website updates, promo…
And—*checks calendar*—oh yeah, STORM CHASING. ✨🌪✨
Yesterday, I celebrated a bit with Chris. I drove to her house and we caught up over some fabulous BBQ (thanks, Chris!) and she and I worked to set up the annual tradition: our 2026 Storm Chase Gas Fund!
Chip in for Gas! Thank you, friends!
Every year Chris and I add some new, fun element — we really enjoyed doing the exclusive postcard & stickers mailing for everyone who donated $10 or more, so we’re offering it again this year! Please make sure to fill out the form so we have your address!
Of course, I remembered it was Thieftess Thursday far too late in the day, when all my energy was spent. The chapter still went out to the Thursday level Patrons as scheduled, but I still haven’t figured out why the essay part of the post (the free bit) isn’t sharing to everyone.
I worked really hard on those essays. There will be one for each chapter for the remainder of the book. I’ll keep updating them everywhere else (newsletter + website), but it’ll be much harder trying to do that from the road.
Scuttlebutt around the Storm Chase Family Chat says all these gonzo weather systems (did you see the footage from Enid yesterday?) will shut down soon and return mid-May. Which gives me some time to catch up and regroup…but waiting is always a gamble.
Heck, Storm chasing is always a gamble anyway.
Today is also a very special day for me, as it marks the 3rd anniversary of the day I started writing Chance Encounter (Carter is shopping at the trad. publishing houses under the name Let’s Be Enemies). I still can’t believe that book isn’t under contract yet, but I am so happy it exists.
I am still in this world because it exists.
A few night ago, I was up at 2am (sleeping is still tough, thanks anxiety) and wrote a very long post about it for my FB Author Page. I’m sure no one will see it. (*shakes fist at algorithms*)
So, if you actually opened this blog post and made it this far, I am copying it here for you as a bonus. Because you’re the best.
Love you, Squad.
And thank you in advance for the gas money!
xox
Princess Alethea
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Three years ago on this day, I started writing the book that saved my life. This K-pop reality show novel burst forth from my soul in only five weeks. The fastest novel I have ever written.
I had been severely depressed for over a year, after the death of my friend Petra. I wrote this book…and then fell in love with it so hard that ten days after I finished, I started writing a sequel.
(It was really more like fan fiction of my own work…but I’ve been told that if I write it, it’s OG and not fan fiction…anyway, that one will probably never see the light of day so it doesn’t matter.)
I haven’t been able to read books since Petra died. If you know me, you know how huge that is. But I could read these books. Because I wrote them for myself. I read them over and over and tweaked and polished them, and it healed my heart every time.
And I made Kpop friends from all over the world. I flew to the other side of the planet and went to concerts. I let the music and those friends heal me even more.
One day, I even got to meet the artist who inspired the whole thing. I thanked him for saving me. And I said it in Korean.
Once upon a time, this 100% mainstream contemporary romantic women’s fiction novel with an international cast would have been fought over, auctioned off for a million dollars, made the lead title, and found a place in book groups across the country.
(Imagine how well it might have done in the wake of KPDH if someone had actually bought it in 2023…?)
But traditional publishing is different now. My agent has been shopping that book for almost a year. No one wants to take a chance on it. And no one else will read it until someone does.
But a handful of people HAVE read it, which is why I’m still fighting for it to see the light of day. Every single one of them loved it to pieces. My two best friends, my amazing assistant, a sensitivity reader I hired (that was a super fun experience), my cousin, and my mom.
That last one was the most important.
My friends picked up on a few things (my cousin always had a big heart), but there was a noticeable difference in the way my mother treated me. For the first time I felt like she truly understood my struggle as an author, and how difficult these last ten years have been for me. Because I pulled a Stephen King.
I 100% based the main character on myself.
(A character named Petra also makes a brief but pivotal appearance.)
One day, I hope the rest of the world will get to read this book. I hope they fall in love with the characters as much as we have. I wish on stars every day for this to happen.
But when an author says “a book changed my life,” this is what she means. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Love you, Mom. ❤️
