Summer lovin’ isn’t always about a person. Sometimes it’s about a season where something finally clicks — where the thing you’ve been building quietly for years suddenly catches fire.

This summer, my love affair has been with social media and the readers who have found me there. The Maroon Candle set it ablaze. It was the birth of that story and its popularity that led to the comeback of my three previous books.

And since they were suddenly acting brand new again it felt right to give them a fresh look: a new sheen and presence they've quietly earned over the years.

Early covers felt like sketches of the author I was at the time. Earnest, experimental, still finding the visual language. These new versions feel like the author I am now: deliberate, polished, presenting the story with real presence. They speak the emotional dialect of the books: suspense, atmosphere, a little danger, a little ache.

And yes — people absolutely judge a book by its cover.

Not because they’re shallow, but because the cover is the first promise you make to a reader. When the promise is strong, they lean in. When it’s vague or mismatched, they drift.

Only eight states remain before The Maroon Candle lights up the entire country. Readers in 42 states have already carried the flame forward.

Watching this story travel from Tennessee to nearly every corner of the map has been one of the most surreal parts of the journey.

The fire is spreading and it’s burning beautifully.

I’m excited to see what the summer of lovin’ becomes in the fall. Momentum has a way of carrying its own magic forward.

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